City comparison
Cost of living in San Francisco vs Valencia
One person needs about €3,942 a month in San Francisco and €1,489 in Valencia, rent included — Valencia is 62% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Valencia the way you live in San Francisco on €3,000, you need
€1,133/ month net
62% less than today (-€1,867)
- San Francisco today
- Basket €3,942 · left over -€942 (-31%)
- Valencia at the matched salary
- Basket €1,489 · left over -€356 (-31%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 148% over in Valencia (adequate) vs 241% in San Francisco. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇺🇸 San Francisco
The highest pay on the planet for engineers, and the rent to prove it.
Monthly budget: €3,942
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇪🇸 Valencia
Flat, cyclable and cheap for a coastal capital-grade city with real infrastructure.
Monthly budget: €1,489
Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & provincial rent index (2025) · 198 community reports
Should you move to San Francisco or Valencia?
On salary, San Francisco pays more for tech roles (€9,500 versus €2,200 a month), so the money left over after costs is €5,558 in San Francisco at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €2,900 in San Francisco against €950 in Valencia. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores San Francisco at 62 and Valencia at 79 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.