In 2023, San Francisco was the city with the highest land prices in the United States at approximately *********** U.S. dollars per acre. Other cities in California such as San Jose and Los Angeles were at the top of the ranking, along with Urban Honolulu and New York City. Austin was the only Texan city that made it into the ranking.

Cities in the United States dominate the list of cities with the highest rents worldwide. New York was ranked as the most expensive city to rent in, ahead of San Francisco, with an index score of ***. Boston followed in third.

In the last quarter of 2024, Portland was one of the U.S. cities with the most expensive average construction cost for industrial warehouses. Constructing a warehouse in that city could have a cost that ranged between *** and *** U.S. dollars per square foot. It was followed by Honolulu and San Francisco, although at some distance. Meanwhile, Las Vegas and Phoenix were the least expensive cities to build warehouses. The most expensive U.S. cities to construct residential buildings were New York, Honolulu and San Francisco.

In 2022, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Santa Clara were the most expensive districts for housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. In San Francisco, the average square footage price of single-family homes exceeded 1,000 U.S. dollars per square foot. Housing in Solano, on the other hand, was most affordable, with the average square footage price for single family homes at 370 U.S. dollars.

How expensive is buying a home in San Francisco? Few metros in the U.S. are more expensive than San Francisco, CA. In 2022, the median sales price of existing single-family homes in San Francisco was about 1.4 million U.S. dollars, making it the second priciest market in the U.S. House prices in the Golden City, were not always so high: in 2014, a two-bedroom house in the Bay Area would sell for less than 500,000 U.S. dollars but since then, the median price has more than doubled.

How much does renting an apartment cost? Despite rents falling in 2020, renting in San Francisco is still far from cheap. Renting a two-bedroom apartment cost close to 4,000 U.S. dollars in 2021. California is one of the least affordable states for renters. In fact, to afford to rent such an apartment, a household needs approximately three full time jobs at minimum wage or two full time jobs at mean wage.

The price of tap water in the United States varied greatly from city to city in 2021. One of the most expensive cities for tap water in the U.S. is San Francisco, where one cubic meter costs an average of **** U.S. dollars per cubic meter. In comparison, citizens in the Arizona state capital of Phoenix paid, on average, **** U.S. dollars per cubic meter. This is roughly ** percent lower than the U.S. average. Rising water bills in the U.S. Over the past decade, water bills in the U.S. have increased considerably in a number of major cities. In Austin, Texas, water bills rose by *** U.S. dollars between 2010 and 2018, an increase of *** percent. The sharp rising costs has left many in the United States with unaffordable water bills, especially in low income areas in cities such as New Orleans, Cleveland, and Santa Fe. U.S. water crisis One of the reasons for the rising water bills in the U.S. is the aging and deteriorating water infrastructure. In addition to rising bills, outdated treatment plants with leaking pipes have resulted in harmful toxins and chemicals contaminating drinking water. A number of highly populated cities in the U.S. have been found to have high concentrations of PFAs in tap water, exposing millions of people to potentially unsafe drinking water.

In 2024, New York, NY, was the most expensive rental market for one-bedroom apartments in the United States. The median monthly rental rate of an apartment in New York was ***** U.S. dollars, while in San Francisco, CA which ranked second highest, renters paid on average ***** U.S. dollars.

In the first quarter of 2025, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Honolulu were some of the U.S. cities with the highest housing construction costs. Meanwhile, Phoenix had one of the lowest construction costs for high-end multifamily homes at 190 U.S. dollars per square foot and Las Vegas for single-family homes between 240 and 480 U.S. dollars per square foot. Construction cost disparities As seen here, the construction cost for a high-end multi-family home in San Francisco in the first quarter of 2024 was over twice more expensive than in Phoenix. Meanwhile, there were also great differences in the cost of building a single-family house in New York and in Portland or Seattle. Some factors that may cause these disparities are the construction materials, installation, and composite costs, differing land values, wages, etc. For example, although the price of construction materials in the U.S. was rising at a slower level than in 2022 and 2023, several materials that are essential in most construction projects had growth rates of over five percent in 2024. Growing industry revenue Despite the economic uncertainty and other challenges, the size of the private construction market in the U.S. rose during the past years. It is important to consider that supply and demand for housing influences the revenue of this segment of the construction market. On the supply side, single-family home construction fell in 2023, but it is expected to rise in 2024 and 2025. On the demand side, some of the U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest sale prices of single-family homes were located in California, with San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara at the top of the ranking.

In 2023, Americas Best Value Inn was ranked the best budget hotel brand in North America with a customer satisfaction index score of 637 points. Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham ranked second with a score of 637. Other high-ranking brands on the list included Surestay Hotel by Best Western and Howard Johnson by Wyndham.

Highest-rated luxury hotel brands

The Ritz-Carlton hotel brand ranked 12 points lower than the satisfaction score of North America’s highest-rated luxury hotel brand in 2023: Waldorf Astoria. During that year, Waldorf Astoria received a satisfaction score of 788. The average customer satisfaction score for luxury hotel brands was more than 200 points higher than the average economy score.

Most expensive cities for business travel

Daily hotel costs can differ substantially, depending on the city one is visiting. In 2022, the most expensive cities for business travel in the United States were New York, San Francisco and Boston, respectively. Beyond the U.S., the most expensive cities for business travel worldwide included New York, Boston, and Lagos that same year.

Ontario's construction costs 2023, by building type Published by Fernando de Querol Cumbrera, Dec 10, 2024 Ambulatory healthcare was the type of building with the highest construction costs in Ontario (Canada) in 2023. The cost of that type of building ranged from 7,110 to 8,750 Canadian dollars per square meter. Townhouses with mid-end specifications were, along with warehouses, among the cheapest buildings to construct, even though the townhouse sale price in Canada was much higher in 2023 than in a decade earlier. On the other side of the residential spectrum, the construction cost of high-rise buildings with mid-end specifications could reach up to 5,370 Canadian dollars per square meter. The housing sector in Ontario The fast population growth in Toronto, the main city in Ontario, has put pressure on its housing market. From 2001 to 2022, the number of people living in Canada’s largest city increased by over 37 percent. During the past years, house prices in Ontario rose at a similarly fast pace. Combined, these elements signal a strong demand for homes in Toronto and Ontario as a whole. The construction sector has responded to this trend: In 2022, most housing starts in Canada took place in the province of Ontario. That same year, EllisDon Corporation, with headquarters in Mississauga (Ontario), was the second-largest contractor in Canada. One of its largest residential/mixed-use projects under development is the 489-539 King St. West Development, in Toronto. Construction cost in North America Building construction costs in Quebec, the second most populous province in Canada after Ontario, had a similar cost range: Ambulatory healthcare buildings were the most expensive, and warehouses were the cheapest to build. However, enclosed malls and higher education buildings were significantly more expensive in Quebec than in Ontario. Across the border, the cities with the highest residential construction costs in the U.S. were San Francisco for multi-family housing, and New York City for single-family housing. Meanwhile, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York had the highest hotel construction costs in the U.S.

Ambulatory healthcare was the type of building with the highest construction costs in Ontario (Canada) in 2023. The cost of that type of building ranged from 7,110 to 8,750 Canadian dollars per square meter. Townhouses with mid-end specifications were, along with warehouses, among the cheapest buildings to construct, even though the townhouse sale price in Canada was much higher in 2023 than in a decade earlier. On the other side of the residential spectrum, the construction cost of high-rise buildings with mid-end specifications could reach up to 5,370 Canadian dollars per square meter. The housing sector in Ontario The fast population growth in Toronto, the main city in Ontario, has put pressure on its housing market. From 2001 to 2022, the number of people living in Canada’s largest city increased by over 37 percent. During the past years, house prices in Ontario rose at a similarly fast pace. Combined, these elements signal a strong demand for homes in Toronto and Ontario as a whole. The construction sector has responded to this trend: In 2022, most housing starts in Canada took place in the province of Ontario. That same year, EllisDon Corporation, with headquarters in Mississauga (Ontario), was the second-largest contractor in Canada. One of its largest residential/mixed-use projects under development is the 489-539 King St. West Development, in Toronto. Construction cost in North America Building construction costs in Quebec, the second most populous province in Canada after Ontario, had a similar cost range: Ambulatory healthcare buildings were the most expensive, and warehouses were the cheapest to build. However, enclosed malls and higher education buildings were significantly more expensive in Quebec than in Ontario. Across the border, the cities with the highest residential construction costs in the U.S. were San Francisco for multi-family housing, and New York City for single-family housing. Meanwhile, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York had the highest hotel construction costs in the U.S.

As of April 2024, the city that had the most expensive Michelin-starred restaurants was Copenhagen, Denmark, by a large margin. That year, tasting menus at restaurants in Copenhagen that were awarded between one and three Michelin stars had a median price of 443 U.S. dollars. Second in the ranking was Macao, a special administrative region of China, with tasting menus averaging 283 U.S. dollars.

The average rent per square foot in the largest research and development (R&D) and life science real estate markets in the United States varied greatly in the first half of 2023. New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco Bay Area were the most expensive markets to rent life science real estate in the first half of 2023. On average, a square foot of life science real estate cost about ***** U.S. dollars to buy in the same period.

This statistic shows the quarterly average daily rate of hotels in San Francisco in 2016 and 2017. In the first quarter of 2017, the average daily rate of hotels in San Francisco in the United States was 338 U.S. dollars.

Accommodation in San Francisco - additional information

San Francisco is located in northern California on the west coast of the United States and is the second most densely populated city in the country after New York City. The highest average daily hotel rates in San Francisco was seen in the first quarter of 2017 at 338 U.S. dollars. This represented an increase in average daily rate of around 14 U.S. dollars compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

In 2016, 3.93 million people from overseas visited San Francisco, spending 5.9 billion U.S. dollars there. The city is also popular with U.S. travelers who ranked the destination fifth on a list of domestic cities they would most like to visit – perennial favorites are Las Vegas and New York. It is not, however, always cheap to stay in San Francisco. For business travelers, it was the second most expensive destination in the U.S. with an average cost per day of more than 530 U.S. dollars in 2016.

As of May 2013, San Francisco was one of the top U.S. cities associated with food tourism. It is also home to two of the most visited tourist attractions worldwide: Golden Gate Park and Pier 39. According to 95 percent of locals, people are very welcoming to tourists there.

In 2024, New York was the most expensive city in the United States for hiring a ** ton mobile crane and an operator for a day. Hiring a ** ton mobile crane along with an operator for a day cost ***** U.S. dollars in New York. This was followed by San Francisco and Los Angeles. The cost of hiring a mobile crane with its operator in Houston was slightly lower, with a cost of ***** U.S. dollars per day.

Compared to the overall average of 30 different major cities in the United States, building materials in San Francisco were more expensive than in Chicago. Opposed this is a city like Detroit, Michigian, where the price index of building materials was slightly below the average. What this overview tries to do, then, is compare the major cities against each other and whether one was relatively more expensive than the other when it comes to construction costs. This is especially visible for installation - such as HVAC. The city of New York reached an index of 174 in May 2021, meaning installation costs here were around 74 percent higher than the average cost for the 30 cities combined. Cities found in the state of Texas made up the other end of that spectrum: Installation costs in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas were between 30 to 40 percent lower than the overall average.

In the last quarter of 2024, Portland and San Francisco were some of the most expensive cities in the United States for the construction of general hospitals. The cost of building a hospital in Portland ranged between *** and ***** U.S. dollars. Boston and Los Angeles were the next cities in the ranking. Meanwhile, Las Vegas was one of the cheapest city in the list to build a general hospital.

This statistic shows the quarterly average daily rate of hotels in New York in 2016 and 2017. In the first quarter of 2017, the average daily rate of hotels in New York in the United States was 257 U.S. dollars.

Accommodation in New York - additional information

The average daily rate of hotels in New York appears to be much higher in the fourth quarter of the year, reaching 389 U.S. dollars in 2016. In 2016, New York was the second most expensive city in the United States for hotel rates, followed by San Francisco where the average daily rate was 231 U.S. dollars for the full year.

New York was the most expensive city for business travel in the United States in 2016, in terms of daily hotel cost. Within the state of New York, Montauk was the most expensive destination in terms of hotel rates. It does not end with the room rates: while ranking seventh in the world on a list of the most expensive cities for hotel room service, New York was still the second most expensive city in U.S.

There are cheaper accommodation services available for those visiting New York. New York residents themselves are happy to try out Airbnb with 64 percent of them saying they would at least consider using the services in the few days between rental contracts when moving to a new apartment. That said, 44 percent of New Yorkers were worried about the kind of people who might be renting out their rooms and apartments.

As of December 2024, San Diego recorded the highest average price per night of Airbnb listings among the selected cities in the United States. In this city, accommodation listed on the Airbnb website cost on average *** U.S. dollars per night. Meanwhile, prices in New York City amounted to an average of *** U.S. dollars per night.

Mechanical, plumbing, fire protection was the most expensive cost category in a complete office fit-out in New York City in 2023. The square foot cost of an office fit-out was approximately *** U.S. dollars, with the mechanical, plumbing, and fire protection works comprising about one-fifth of the total cost. In the U.S., New York City was the market with the third-highest fit out cost for offices, after San Jose and San Francisco.

In early 2025, construction costs for elementary schools in San Francisco were on average over *** U.S. dollars per square foot. From the cities on display here, San Francisco, Portland, and Honolulu had some of the highest construction costs for educational buildings. The construction of one square foot of elementary school space was cheapest in Miami. University buildings were on average the most expensive type of educational building.