PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

39.5
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#335
of 387 metros
13%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

San Francisco ranks #335 of 387 US metros, ahead of 13% - carried by its wages (100/100) and held back most by cost of living (0/100).

100
strongest: Wages
96
then: Schools
0
weakest: Cost of Living
7
weighted dimensions

Where San Francisco sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

40 13th percentile higher than 13% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the San Francisco Life Score

San Francisco's composite score of 39.5 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #335 of 387, ahead of 13% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (100/100) and Schools (96/100), which pull the composite upward, while Cost of Living (0/100) and Rent (1/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 115.6 (rent-RPP 194.7). BLS median salary $95,708, 2,339,300 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Software Developers, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $2,912/mo (studio $2,142).

FBI UCR (CA): 477 violent, 1986 property/100K. NCES: 21.5:1 ratio, 12.8% charter. DOL infant childcare $17,920/yr. EPA: 116 Superfund sites (CA). Ranks #332-#338 below.

Dimension detail

How San Francisco scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 0/100 (20%)
Wages 100/100 (20%)
Rent 1/100 (15%)
Safety 10/100 (15%)
Schools 96/100 (10%)
Childcare 5/100 (10%)
Environment 79/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

115.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$95,708
Avg Median Salary
$2,912
2BR Fair Market Rent
477
Violent Crime/100K (CA)
21.5:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$17,920
Infant Childcare/yr (CA)
116
Superfund Sites (CA)
2,339,300
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare San Francisco With...

San Francisco vs El Centro Compare → San Francisco vs Visalia Compare → San Francisco vs Redding Compare → San Francisco vs Wildwood Compare → San Francisco vs Waterloo Compare → San Francisco vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

San Francisco outranks 13% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#332 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 39.6 C-
#333 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 39.6 C-
#334 Hanford-Corcoran, CA 39.6 C-
#335 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 39.5 C-
#336 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 39.5 C-
#337 Gettysburg, PA 39.4 C-
#338 Burlington-South Burlington, VT 39.3 C-

CA Metro Scores

El Centro, CA C+ 46.7 Visalia, CA C 45.2 Redding, CA C 43.7 Yuba City, CA C 43.3 Merced, CA C 42.8 Vallejo, CA C 41.9

Using San Francisco's Life Score

San Francisco is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (100/100) and its weakest is cost of living (0/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put San Francisco head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where San Francisco lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are San Francisco's biggest strengths? ▼
San Francisco's strongest dimensions are Wages (100/100), Schools (96/100), Environment (79/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are San Francisco's weakest areas? ▼
San Francisco's lowest-scoring dimensions are Cost of Living (0/100), Rent (1/100), Childcare (5/100). Cost of Living weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is San Francisco compared to the national average? ▼
San Francisco's Regional Price Parity is 115.6 (15.6% more than national); rent RPP 194.7.
What is the average salary in San Francisco? ▼
San Francisco median salary: $95,708, 2,339,300 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Software Developers, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
San Francisco's 39.5/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.