San Francisco Bay Area

Quality of life in San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Bay Area, California, is among the leading cities with a higher number of accelerators or available funding. According to our city rankings, this is a good place to live with high ratings in startups, business freedom and healthcare.

San Francisco Bay Area is one of the top ten city matches for 6.9% of Teleport users.

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Life quality score

City ranking

Housing

1
260/265
Details
Large apartment$4100.00
Medium apartment$3300.00
Rent index [score]0.10
Small apartment$2600.00

Cost of Living

3
240/248
Details
5km taxi ride$9.80
A Cappuccino$4.30
A beer$2.50
A kilogram of Apples$4.80
Bread$2.50
Inflation [score]0.26
Lunch$14.00
Monthly fitness club membership$75.00
Monthly public transport$93.00
Movie ticket$14.00
Price of a meal at a restaurant$88.68

Startups

10
1/264
Details
Average monthly increase in number of startups207
Average monthly increase in number of startups [score]1.00
Coworking spaces [score]1.00
Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co284
Meetups [score]1.00
Meetups groups199
Meetups members454515
Number of investors7325
Number of startup events in the last 12 months11630
Number of upcoming meetup events387
Startup climate scene [score]0.95
Startup events3096
Startup events [score]1.00
Startups [score]1.00
Total number of startups11101

Venture Capital

10
1/192
Details
Funding accelerator namesY Combinator, 500startups, The Alchemist Accelerator
Number of funding accelerators27
Venture capital [score]1.00

Travel Connectivity

4
108/266
Details
Airport hub111
Airport hub [score]0.51
Intercity train connectivity [score]0.22

Commute

5
173/255
Details
Human city pagehttp://cities.human.co/details/United_States/San_Francisco
Traffic handling [score]0.48

Business Freedom

9
69/264
Details
Business freedom84.70
Business freedom [score]0.86
Freedom from corruption74.00
Freedom from corruption [score]0.79
Lack of labor restrictions91.40
Lack of labor restrictions [score]1.00
Time to open a business5.60
Time to open a business [score]0.95

Safety

6
208/266
Details
Crime rate [score]0.48
Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year8
Guns per 100 residents61
Lack of gun related deaths [score]0.79
Lack of guns [score]0.67
Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score]0.73

Healthcare

9
76/265
Details
Healthcare expenditure [score]0.99
Healthcare quality [score]0.88
Life expectancy (years)79.28
Life expectancy [score]0.76

Education

9
3/240
Details
Best university in rankingStanford University
Best university ranking3
Country mean scores in PISA math test478.04
Country mean scores in PISA reading test497.58
Country mean scores in PISA science test497.41
PISA math ranking (high school)30
PISA ranking24
PISA ranking (high school) [score]0.72
PISA reading (high school)16
PISA science (high school)19
Percent of happy students0.77
Percent of low performers in PISA math test0.26
Percent of low performers in PISA reading test0.17
Percent of low performers in PISA science test0.18
Percent of top performers in PISA math test0.09
Percent of top performers in PISA reading test0.08
Percent of top performers in PISA science test0.07
University quality [score]1.00

Environmental Quality

6
133/266
Details
Air quality [score]0.78
Cleanliness [score]0.47
Drinking water quality [score]0.65
Urban greenery [score]0.69

Economy

7
16/263
Details
Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area1.00
Currency for urban areaUSD
GDP growth rate0.02
GDP growth rate [score]0.43
GDP per capita$54596.65
GDP per capita [score]0.87

Taxation

4
143/266
Details
Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score]0.54
Income tax level [score]0.36
Profit tax (% of profit)0.44
Time overhead to file company taxes175
VAT (Sales Tax)0.09

Internet Access

6
119/266
Details
Download speed (Mbps)56.87
Internet access (download) [score]0.67
Internet access (upload) [score]0.45
Upload speed (Mbps)10.37

Leisure & Culture

9
8/264
Details
Art galleries421
Art galleries [score]0.98
Cinemas194
Cinemas [score]0.92
Comedy clubs226
Comedy clubs [score]0.99
Concert venues307
Concerts [score]1.00
Historical sites278
Historical sites [score]0.95
Museums281
Museums [score]0.93
Performing art venues285
Performing arts [score]0.97
Sport venues221
Sports [score]0.99
Zoos107
Zoos [score]0.98

Tolerance

8
69/266
Details
LGBT Equality Index93.19
LGBT Equality Index [score]0.96
LGBT adoption rights✔ Legal
LGBT age of consent✔ Equal
LGBT blood donation regulations✖ Banned (indefinite deferral)
LGBT conversion therapy regulations✔ Banned
LGBT discrimination legality✔ Illegal
LGBT employment discrimination legality✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
LGBT gender changing rights✔ Legal, but requires surgery
LGBT homosexuality rights✔ Legal
LGBT housing discrimination legality✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
LGBT marriage rights✔ Legal
Tolerance towards minorities [score]0.65

Outdoors

7
12/266
Details
Elevation (hills or mountains) [score]0.40
Median peak in meters1219.50
Presence of hills in city1.00
Presence of mountains in city1.00
Seaside access1.00
Urban area elevation (meters)37.00
Water access [score]1.00
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Cost of living

Costs of living in San Francisco are in the most expensive 10 percent of all 248 Teleport cities and the 8th most expensive in the United States. Average living expenses are significantly higher compared to other cities, especially in the housing market. Moving to San Francisco will very likely increase your daily costs of living. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international  cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.

Housing costs (USD)

$3,600$4,500
$4100
Median rent for
apartments in city center

Daily living costs (USD)

Monthly fitness club membership$75
Movie ticket$14
Broadband internet connection$54
Monthly public transport$93
Lunch$14
-2%
compared to
New York City
See more prices and detailed cost of living data in San Francisco Bay Area

Job salary calculator

Software Engineer salaries in San Francisco Bay Area are very high. For this job type, San Francisco Bay Area ranks 1st for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in San Francisco Bay Area.

Estimated annual salary (in USD)

$114,515
Median salary
See more details and salary rankings for all job types in San Francisco Bay Area

Locals review San Francisco Bay Area

Do locals recommend living in San Francisco Bay Area?

What could San Francisco Bay Area do better?#improveSanFranciscoBayArea

How could San Francisco Bay Area improve to make it a more liveable city? We will make sure that the local government will know about the suggestions that reach enough votes*.
*Suggestions will be delivered to: Mayor of San Francisco Bay Area - Ed Lee
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something that can be improved about your city.

What makes San Francisco Bay Area a special place?#praiseSanFranciscoBayArea

Is San Francisco Bay Area a great place to live? What makes it special for you? What makes it liveable? What should others know about? Why should they move here? Why do you love it?
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something nice about your city.

Taxation

Personal taxation

Effective income tax rate

14%
For annual salary of $40000
20%
For annual salary of $80000

Value added tax (VAT)

9%
Standard tax rate. Different rates might apply for certain product categories.

Compared to other cities

147/266

Corporate taxation

Compared to other cities

113/263
See more details on taxation in San Francisco Bay Area
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Safety

Overall crime rates

Homicide
Very Low
2/8
Assault
Low
36/51
Theft
Moderate
31/49
Robbery
Moderate
32/41
Motor vehicle theft
Low
18/24

Crime rate development in the last 7 months

Change in the last 7 months

  • Assault-26%
  • Robbery14%
  • Theft-23%

Gun crimes & Ownership

60.86
Guns per 100 people
7.89
Gun deaths per 100k people / year
HIGH GUN CRIMELOW GUN CRIMEFEW GUNSMANY GUNS
North America
Europe
Asia
South America
Africa
Oceania

Overall crime rate city ranking

The overall crime rate puts San Francisco Bay Area in position 185 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.

WORSTBEST
See more details on gun crime and safety in San Francisco Bay Area

Visa

For visits up to 90 days

Required with citizenship of
Get more information about visas in San Francisco Bay Area here

Explore San Francisco Bay Area’s neighborhoods

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Great for

  • Peace & Quiet
  • Safe & Sound
  • Clean & Green
  • Lack of Traffic
  • Parks & Recreation

Not Great for

  • Nightlife
  • Parking

Who lives here

  • Families with kids
  • Professionals
  • Retirees
  • Singles
  • Beach Lovers
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Explore the streets of San Francisco Bay Area

People in San Francisco Bay Area

Population of San Francisco Bay Area

10,287,800
346 /km²
227/264
Density (people per unit of area)
2%
Growth in 2015-2020
San Francisco Bay Area

Demographics of United States

Median age
38
Elderly people
15%
Life expectancy at birth
80
GDP per capita (in USD)
$54,597
12/263
Unemployment
5%
110/264

Languages

English proficiency score
100
1/228
Common spoken languages
English

Friends living in San Francisco Bay Area

Find out which of your friends are living in San Francisco Bay Area. Nothing is better than knowing a local 😉

Teleport Users  X  San Francisco Bay Area

Teleport users who are      San Francisco Bay Area

Work in:

Software Engineer
15.70%
Founder
8.71%
Marketing Manager
4.91%
Product Manager
4.50%
Web Designer
3.94%
Web Developer
3.53%
UX Designer
2.42%
Other
56.29%

Come from:

Climate

Average number of days per year without rain

298

Climate type

Mediterranean

Average daily maximum temperature

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Impressions from San Francisco Bay Area

6:23 What to Do in San Francisco | 36 Hours Travel Videos | The New York Times

A video by The New York Times

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On living in San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area (popularly referred to as the Bay Area) is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun estuaries in the northern part of the U.S. state, California. Although the exact boundaries of the region vary depending on the source, the Bay Area is generally accepted to include the nine counties that border the aforementioned estuaries: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. Other sources may exclude parts of or even entire counties, or include neighboring counties such as San Benito, San Joaquin, and Santa Cruz.

Home to approximately 7.68 million people, Northern California’s nine-county Bay Area contains many cities, towns, airports, and associated regional, state, and national parks, connected by a complex multimodal transportation network. The larger combined statistical area of the region, which includes twelve counties, is the second-largest in California (after the Greater Los Angeles area), the fifth-largest in the United States, and the 41st-largest urban area in the world with 8.75 million people. The Bay Area's population is ethnically diverse: for example, roughly half of the region's residents are Hispanic, Asian, African American, or Pacific Islander, all of whom have a significant presence throughout the region.

The earliest archaeological evidence of human settlements in the Bay Area dates back to 3000 BC. In 1769, the Bay Area was inhabited by the Ohlone people when a Spanish exploration party led by Gaspar de Portolà entered the Bay – the first documented European visit to the Bay Area. After Mexico established independence from Spain in 1821, the region was briefly controlled by the Mexican government until the United States seized the territory in 1846 during the Mexican–American War. Soon after, discovery of gold in California attracted a flood of treasure seekers, many using ports in the Bay Area as an entry point. During the early years of California's statehood, state legislative business rotated between three locations in the Bay Area before a permanent state capital was established in Sacramento. A major earthquake leveled the city of San Francisco and environs in 1906, but the region quickly rebuilt in time to host the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. During World War II, the Bay Area played a major role in America's war effort in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, with San Francisco's Fort Mason acting as a primary embarkation point for American forces. In 1945, the United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco, establishing the United Nations, and in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco officially ended the U.S.'s war with Japan. Since then, the Bay Area has experienced numerous political, cultural and artistic movements, developing unique local genres in music and art and establishing itself as a hotbed of progressive politics. Economically, the post-war Bay Area saw huge growth in the financial and technology industries, creating a vibrant and diverse economy with a gross domestic product of over $700 billion, and home to the second highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States.

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Good Country Index

Every city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.

Overall ranking

United States
23rd from a total of 163 countries

World Order

26th

Refugees hosted

Refugees generated

Charity giving

Birth rate

UN Treaties signed

International Peace & Security

66th

Dues in arrears to UN peace keeping budgets

International violent conflict

Peacekeeping troops

Arms exports

Internet security (2014)

Planet & Climate

34th