Brownsville, TX vs San Diego, CA
Moving from Brownsville to San Diego? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($207,150 → $946,365 median home) and taxes.
Brownsville 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 Brownsville, TX, you'd need about $129,221 in San Diego, CA (+$29,221).
Livability — Brownsville, TX: 78 · San Diego, CA: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,071 sqft in Brownsville vs 793 sqft in San Diego ($99 vs $631 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Brownsville, TX | San Diego, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,520 | $35,412 | +$17,892 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $5,112 | +$466 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $5,125 | +$1,450 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $3,804 | +$1,968 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,500 | −$2,100 |
| Taxes | $4,718 | $21,601 | +$16,883 |
| Total | $35,996 | $72,554 | +$36,559 |
Side by side
| Metric | Brownsville, TX | San Diego, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.7 | 110.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.71% | 6.34% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 61 | 71 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.88 | $6.30 |
| Median home price | $207,150 | $946,365 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 9.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.7% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $99 | $631 |
| Median rent | $1,460 | $2,951 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.69% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |