The Hefty Price Tag of Living in San Francisco

Visiting San Francisco is an amazing thing to do. If you want to move there, make sure you have your savings in order and that there is a lot of it. The cost of living in San Francisco has reached unheard of levels because of the competition for affordable housing. If you add in everything else that is needed for someone to live, like buying groceries and healthcare then the costs are very high indeed.

Home Prices

If you are looking to buy a home in San Francisco; then be prepared to face increasing home prices to the outrageous levels.   San Francisco home prices generally rise 3.5% a year and last year they reached an all-time high of $952,400. California is an expensive state to live in, but San Francisco is the worst area in the state with San Diego following behind with the average home price coming in at $626,000.

Renting

Renting an apartment in San Francisco is almost as bad as trying to find a home to buy. The apartments are going for some of the highest rates in the country. If you want to rent a two-bedroom then you are looking at $3,108. The national average for a two-bedroom is $1,175. If you try to figure out if you can rent a studio you are looking at $2.13 or a one-bedroom you are looking at $2,474. Renting an apartment is a high financial decision so think carefully about your financial choices before you do.

Transportation

If you find a place to live that is not too hard on your income and budget you still need to be able to get to work and around town to do your shopping. If you are going to commute to San Francisco it will take you 32.8 minutes to get there which is six minutes longer than the national average of 26.4 minutes. Owning a car will not get you there any faster and it will likely cost you a bit to keep it. You can find free parking outside the city, but that does not add up to the cost to park your car if you do need to go into the city which averages daily parking rates of $27.42.

Even if you can afford to have the car in Sa Francisco the gas to move it will cost you. In May 2019, the average tank of gas was $4.20 per gallon. That is some of the most expensive gas in the country and needless to say California.

You can survive in the city without a car which will save you a lot of money. It also means you will be riding the city’s mass transportation system which is one of the better ones for the country. A monthly pass is $78 which is only good within the San Francisco city limits. If you need to go outside of it or do more traveling for your job than you a pass for the inner city buses and one for using the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) trains, which will bring your total transportation costs up to $94. This is still less expensive than Chicago which will charge you $105 and New York City passes that will charge you $116.50.

Food

The cost of feeding yourself is as expensive as the housing even if you do not eat out. The average cost of a mid-range meal in San Francisco is $80 which is double the national average; though the city does have amazing food and restaurants.

It is most cost effective to prepare your own meals at home, but it will still be a bit on the steep side. The national average for monthly food costs around $324.20 whereas in San Francisco the monthly costs for food come out to $423.75, which is $100 more than the average food charges for the rest of the country.

Taxes

Taxes are expected no matter where you live, but in living in California alone will put you into some of the country’s highest income tax rates. 12.3% will be applied to people earning more than $572,980. If you surpass $1 million dollars than you have an additional 1% tax added to your income taxes bringing you up to $13.3% taxes.

Sales taxes in California come out to 7.25% for the entire state, but each county adds their own percentages to the initial state percentage which means it can come out higher for other cities. San Francisco has 8.5% sales taxes.

The property taxes in San Francisco are actually lower than the national average of 0.67% because California passed Proposition 13 which puts a cap at how much they can increase. They have, in fact, decreased in some cases and in some places.

Final Thoughts

Living in California can be expensive, but it has some of the most amazing natural beauty and man-made wonders around. If you have the funds to live in San Francisco itself you will not be disappointed by the wide array of activities that you can partake in as well as the number of job opportunities in the area. The city is beautiful and well worth the cost of living there.

Tips

• Deciding to live in California and in particular, San Francisco is expensive. Having a high income as well as a strong financial plan will see you through your times there. Getting yourself a financial advisor wouldn’t hurt either. They can help you manage your funds and get you to where you want to be financially and help prepare you for the increase in the cost of living once you decide to move to San Francisco.

One way to get attached to an area is to move some of your money into one of the local banks. Not only does this mean you will be able to access to funds to do things around the area, but you will be attached to the community and will be able to learn more about what makes money move around the city.