San Francisco, CA vs Seattle, WA

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

San Francisco

62.9

#1817 nationally

Seattle

66.9

#1491 nationally

Seattle leads in cost of living index (158 vs 195). San Francisco leads in median household income ($136,689 vs $110,781). San Francisco leads in walk score (89 vs 74).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	San Francisco, CA	Seattle, WA
WhereAtHome Score	62.9 (#1817)	66.9 (#1491)
Population	808,437	755,078
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$1,416,278	$851,471
Median Household Income	$136,689	$110,781
Average Commute	33.4 min	28.8 min
Walk Score	89	74
Crime Level	Moderate-High	Moderate
School Rating	6.5	6.8
Cost of Living Index	195	158
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+64.8	D+51.7