San Francisco, CA vs Allentown, PA
Moving from San Francisco to Allentown? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,149,215 → $363,989 median home) and taxes.
San Francisco vs Allentown 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 San Francisco, CA, you'd need about $84,117 in Allentown, PA (−$15,883).
Livability — San Francisco, CA: 35 · Allentown, PA: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 653 sqft in San Francisco vs 2,404 sqft in Allentown ($766 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Francisco, CA | Allentown, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $39,096 | $22,284 | −$16,812 |
| Groceries | $5,761 | $4,911 | −$849 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,440 | −$1,685 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $2,316 | −$1,488 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,200 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $24,108 | $10,058 | −$14,050 |
| Total | $79,394 | $44,209 | −$35,184 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Francisco, CA | Allentown, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 117.6 | 98.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.22% | 5.48% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.1% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 41 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.69 | $5.63 |
| Median home price | $1,149,215 | $363,989 |
| Home price ÷ income | 8.9× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.8% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $766 | $208 |
| Median rent | $3,258 | $1,857 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 1.85% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 33 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |