2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
San Rafael, CA vs Alameda, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Alameda or is it cheaper to live in San Rafael?
- Alameda is 15.0% less expensive than San Rafael.

Which city has more affordable housing, Alameda or San Rafael?
- Alameda housing costs are 4.7% less expensive than San Rafael housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in San Rafael or is Health Care more affordable in Alameda.
- Health related expenses are 6.1% more in Alameda.
 San Rafael, CAAlameda, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock195.5100
 Food & Groceries113.5  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock116.8100
 Housing445.3  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$1,179,600$338,100
 Utilities97  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock125.4100
 Miscellaneous164.1  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for San Rafael    7 Reviews

Over 13 years ago

San Rafael is only 30 minutes from downtown San Francisco, but the weather is completely different. It's sunny most of the year, including in the summer when the city  More

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Over 15 years ago

I feal very safe in this town. I think getting stopped for talking on your cell phone while driving is a big deal here. Thats about all I can  More

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Over 17 years ago

Cost of living too high. Unfriendly  More

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Reviews for Alameda    6 Reviews

Over 7 years ago

Having been born here & 70 now I have watched firsthand, a small, quiet town ruined by excessive building, overcrowding and far too many restaurants for a city this  More

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Enjoy the immense benefit to having a close-knit community with main-street USA feel less than 10 miles from the resources of several urban and education  More

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Alameda, CA is a unique town here in the Bay Area. Perhaps because it is an island, or perhaps because for many decades it was a U.S. Army base, the city has never  More

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