# New York vs San Francisco

> On balanced weights, San Francisco comes out ahead: 56 against 50 out of 100, mostly on research output and dry days. 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/new-york-us-vs-san-francisco-us/

Scores out of 100: New York 50, San Francisco 56. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=new-york-us,san-francisco-us

## Line by line

| Line | New York | San Francisco |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | at most €208 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) | 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 | 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) | 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 | 48 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 27 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 9 h 15 min | 9 h 33 min |
| Sunshine | no data | no data |
| Dry days | 125 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 58 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 7.1 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 7.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 5.8 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 5.8 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 78.9 years (World Development Indicators) | 78.9 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €110 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 | 0 weeks (mother 0, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 0 weeks (mother 0, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | no data | no data |
| Research output | 44 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 | 13 km (OurAirports airports) | 18 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 57 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 32 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Rail and metro stations | 303 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 80 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 41 minutes (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 33 minutes (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Cycle network | 1.31 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 | 100 % 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 | 12.8 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 17.2 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Quick way out by bike | 14.6 km, about 58 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 | 1 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 3 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 142 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 67 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 8.7 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 24.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 54 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 | 36.4 % born abroad (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 35.2 % born abroad (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Doctors | 3.7 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.7 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 4.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 4.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 54.4 % of adults (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 71.7 % of adults (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Developers around | 15.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 106.7 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 0.87 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 0.87 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | no data | 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 | 47 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 | 53 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 7 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 21 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 210 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 353 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 54 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 130 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 93 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 46 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 41 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 10 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 New York or San Francisco?

For one person renting a one-bedroom home, New York is cheaper: about €3,571 a month against €4,102, rent and everyday spending included. Rent comes from official rent statistics and everyday spending is scaled by each country's World Bank price level.

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

About US$50,730 a year in New York (United States 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, New York or San Francisco?

New York is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 17.4 °C against 16.9 °C in San Francisco (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, New York or San Francisco?

New York has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 7.1 µg/m³ against 7.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2022 and 2021).

## Cite

Borgo, "New York vs San Francisco", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/new-york-us-vs-san-francisco-us/, figures as of 2026-11-05.