Albany, NY vs San Diego, CA
Moving from Albany to San Diego? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($370,533 → $946,365 median home) and taxes.
Albany vs San Diego at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Albany, NY, you'd need about $112,797 in San Diego, CA (+$12,797).
Livability — Albany, NY: 58 · San Diego, CA: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,159 sqft in Albany vs 793 sqft in San Diego ($232 vs $631 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albany, NY | San Diego, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,172 | $35,412 | +$15,240 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $5,112 | +$244 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $5,125 | +$1,230 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $3,804 | +$624 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,500 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $18,849 | $21,601 | +$2,752 |
| Total | $52,564 | $72,554 | +$19,990 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albany, NY | San Diego, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 110.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.97% | 6.34% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.3% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 37 | 71 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $6.30 |
| Median home price | $370,533 | $946,365 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 9.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.5% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $232 | $631 |
| Median rent | $1,681 | $2,951 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.95% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |