Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 45/100
D
Median home value$1,394,500
San Francisco $1,140,700
Median rent$2,476/mo
San Francisco $2,474/mo
Cost-burdened households36%
San Francisco 38%
San Francisco
San Francisco County830,235 residentsSan Francisco Unified School District
49
D+
Suburbgrade score
47th of 59 San Francisco suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by amenities.
49
San Francisco median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for San Francisco yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 49 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What San Francisco is like to live in, by category
Bars show San Francisco against San Francisco. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 59/100
C
Within-state proficiency76th pct
San Francisco median 73rd pct
Student–teacher ratio—
San Francisco median 21.7
Graduation rate86%
San Francisco median 89%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 75/100
B
Housing cost index101
San Francisco 100
Eff. tax rate0.72%
San Francisco 0.73%
Local sales tax8.63%
San Francisco median 9.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 50/100
D+
Mean commute30.4 min
San Francisco 31.0 min
Under 30 minutes51%
San Francisco 52%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
San Francisco median 8.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 3/100
F
Restaurants & cafés0
San Francisco median 64 · within 2 miles
Groceries0
San Francisco median 7 · within 2 miles
Parks1
San Francisco median 59 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 56/100
C−
Median household income$140,970
San Francisco $136,027
Unemployment6.1%
San Francisco 5.7%
Professional occupations64%
San Francisco 56%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for San Francisco yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than San Francisco on amenities
San Francisco's weakest grade is F.
Nothing within 25 miles beats San Francisco on amenities.
Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in San Francisco
Is San Francisco, CA a good place to live?
San Francisco scores 49 out of 100, 47th of 59 San Francisco suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is San Francisco expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $1,394,500, 22% above the San Francisco median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.72%. $2,476/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in San Francisco?
Schools grade C. The districts serving San Francisco sit at the 76th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 86% graduation rate and a — student–teacher ratio. San Francisco is served by San Francisco Unified School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from San Francisco?
The mean commute is 30.4 min, with 51% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 31% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in San Francisco?
Within two miles there are 0 groceries, 0 restaurants and cafés and 1 parks, which grades F on amenities.
Are the homes in San Francisco old or new?
The median home in San Francisco was built in 1946 — older than the San Francisco median of 1968. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 30% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.
Six San Francisco lists
Best San Francisco suburbs for familiesMost affordable San Francisco suburbsBest San Francisco suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown San FranciscoMost walkable San Francisco suburbsBest San Francisco suburbs for young professionalsCompare San Francisco
Every San Francisco suburb, side by side