Climate
Los Angeles logs 6 outdoor-dinner months a year to San Francisco's 4 — Los Angeles wins by 2. Los Angeles also leads on sunny days by 39.
Los Angeles
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
San Francisco
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Los Angeles is $1099/mo cheaperLos Angeles runs about $4,351/mo for a balanced lifestyle against San Francisco's $5,450/mo — Los Angeles comes in $1,099 cheaper each month, roughly 25% less.
Los Angeles
$4,351monthly · balanced
San Francisco
$5,450monthly · balanced
Mobility
On mobility, San Francisco scores 4.0 vs Los Angeles's 2.0 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on walkability.
Culture
Los Angeles and San Francisco score neck-and-neck on culture (4.2 vs 4.3, 0–5 scale).
Nature & Outdoors
San Francisco's nature & outdoors score of 4.5 sits well above Los Angeles's 4.0, with the biggest gap on outdoor running.
Safety
San Francisco's safety score is ~1.2× Los Angeles's — below average, while Los Angeles lands below average, with the biggest gap on walking safety.
Career
San Francisco's career score of 4.7 sits well above Los Angeles's 4.4, with the biggest gap on startup ecosystem.
Social & Community
San Francisco's social & community score of 4.1 sits well above Los Angeles's 3.6, with the biggest gap on street atmosphere.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, San Francisco scores 5.0 vs Los Angeles's 4.8 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on vegan & vegetarian options.
Family
Los Angeles and San Francisco score neck-and-neck on family (4.0 vs 3.9, 0–5 scale).
Healthcare
On healthcare, San Francisco scores 3.5 vs Los Angeles's 2.8 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on private healthcare quality.
Air Quality
Los Angeles averages 13.8 µg/m³ (moderate) PM2.5 annually versus San Francisco's 7.5 µg/m³ (good) — San Francisco breathes ~45% cleaner air (6.2 µg/m³ lower).
Los Angeles
San Francisco
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
Los Angeles (13.5M) and San Francisco (4.7M) are 2.9x in population — Los Angeles is the larger metro, San Francisco the smaller; on land area Los Angeles spans roughly 2.8x more ground.
Los Angeles is roughly 2.8x the scale of San Francisco
Combined population & area comparison
Los AngelesSan FranciscoCity Scale Rankings
Los Angeles13.5M2.9xSan Francisco4.7M1xLos Angeles4,498 km²2.8xSan Francisco1,614 km²1xLos Angeles
San Francisco
Who Thrives Here
Los Angeles favours the crowd avoider, while San Francisco suits the park & garden lover. Both cities work well for the english speaker.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Los Angeles vs San Francisco
▶Which is cheaper, Los Angeles or San Francisco?
▶How does the climate compare between Los Angeles and San Francisco?
▶Is Los Angeles or San Francisco safer?
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The best city depends on what matters to you
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