Which is cheaper, New York City or San Francisco?

New York City is cheaper: about $3,377 per month versus $3,468 for one person.

Is New York City or San Francisco safer?

New York City scores higher on safety (54 vs 54), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, New York City or San Francisco?

New York City: a measured median of 69.2 Mbps versus 59.7 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

New York City vs San Francisco

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights New York City edges it, 64 to 62, winning 4 of the 9 factors. New York City is stronger on getting there & around; San Francisco on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

New York City

out of 100

The city that never sleeps, at a price that never sleeps either

Full New York City profile →

San Francisco

out of 100

The tech capital, compact and hilly

Full San Francisco profile →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	New York City	San Francisco
Cost of living	14 ✓	13
Safety	54	54
Healthcare	79	79
Internet	74 ✓	72
Visa ease	53	53
Getting there & around	77 ✓	51
Climate	33	42 ✓
Air quality	95 ✓	95
Quality of life	95	95

Cost

Metric	New York City	San Francisco
Monthly cost, one person	$3,377 ✓	$3,468
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	New York City	San Francisco
Homicides per 100k	5.8	5.8
Political stability (0–100)	64.3	64.3
UHC service coverage (0–100)	88	88
Life expectancy	76.4 yrs	76.4 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	New York City	San Francisco
Download	69.2 Mbps ✓	59.7 Mbps
Upload	11.6 Mbps	11.9 Mbps ✓

Visa

Metric	New York City	San Francisco
Nomad visa	none listed	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	no data	no data
Visa-free days, US passport	unlimited	unlimited
Visa-free days, EU passport	visa or e-visa required	visa or e-visa required
Visa-free days, UK passport	visa or e-visa required	visa or e-visa required

Getting there and around

Metric	New York City	San Francisco
Non-stop airport destinations	262 ✓	151
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	5 ✓	4
Transit (1–5, editorial)	5 ✓	4

Climate and air

Metric	New York City	San Francisco
Comfortable months per year	4	5 ✓
Annual mean PM2.5	7.1 µg/m³ ✓	7.4 µg/m³

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, New York City or San Francisco?: New York City is cheaper: about $3,377 per month versus $3,468 for one person.
Is New York City or San Francisco safer?: New York City scores higher on safety (54 vs 54), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, New York City or San Francisco?: New York City: a measured median of 69.2 Mbps versus 59.7 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (all items). Dataset 2026.09.4. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.