Durham, NC vs San Francisco, CA
Moving from Durham to San Francisco? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($414,340 → $1,149,215 median home) and taxes.
Durham vs San Francisco at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Durham, NC, you'd need about $120,755 in San Francisco, CA (+$20,755).
Livability — Durham, NC: 65 · San Francisco, CA: 35 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,413 sqft in Durham vs 653 sqft in San Francisco ($207 vs $766 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Durham, NC | San Francisco, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,436 | $39,096 | +$18,660 |
| Groceries | $4,840 | $5,761 | +$921 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $5,125 | +$1,995 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $3,804 | +$2,052 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,500 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $9,397 | $24,108 | +$14,711 |
| Total | $41,555 | $79,394 | +$37,839 |
Side by side
| Metric | Durham, NC | San Francisco, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.3 | 117.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.03% | 5.22% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 17.8% | 1.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $6.69 |
| Median home price | $414,340 | $1,149,215 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 8.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $207 | $766 |
| Median rent | $1,703 | $3,258 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.87% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 33 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |