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San Francisco, CA vs Worcester, MA

Moving from San Francisco to Worcester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,149,215 → $482,611 median home) and taxes.

San Francisco vs Worcester at a glance

Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.

San Francisco, CA Worcester, MA Cost-of-living index San Francisco, CA — Cost-of-living index: 118 118 Worcester, MA — Cost-of-living index: 103 103 Median home price San Francisco, CA — Median home price: $1149k $1149k Worcester, MA — Median home price: $483k $483k Price per sqft San Francisco, CA — Price per sqft: $766 $766 Worcester, MA — Price per sqft: $284 $284 Median rent San Francisco, CA — Median rent: $3,258 $3,258 Worcester, MA — Median rent: $2,182 $2,182 Combined sales tax San Francisco, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Worcester, MA — Combined sales tax: 6.3% 6.3% Property tax rate San Francisco, CA — Property tax rate: 0.72% 0.72% Worcester, MA — Property tax rate: 1.39% 1.39% Violent crime /100k San Francisco, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Worcester, MA — Violent crime /100k: 330 330 Electricity ¢/kWh San Francisco, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Worcester, MA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 29.4 29.4 Avg commute (min) San Francisco, CA — Avg commute (min): 33 33 Worcester, MA — Avg commute (min): 29 29 Avg summer high °F San Francisco, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Worcester, MA — Avg summer high °F: 82° 82° Avg winter low °F San Francisco, CA — Avg winter low °F: 45° 45° Worcester, MA — Avg winter low °F: 22° 22°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in San Francisco, CA, you'd need about $87,606 in Worcester, MA (−$12,394).

Livability — San Francisco, CA: 35 · Worcester, MA: 56 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 653 sqft in San Francisco vs 1,761 sqft in Worcester ($766 vs $284 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySan Francisco, CAWorcester, MADifference
Housing $39,096 $26,184 −$12,912
Groceries $5,761 $4,938 −$823
Transportation $5,125 $3,210 −$1,915
Utilities $3,804 $3,180 −$624
Insurance $1,500 $1,800 +$300
Taxes $24,108 $16,011 −$8,097
Total $79,394 $55,322 −$24,072

Side by side

MetricSan Francisco, CAWorcester, MA
Cost-of-living index117.6103.0
Unemployment rate5.22%5.78%
Population growth (5-yr)1.1%4.3%
Air quality (median AQI)5337
Big Mac price (est.)$6.69$5.86
Median home price$1,149,215$482,611
Home price ÷ income8.9×5.6×
1-yr home appreciation-0.8%1.8%
Price per square foot$766$284
Median rent$3,258$2,182
Total tax burden (% income)13.5%11.5%
Combined sales tax8.82%6.25%
Capital gains tax13.30%9.00%
Property tax rate0.72%1.39%
Healthcare (annual)$7,200$8,200
Childcare (annual, infant)$19,000$21,000
Vehicle property tax0.65%2.25%
Avg commute (min)3329
Home insurance / yr$1,500$1,800
Auto insurance / yr$2,400$1,500
Flood insurance / yr$750$800
Earthquake insurance / yr$950$100
Electricity ¢/kWh35.329.4
Gas $/gal4.853.30
Violent crime /100k500330
Avg summer high °F8482
Avg winter low °F4522
Permit difficulty (1–5)54
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