McAllen, TX vs San Antonio, TX
Moving from McAllen to San Antonio? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($193,978 → $280,297 median home) and taxes.
McAllen 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 McAllen, TX, you'd need about $109,588 in San Antonio, TX (+$9,588).
Livability — McAllen, TX: 78 · San Antonio, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,411 sqft in McAllen vs 3,745 sqft in San Antonio ($92 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | McAllen, TX | San Antonio, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,536 | $16,848 | +$3,312 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,647 | +$0 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,675 | +$0 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,836 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $3,600 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $4,917 | $6,956 | +$2,039 |
| Total | $32,211 | $37,562 | +$5,351 |
Side by side
| Metric | McAllen, TX | San Antonio, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 86.1 | 94.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.61% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.0% | 8.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.90 | $5.37 |
| Median home price | $193,978 | $280,297 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.6% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $92 | $134 |
| Median rent | $1,128 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.82% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 32.4 | 32.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 67% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |