Lincoln, NE vs San Diego, CA
Moving from Lincoln to San Diego? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($304,242 → $946,365 median home) and taxes.
Lincoln 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 Lincoln, NE, you'd need about $120,511 in San Diego, CA (+$20,511).
Livability — Lincoln, NE: 68 · San Diego, CA: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,793 sqft in Lincoln vs 793 sqft in San Diego ($179 vs $631 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lincoln, NE | San Diego, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,128 | $35,412 | +$19,284 |
| Groceries | $4,827 | $5,112 | +$285 |
| Transportation | $3,300 | $5,125 | +$1,825 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $3,804 | +$2,364 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,500 | −$2,100 |
| Taxes | $11,420 | $21,601 | +$10,182 |
| Total | $40,715 | $72,554 | +$31,840 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lincoln, NE | San Diego, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.9 | 110.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.11% | 6.34% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.0% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.23 | $6.30 |
| Median home price | $304,242 | $946,365 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 9.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $179 | $631 |
| Median rent | $1,344 | $2,951 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.97% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.20% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.59% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.27% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 19 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $79 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $108 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $75 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 14 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 28.0 | 9.8 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 25.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 68% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |