San Francisco is a popular city to live in.
The estimated population of San Francisco is 887,711.
The cost of living in San Francisco is $1,355 for a single person without the inclusion of rent or a mortgage.
For a family of four, the cost of living is around $4,915 without the inclusion of rent or a mortgage.
If you’re wondering how someone can afford to live in a city that costs that much, here are 10 ways that people make it happen.
How Do People Afford To Live In San Francisco? (10 Ways)
1. Old Family Homes
Some people are able to afford to live in San Francisco because of simple luck.
Their families moved to and lived in San Francisco before it became as expensive as it is today.
Inheriting a home can be a great boon, especially when that home is in an expensive city.
Some people had parents or grandparents who bought a home in San Francisco before it became as populous or popular as it is today.
Back then, homes were a bit more affordable.
They were able to pay off their mortgage and hand the home down to their children once they were old enough.
Those children were then able to hand it down to their children.
While each generation may renovate the home or change it up for their needs, the home is still technically paid for.
As such, they don’t have to worry about mortgage payments.
At most, they have to pay property taxes on it each year.
While the property taxes on the home might be high if they’re living in a desirable area, they still don’t have mortgage payments adding to that amount.
As such, saving for the annual property tax payments is a bit easier.
This enables those living in the home to do a bit more with their money.
They might be able to invest it and start building generational wealth.
While not everyone in San Francisco can live in a home that’s already paid for, those who do can make living in the city far more affordable.
Some people can afford to live in San Francisco because their homes are already paid for by past family members.
2. Rent-Controlled Apartments
Another way that people can afford to live in San Francisco is by living in a rent-controlled apartment.
San Francisco has an ordinance that dictates how much landlords can raise their rents and how often.
The ordinance got passed in 1979 and over 60% of the rentals in San Francisco fall under it.
Single-family homes and commercial units don’t qualify for rent control.
Rent-controlled apartments help people stay in San Francisco because rent-control ensures that tenants never overpay for rent.
As rental prices skyrocket in other cities and towns, they’re kept a bit more under control in San Francisco.
This enables the person living in the apartment to do more with their money.
It also makes it more difficult for the landlord to raise the rent needlessly.
Instead of paying anywhere from $200 to $1,000 extra annually, those in rent-controlled apartments only need to pay a small amount extra every year or so—rarely more than a few hundred dollars at the most.
In most cases, a landlord can only raise the rent when they need to cover operational costs.
However, there’s usually a board involved that looks into the claim and that will either approve or deny it.
Rent control also gives tenants more protection when it comes to eviction.
With lower rents, those who live in rent-controlled apartments have a bit more money each month.
They can invest the money, pay other bills, or even just save it for a rainy day.
Some Californians can afford to live in San Francisco because they live in rent-controlled apartments.
3. Roommates
Those who can’t get into a rent-controlled apartment usually have to rely on roommates to make rent more affordable.
The average cost of rent in San Francisco is $3,397.
That might be difficult to pay each month on top of other bills.
To make it more affordable, you’d need a roommate.
Even having just one other roommate means you only need to pay half the rent.
If you want to make it even more affordable, then you can have a larger number of roommates.
Some roommates may be friends or a significant other.
You might also live with other family members to split the rent.
For example, multifamily housing isn’t out of the question in San Francisco.
Some people will live with their parents until they pass, then take ownership of the apartment themselves.
They might have children, too, who will inherit the apartment after they pass.
Others might simply live with their sibling or cousins.
Roommates are ideal in San Francisco because having them means you can take care of other expenses together.
For example, you can split utility bills, which makes it a bit more affordable to live in San Francisco.
You may even decide that only one of you needs to own a car.
You can then split monthly car payments in half, too.
That further reduces how much you spend each month.
With roommates, you don’t spend as much on rent and might have a bit more money at the end of each month that you can use for other things.
Some people are able to afford to live in San Francisco because they have at least one roommate helping them with rent and other expenses.
4. Public Transport Over Car Ownership
Car ownership can eat away at your monthly budget.
Everything from monthly payments on the car to fuel costs can make owning a car quite expensive.
That’s why not every person in San Francisco chooses to own one.
To make living in the city more affordable, some use public transit instead.
This makes sense since San Francisco is a city.
It has everything you could need within a relatively close distance.
Whether you need food, a haircut, or some entertainment, everything is fairly close.
Some Californians might choose to ride their bikes everywhere.
Not only is this more environmentally friendly, but it provides other benefits, too.
It’s cheap since they only need to pay for the bike once.
They also don’t have to worry about the bike breaking down as often as a car can.
Biking also keeps you fit which hopefully means fewer trips to the doctor.
Those who don’t use bikes might choose to use public transit instead.
Buses, subways, taxis, and even private drivers can get them where they need to go.
While they usually need to pay for some sort of monthly or annual pass, or per trip, those costs tend to be cheaper, overall, than the monthly costs of owning a car.
One of the biggest headaches in a city is having to pay for parking.
Even if you’re parked outside of your apartment or home, you might have to pay for parking.
That can add to how much you have to pay for your car each month.
By using public transit, you’re able to eliminate those costs which can add a couple of hundred dollars to your budget each month.
Some Californians can live in San Francisco because they use public transport instead of owning a car.
5. Free Community College
One of the best perks of living in San Francisco is that you might qualify for free community college.
This is another way that Californians make living in San Francisco more affordable.
San Francisco partnered with City College, its local community college, to provide free tuition for qualifying students.
This allows students to get some of their education basics covered for free.
They can get a head start on their bachelor’s degree while shaving off two years of pricey payments.
They can also get an associate degree for free.
This makes living in San Francisco more affordable in a few ways.
The first is that it alleviates parents from spending money to help put their children through college.
The free tuition allows them to save money for retirement or an emergency fund instead.
At the very least, it’s a bit of extra money that they have each year.
It also gives students a bit more financial freedom.
Students can get an associate degree without taking on a large amount of student loan debt early in their lives.
This means that they don’t have a deficit to start paying for as soon as they graduate.
Instead, they can keep the money that they earn at their new jobs and start using it for other expenses.
For example, it can go towards paying expensive rent instead of student loans.
By having free tuition, students can start their college educations without taking on debt.
This makes living in San Francisco more affordable because some people don’t have to pay student loan debt on top of their other expenses.
6. Free Medical Care For The Uninsured
Healthcare costs can often make it difficult to live in even the cheapest of places.
If you live in an expensive city like San Francisco, then paying for medical procedures and doctor’s visits can make it difficult to pay the rent or mortgage.
This problem becomes even worse if you have to visit the hospital or doctor regularly.
If you don’t have health insurance, then you’re paying those costs all on your own.
It may make it impossible for you to save up to buy a home or even pay for groceries.
One way that those who live in San Francisco can afford to live there is by taking advantage of free medical care services.
The San Francisco Free Clinic is one organization that offers free medical treatments for the uninsured.
While they can’t offer every medical service, they do cover the basics.
This makes living in San Francisco a bit more affordable for a few reasons.
The first reason is that it removes the chances of going into medical debt.
When you can’t pay for a service or treatment, then you may fall into debt.
Even if you have a financing program with your healthcare facility, that’s still an expense that you have to pay over time.
It may cut into your budget which is already tight since you’re living in San Francisco.
Going to a facility that offers free medical treatments means that is one expense you don’t have to worry about.
You’re able to use your money for other things.
Since healthcare is free, it also means you’re able to focus on preventative healthcare.
This ensures you don’t get sick in the first place.
That can help you evade doctor’s visits in the future which only further helps you save money.
Some Californians can live in San Francisco because of the free medical care that the city offers to the uninsured.
7. Cheap Restaurants
San Francisco is home to some expensive and popular restaurants.
Whether the restaurant features beautiful views of the bay while you eat or is under the control of a famous chef, some restaurants are extremely expensive.
San Francisco is a bit of a tourist town.
It has venues and sights that attract people to it.
Where there are tourists, there are also expensive restaurants.
These restaurants know that tourists are looking to indulge themselves while on vacation.
Tourists also want to eat at places that they don’t already have at home.
Because they’re counting on tourists to patronize them, restaurants can charge a premium.
That isn’t ideal for people who live in San Francisco year-round.
To make eating out more affordable, locals go to local places that aren’t as touristy.
They know which local restaurants offer the cheapest food and drinks.
This allows them to indulge without digging too much into their budget.
Since San Francisco is right on the bay, seafood is also available in large quantities.
Because there’s a large supply of seafood, it tends to be a bit cheaper than other types of food that gets imported into the city.
The savvy residents of San Francisco tend to lean toward diets rich in seafood to make meals cheaper.
Some Californians are able to afford to live in San Francisco because they eat at cheap restaurants and prefer affordable seafood dishes.
8. High Salaries
Those who weren’t born in San Francisco or who bought a home decades ago in the city may have to make a lot of money to continue to live in the city.
By looking at the average salary in San Francisco, you can see how most people afford to live there.
The average salary in San Francisco is $105,000.
The top jobs tend to be in IT, with positions like software engineers and data scientists.
Part of the reason why IT jobs are popular in San Francisco is that a lot of businesses there are part of the tech industry.
Facebook, for example, has a headquarters there.
These tech companies need tech experts to work for them.
Since the tech industry pays well, it allows those who work in the industry to afford more expensive things.
Because software engineering is one of the most common jobs in San Francisco, it indicates that a lot of people in the city work in the tech industry.
That means that they’re getting a pretty high salary for their work.
As a result, they have an easier time affording expensive rental prices and mortgages in the city.
Some Californians are able to afford to live in San Francisco because they make a high salary.
9. Dogs Over Children
There’s a saying in San Francisco that the city has more dogs than children.
According to Fox Business, there may be some truth to that statement.
A lot of Californians state that the high cost of living in San Francisco encourages them not to have children.
It’s simply too expensive.
There are a lot of private schools in the city which parents need to pay for.
While there are plenty of public schools, too, not all of them get the greatest reviews.
That might push you toward putting your child in private school instead.
Since some private schools cost several thousands of dollars, it’s almost like paying for college when children are young.
Children are also another mouth to feed and require frequent check-ups at the doctor.
Children are expensive.
To keep expenses low while still enjoying some sense of parenthood, some couples opt to buy or adopt dogs instead.
Dogs are cheaper than children since you don’t have to pay for schooling.
They also don’t attend college.
While they do require visits to the vet, in most cases, they’re not as frequent as children’s visits to the doctor.
Their food is also a bit cheaper than human food.
By having a dog instead of a child, those living in San Francisco can free up some money to pay for the high cost of living in the city.
10. Spending Time Outside
San Francisco has a reputation for incredible weather.
It never gets too hot and the bay provides a cooling breeze most of the time.
Because of the ideal weather, a lot of people living in San Francisco spend their time outdoors.
This makes living in the city more affordable because it means they’re not inside using as much electricity.
San Francisco’s energy costs are higher than the nation’s average.
Those who live in San Francisco pay around 0.31 cents per kWh.
The national average is 0.16 cents per kWh.
Things like running the air conditioner, watching TV, or even having the lights on all contribute to how expensive electricity is.
By spending more time outdoors, people aren’t in their homes using the AC or watching TV.
By limiting how much they use their electricity, residents can reduce their bills and make living in San Francisco more affordable.
Conclusion
San Francisco is an expensive place to live.
Those who didn’t inherit a home from a parent or buy a home a few decades ago face high housing prices and rental prices today.
However, there are numerous ways that those who live in San Francisco make living there more affordable.
