Overall
Diff -6.7 RPP
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont vs Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is 5.8% less expensive than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont.
5.8% less expensive
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV is 5.8% less expensive than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 108.9 vs 115.6). A $100,000 salary in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont buys about the same as $94,180 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 115.6 (San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont) vs 108.9 (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria)
- $100k in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont ≈ $94,180 purchasing power in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
- Services drives the gap (-65.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:DC 115.6→108.9
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE CA × DC
- 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.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV is 5.8% less expensive than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.7-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 65.9 points lower than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont. 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont to $94,180 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -3.6 RPP
Services
Diff -65.9 RPP
Rents
Diff -43.6 RPP
| Category | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 115.6 | 108.9 | -6.7 |
| Goods | 108.5 | 104.8 | -3.6 |
| Services | 172.6 | 106.7 | -65.9 |
| Rents | 194.7 | 151.1 | -43.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 115.6
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 108.9
Goods
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 108.5
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 104.8
Services
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 172.6
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 106.7
Rents
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 194.7
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 151.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont would need to be in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria for the same purchasing power:
| In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont | In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,090 | $-2,910 |
| $75,000 | $70,635 | $-4,365 |
| $100,000 | $94,180 | $-5,820 |
| $150,000 | $141,270 | $-8,730 |
$ in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont = in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (115.6 → 108.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont
115.6
Cost Index
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
108.9
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Washington-Arlington-Alexandria more expensive than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont?
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is 5.8% less expensive than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont. The overall cost index is 108.9 vs 115.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria equals $100K in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont?
A $100,000 salary in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont has the same purchasing power as $94,180 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
Rents in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont are indexed at 194.7 while Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is at 151.1 (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.