Baton Rouge, LA vs San Antonio, TX
Moving from Baton Rouge to San Antonio? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($248,176 → $280,297 median home) and taxes.
Baton Rouge vs San Antonio 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 Baton Rouge, LA, you'd need about $103,392 in San Antonio, TX (+$3,392).
Livability — Baton Rouge, LA: 69 · San Antonio, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,029 sqft in Baton Rouge vs 3,745 sqft in San Antonio ($124 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baton Rouge, LA | San Antonio, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,716 | $16,848 | +$132 |
| Groceries | $4,650 | $4,647 | −$4 |
| Transportation | $4,475 | $3,675 | −$800 |
| Utilities | $1,560 | $1,836 | +$276 |
| Insurance | $3,500 | $3,600 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $8,854 | $6,956 | −$1,898 |
| Total | $39,755 | $37,562 | −$2,194 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baton Rouge, LA | San Antonio, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.2 | 94.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.51% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.0% | 8.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.19 | $5.37 |
| Median home price | $248,176 | $280,297 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.5% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $124 | $134 |
| Median rent | $1,393 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.56% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.56% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,500 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,000 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 630 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 43 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |