Duluth, MN vs San Jose, CA
Moving from Duluth to San Jose? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($264,350 → $1,610,466 median home) and taxes.
Duluth vs San Jose 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 Duluth, MN, you'd need about $129,683 in San Jose, CA (+$29,683).
Livability — Duluth, MN: 68 · San Jose, CA: 32 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,404 sqft in Duluth vs 466 sqft in San Jose ($147 vs $1074 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Duluth, MN | San Jose, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,572 | $43,500 | +$26,928 |
| Groceries | $4,846 | $5,247 | +$401 |
| Transportation | $3,375 | $5,125 | +$1,750 |
| Utilities | $1,776 | $3,804 | +$2,028 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $14,852 | $25,449 | +$10,597 |
| Total | $43,621 | $84,625 | +$41,004 |
Side by side
| Metric | Duluth, MN | San Jose, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 87.2 | 113.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.41% | 4.50% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.4% | 0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.96 | $6.43 |
| Median home price | $264,350 | $1,610,466 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 10.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 6.6% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $1074 |
| Median rent | $1,381 | $3,625 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.1% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.10% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.85% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.12% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.58% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.4 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 4 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |