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Worcester, MA vs San Francisco, CA

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

Worcester vs San Francisco at a glance

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

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

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Worcester, MA, you'd need about $114,147 in San Francisco, CA (+$14,147).

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

What your home budget buys

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

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategoryWorcester, MASan Francisco, CADifference
Housing $26,184 $39,096 +$12,912
Groceries $4,938 $5,761 +$823
Transportation $3,210 $5,125 +$1,915
Utilities $3,180 $3,804 +$624
Insurance $1,800 $1,500 −$300
Taxes $16,011 $24,108 +$8,098
Total $55,322 $79,394 +$24,072

Side by side

MetricWorcester, MASan Francisco, CA
Cost-of-living index103.0117.6
Unemployment rate5.78%5.22%
Population growth (5-yr)4.3%1.1%
Air quality (median AQI)3753
Big Mac price (est.)$5.86$6.69
Median home price$482,611$1,149,215
Home price ÷ income5.6×8.9×
1-yr home appreciation1.8%-0.8%
Price per square foot$284$766
Median rent$2,182$3,258
Total tax burden (% income)11.5%13.5%
Combined sales tax6.25%8.82%
Capital gains tax9.00%13.30%
Property tax rate1.39%0.72%
Healthcare (annual)$8,200$7,200
Childcare (annual, infant)$21,000$19,000
Vehicle property tax2.25%0.65%
Avg commute (min)2933
Home insurance / yr$1,800$1,500
Auto insurance / yr$1,500$2,400
Flood insurance / yr$800$750
Earthquake insurance / yr$100$950
Electricity ¢/kWh29.435.3
Gas $/gal3.304.85
Violent crime /100k330500
Avg summer high °F8284
Avg winter low °F2245
Permit difficulty (1–5)45
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