San Francisco: The nation’s most expensive city

Paul HiebertData Journalist
October 24, 2017, 3:30 PM GMT+0

Data shows that 91% of residents in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose metro area say the cost of living in their city is high

With news of a one-bedroom burned-out house going up for sale for nearly $800,000 in San Francisco, perhaps it's no surprise that people residing in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose metro area are the most likely group out of the nation's 20 most populated urban hubs to say that the cost of living in their city is either "very high" or "somewhat high," according to a recent YouGov Omnibus survey.

Following San Francisco for the country's most expensive metro area — whether that's the price of rent or groceries — comes Washington D.C., where 84% of its residents say the cost of living is high. Next, in a four-way tie, comes New York (83%), Boston (83%), Denver (83%), and Los Angeles (83%).

Places with the least expensive cost of living, according to each city's own residents, are Cleveland (45%), Houston (46%), Atlanta (49%), and Phoenix (49%).

Methodology: Total sample size was 4,019 US adults aged 18+ (i.e. approximately 200 people per metro area). Interviews were conducted online between July 27-31, 2017. All figures have been weighted and are representative of the adult population of each metro area.

Photo: Getty

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