# Melbourne vs San Francisco

> On balanced weights, Melbourne comes out ahead: 62 against 58 out of 100, mostly on safety and long, healthy lives. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/melbourne-au-vs-san-francisco-us/

Scores out of 100: Melbourne 62, San Francisco 58. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=melbourne-au,san-francisco-us

## Line by line

| Line | Melbourne | San Francisco |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | at most -€152 a month; money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (American Community Survey 1-year estimates; World Development Indicators) |
| Cost of living | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (American Community Survey 1-year estimates; World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 46 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 27 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 9 h 32 min | 9 h 33 min |
| Sunshine | 2,285 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) | no data |
| Dry days | 127 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 58 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 7.9 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 7.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 0.9 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 5.8 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 83.1 years (World Development Indicators) | 78.9 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €82 a month (World Development Indicators) | €110 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 10 weeks (mother 9, father 1) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 0 weeks (mother 0, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.20 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | no data |
| Research output | 47 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 61 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 19 km (OurAirports airports) | 18 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | no data | 32 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Rail and metro stations | 46 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 80 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | no data | 33 minutes (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Cycle network | 1.67 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 0.86 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 99 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 94 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | no data | 17.2 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Quick way out by bike | 9.7 km, about 39 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 15.8 km, about 63 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 6 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 3 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 60 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 67 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 10.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 24.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 39 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 61 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 96 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 96 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | no data | 35.2 % born abroad (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Doctors | 4.1 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.7 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 4.1 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 4.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 47.5 % of adults (World Development Indicators) | 71.7 % of adults (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Developers around | 7.6 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 106.7 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 1.84 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 0.87 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 5.2 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | no data |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 33 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 23 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 13 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 4 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 27 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 7 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 16 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 346 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 353 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 119 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 93 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 21 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 19 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Melbourne or San Francisco?

Everyday prices are lower in Australia: 94.4 against 100.0 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Melbourne, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Melbourne and in San Francisco?

About A$74,462 a year in Melbourne (Australia 2026 tax rules) and US$53,037 in San Francisco (United States 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Melbourne or San Francisco?

Melbourne is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 19.6 °C against 16.9 °C in San Francisco (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Melbourne or San Francisco?

San Francisco has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 7.4 µg/m³ against 7.9 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2021).

### Can a citizen of Australia live and work in San Francisco without a visa?

No. Citizens of Australia need a visa or permit to live and work in the United States.

## Cite

Borgo, "Melbourne vs San Francisco", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/melbourne-au-vs-san-francisco-us/, figures as of 2026-11-05.