$104,400 classes as a ‘low’ income for a single-person household in San Francisco, California’s housing department says

• $104,400 is a “low” income in San Francisco County, according to California’s housing department.
• The median income for a one-person household is listed as $122,500.
• The average monthly rent for a one-bed in SF is around $3,000 — the third-most expensive in the US.

An annual income of $104,400 may go a long way in Mississippi, but it won’t get you far in San Francisco.

Such a salary classes as a “low'” income in San Francisco County, according to California’s Department of Housing and Community Development.

In a memorandum listing the State Income Limits for 2023, released June 6 and first reported on by Fox Business, the department outlined various income bands for different sized households, based on data the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which in turn used estimates from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

In San Francisco County, the median income for a one-person household is listed as $122,500, per California’s housing department. Making $18,400 a year is an “acutely low” income, $39,150 is “extremely low,” $65,350 is “very low,” and $104,400 is “low.”

For a two-person household, $119,300 is a “low” income, rising to $134,200 for a household with three people and $149,100 for four.

The department lists median incomes as $140,000 for a two-person household, $157,500 for three, $175,000 for four, and $189,000 for five.

Marin County, which is directly north of San Francisco County, and San Mateo County, to the south, both have the same income limits. Santa Clara County, which is south of San Mateo County and includes San Jose, Stanford University, Google’s main Mountain View campus, and parts of Palo Alto, has a higher median income for a one-person household of $126,900, but a lower “low” income of $96,000.

Zumper and Zillow both put the average monthly rent for a one-bed apartment in San Francisco at around $3,000. It’s the third-most expensive city in the US to rent a one-bed, behind just New York City and Jersey City, per Zumper data. For San Francisco area households, housing accounts for on average 42% of their budget, compared to the US average of 34%, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for the 2020-21 year.

As well as spending significantly more on housing, households in the San Francisco area spent $12,133 a year on personal insurance and pensions, or around 60% higher than the US average, according to the BLS data. They also spent nearly 40% more on food. 

In total, households in the San Francisco area spent an average of $91,290 per year, compared the national average expenditure of $64,187, per the data.

The phenomenal expense of living in San Francisco, coupled with what locals say are soaring crime rates and homelessness, pushed thousands of people to leave the city during the pandemic as remote work lured people to more affordable states.

San Francisco’s population fell by about 7%, or 62,000 people, between 2020 and 2022, per estimates from the US Census Bureau.

Top businesses and retailers have been closing sites in the city, too, citing crime and poor financial performance.

Have you left San Francisco because of crime, costs, or just a more fun lifestyle elsewhere? Or are you considering making the move? Email this reporter at gdean@insider.com.