Eugene, OR vs San Jose, CA
Moving from Eugene to San Jose? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($459,366 → $1,610,466 median home) and taxes.
Eugene 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 Eugene, OR, you'd need about $109,189 in San Jose, CA (+$9,189).
Livability — Eugene, OR: 59 · San Jose, CA: 32 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,850 sqft in Eugene vs 466 sqft in San Jose ($270 vs $1074 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Eugene, OR | San Jose, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,360 | $43,500 | +$22,140 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $5,247 | +$8 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $5,125 | +$1,445 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $3,804 | +$2,100 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,500 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $13,148 | $25,449 | +$12,301 |
| Total | $46,031 | $84,625 | +$38,594 |
Side by side
| Metric | Eugene, OR | San Jose, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.5 | 113.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.69% | 4.50% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.89 | $6.43 |
| Median home price | $459,366 | $1,610,466 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.1× | 10.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $270 | $1074 |
| Median rent | $1,780 | $3,625 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.89% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 5 |