Overall
Diff +12.5 RPP
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington vs San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont is 12.1% more expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.
12.1% more expensive
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is 12.1% more expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 115.6 vs 103.1). A $100,000 salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington buys about the same as $112,148 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 103.1 (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington) vs 115.6 (San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont)
- $100k in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ≈ $112,148 purchasing power in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont
- Services drives the gap (+81.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:CA 103.1→115.6
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE TX × CA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 12.5 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Services leads the difference, with San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 81.9 points higher than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington to $112,148 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 17.7 to 12.5 RPP points. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 75.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (6.9 to 81.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington RPP | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 101.4 | 119.1 | 17.7 points San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont higher |
| 2012 | 100.8 | 112.5 | 11.7 points San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont higher |
| 2016 | 98.0 | 116.4 | 18.4 points San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont higher |
| 2020 | 104.5 | 119.6 | 15.1 points San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont higher |
| 2024 | 103.1 | 115.6 | 12.5 points San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +5.6 RPP
Services
Diff +81.9 RPP
Rents
Diff +76.8 RPP
| Category | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.1 | 115.6 | +12.5 |
| Goods | 102.8 | 108.5 | +5.6 |
| Services | 90.7 | 172.6 | +81.9 |
| Rents | 117.9 | 194.7 | +76.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 103.1
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 115.6
Goods
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 102.8
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 108.5
Services
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 90.7
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 172.6
Rents
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 117.9
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 194.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington would need to be in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont for the same purchasing power:
| In Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $56,074 | +$6,074 |
| $75,000 | $84,111 | +$9,111 |
| $100,000 | $112,148 | +$12,148 |
| $150,000 | $168,221 | +$18,221 |
$ in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington = in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.1 → 115.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
103.1
Cost Index
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont
115.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont more expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont is 12.1% more expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. The overall cost index is 115.6 vs 103.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont equals $100K in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?
A $100,000 salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington has the same purchasing power as $112,148 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont?
Rents in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington are indexed at 117.9 while San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont is at 194.7 (national average = 100). San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.