San Francisco, CA vs Raleigh, NC
Moving from San Francisco to Raleigh? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,149,215 → $438,364 median home) and taxes.
San Francisco vs Raleigh 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 $83,670 in Raleigh, NC (−$16,330).
Livability — San Francisco, CA: 35 · Raleigh, NC: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 653 sqft in San Francisco vs 2,281 sqft in Raleigh ($766 vs $219 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Francisco, CA | Raleigh, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $39,096 | $20,328 | −$18,768 |
| Groceries | $5,761 | $4,840 | −$921 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,130 | −$1,995 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,752 | −$2,052 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,000 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $24,108 | $9,294 | −$14,814 |
| Total | $79,394 | $41,344 | −$38,050 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Francisco, CA | Raleigh, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 117.6 | 98.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.22% | 4.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.1% | 11.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.69 | $5.60 |
| Median home price | $1,149,215 | $438,364 |
| Home price ÷ income | 8.9× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.8% | -2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $766 | $219 |
| Median rent | $3,258 | $1,694 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.75% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 33 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |