Lancaster, PA vs San Francisco, CA
Moving from Lancaster to San Francisco? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($388,207 → $1,149,215 median home) and taxes.
Lancaster 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 Lancaster, PA, you'd need about $121,495 in San Francisco, CA (+$21,495).
Livability — Lancaster, PA: 64 · San Francisco, CA: 35 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,254 sqft in Lancaster vs 653 sqft in San Francisco ($222 vs $766 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lancaster, PA | San Francisco, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,312 | $39,096 | +$20,784 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $5,761 | +$846 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $5,125 | +$1,685 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $3,804 | +$1,488 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,500 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $9,202 | $24,108 | +$14,906 |
| Total | $39,385 | $79,394 | +$40,009 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lancaster, PA | San Francisco, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 96.8 | 117.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.38% | 5.22% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.1% | 1.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 50 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.51 | $6.69 |
| Median home price | $388,207 | $1,149,215 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 8.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.6% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $222 | $766 |
| Median rent | $1,526 | $3,258 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.48% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 33 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |