July 1, 2025 Census estimate.
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City profile
San Francisco, California
Moving to San Francisco, California? Compare 826,079 residents, $2,476 median rent, $140,970 household income, jobs, housing and commute using Census and ACS data.
Change from the April 1, 2020 estimates base to July 1, 2025.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25064 median gross rent estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B19013 median household income estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B15003 estimate for population age 25 and over.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B23025 city civilian unemployment; BLS state unemployment is 5.2% for June 2026 (preliminary).
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B17001 share below poverty among people whose poverty status is determined.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01002 median age estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01001 share of residents age 20 through 24.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25003 renter-occupied share of occupied housing units.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25002 vacant share of all housing units. This is not the rental vacancy rate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B28002 household broadband-subscription share; verify provider and address-level service separately.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08301 share of workers age 16+ who worked from home.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08303 approximate mean from travel-time buckets for workers who did not work from home.
Verify carefully for 22-25 college grads; medium-high source confidence.
ACS gross rent is 21.1% of median household income; compare utilities, tax, insurance, and personal debt separately.
City crime rates are not scored yet; verify FBI CDE and local police data before choosing a neighborhood.
Personal budget check
Can I afford San Francisco?
Lower of your housing-share limit and remaining 50% needs budget.
2020-2024 ACS median gross rent, not a live listing quote.
Adjust the inputs to compare your target with the city baseline.
Planning estimate only. Gross salary is before tax. Verify current rent, utilities, insurance, deposits, taxes, debt terms, and take-home pay.
Recent grad lens
What matters for a 22-25 year old college grad
Use these sectors for first-pass job-board and LinkedIn searches.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates city civilian unemployment; BLS state unemployment is 5.2% for June 2026 preliminary.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates bachelor's-or-higher share for age 25+. Strong graduate-school, alumni-network, internship, and research-employer signal.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates share of residents age 20 through 24. This is a peer-presence signal, not a measure of social fit.
ACS rent-to-income baseline using $2,476 median gross rent and $140,970 median household income. Verify utilities, insurance, taxes, and your actual offer.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates median gross rent and owner-occupied median home value. Treat home value as a survey estimate, not a live listing price.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates share below poverty. Useful context for opportunity and service access; not a neighborhood-level measure.
Exact city/neighborhood rates are not scored yet; use FBI CDE, city police dashboards, and neighborhood-level checks.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates approximate commute from travel-time buckets. Confirm your actual route, parking, transit frequency, and remote-work expectations.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates worker commute-mode shares. Verify current route and service frequency.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates household broadband-subscription share. Confirm provider, speed, price, and address-level availability before moving.
Useful for social fit, networking, dating, outdoor access, and first-apartment quality of life.
Profile combines Census population estimates, ACS 2020-2024 city/place estimates, BLS state unemployment, and transparent city/state tags.
Full profile
San Francisco data coverage
U.S. Census July 1, 2025 city estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01002 median age estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01001 share of the total population age 20 through 24.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates: ACS median gross rent divided by ACS median household income. This is a city-wide baseline, not a personal budget.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25077 owner-occupied median value estimate; not a live listing-price feed.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25064 median gross rent estimate for renter-occupied units paying cash rent.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B19013 median household income estimate in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25002 vacant share of all housing units. This is broader than rental vacancy and does not measure live availability.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25003 shares of occupied housing units.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B23025 city civilian unemployment estimate; labor-force participation is 69.6%. BLS state unemployment is still shown as a separate current job-market proxy.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B17001 share below poverty among people whose poverty status is determined.
Needs FBI Crime Data Explorer and local agency caveats before any rate or safety score is shown.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B15003 bachelor's degree or higher share for population age 25 and over. K-12 ratings still require NCES/state sources and boundary caveats.
Prioritize wildfire, drought, heat, water, and mountain/desert winter variation. Use NOAA normals and hazard history before comparing weather.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08303 approximate mean travel time from commute-time buckets for workers who did not work from home.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08301 worker commute-mode shares.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B28002 broadband-subscription share; 4.3% report no internet access. Provider, speed, and address-level service still require FCC or provider data.
Current employer view is sector-level. Named employer lists require a sourced city/MSA employer layer.
Needs FAA airport records and drive-time checks.
Current lifestyle tags are transparent place signals. Venue and recreation detail remains queued.
Relocation read
Should San Francisco be on your shortlist?
San Francisco has a lower 2025 estimate than its 2020 estimates base, which deserves a closer look at jobs, housing affordability, migration, and quality-of-life tradeoffs.
Western cities often require especially careful housing, water, wildfire, commute, and salary-adjustment checks before a move. WhereToLive.us keeps those categories separate so a reader can see what is verified and what still needs source review.
ACS adds a city-level baseline for San Francisco, California: median gross rent is $2,476, median household income is $140,970, bachelor's-or-higher share is 60.3%, city civilian unemployment is 6.1%, and approximate commute time is 33.2 min.
For a recent college grad, the first-pass profile is 61/100: verify carefully. The main career tags are tech, finance/media, schooling access is major university hub, and the BLS state unemployment proxy is 5.2% for June 2026.
For monetization and search quality, this page answers a specific relocation query without hiding the source gaps. It gives a reliable population, ACS, and state-job baseline, then points readers toward the school-boundary, crime, weather, tax, healthcare, and lifestyle checks that usually drive move decisions.
What the current data says
San Francisco, California is ranked #17 by July 1, 2025 population among incorporated places of 20,000 or more in the Census ranked file. Its population estimate is 826,079, compared with a 2020 estimates base of 878,550.
The current move signal is declining, and the young-grad fit score is 61/100. This score is a transparent research shortcut, not a final recommendation. ACS 2020-2024 city/place estimates are live for demographics, rent, income, home value, housing occupancy, education, poverty, employment, household internet, and commute context. Crime, school boundaries, weather, healthcare, tax, utilities, live wages, provider-level broadband, and live listings still need source-specific refreshes before stronger advice is issued.
Housing and monthly costs
ACS rent, income, owner-occupied home value, occupancy, and tenure are live where matched. Verify current listings, deposits, utilities, insurance, parking, taxes, and roommate options in San Francisco, California.
Data layer queuedJobs and education
ACS employment and education plus BLS state unemployment are live. Verify occupation wages, current openings, employer stability, degree programs, and alumni pipelines.
Data layer queuedSafety and health
Use FBI CDE, local police, CMS, and HRSA sources for neighborhood crime, hospital access, specialists, and shortage-area checks.
Data layer queuedClimate and daily access
ACS household broadband and commute modes provide baselines. Verify NOAA climate and hazards, FEMA risk, FCC address-level broadband, airports, commute routes, and local recreation before moving.
Data layer queuedSan Francisco pros
- 826,079 residents in the verified 2025 Census estimate.
- Verify carefully young-professional signal at 61/100.
- ACS demographics, housing, income, education, poverty, employment, internet, and commute estimates are live for this city.
- Cautious career signal from state job proxy and sector tags.
- 60.3% bachelor's-or-higher ACS education signal.
San Francisco cons and checks
- ACS housing and income are city-wide survey estimates; verify a specific lease, salary offer, neighborhood, and listing market before deciding.
- Standard city check is still a verification step, not a crime score.
- 33.2 min still needs route-level commute confirmation.
- Taxes, healthcare, utilities, provider-level broadband, and weather hazards still need source-specific layers.
San Francisco research checklist
- Compare the 2025 population estimate against nearby cities and the state shortlist.
- Check whether population growth matches the local housing supply and commute tradeoffs.
- Layer in verified rent, wage, school, healthcare, tax, and safety data before making a move decision.
- Use official city, county, Census, BLS, HUD, NOAA, NCES, CMS, FCC, and state tax sources for final confirmation.
Common San Francisco questions
- Is San Francisco growing?
- San Francisco, California is declining on the verified population measure, with -5.97% change from the 2020 estimates base to the 2025 estimate.
- Is San Francisco good for a 22-25 year old college grad?
- San Francisco, California currently scores 61/100 on the young-grad fit model, with a cautious career signal, 60.3% bachelor's-or-higher ACS education signal, rent watch cost-pressure label, and 33.2 min commute signal. Treat that as a shortlist signal, not a guarantee.
- Is San Francisco affordable?
- San Francisco, California has ACS median gross rent of $2,476 and ACS median household income of $140,970. Use this as a city-wide baseline, then verify current apartments, utilities, insurance, taxes, and your actual salary offer.
- What should I verify before moving to San Francisco?
- Verify current rent or mortgage cost, wage expectations, commute route, school or graduate-program access, city and neighborhood crime data, healthcare access, utility costs, taxes, internet availability, and social fit using primary sources.
- Does WhereToLive.us recommend San Francisco?
- Not as final advice. The current page is a research baseline. A recommendation requires verified affordability, occupation wages, job postings, safety, school, healthcare, tax, weather, and commute layers.
Nearby comparison queue
Use these nearby same-state or same-region catalog cities as a fast starting point. Proximity uses Census representative coordinates; the comparison tool keeps verified values separate from derived signals.