Olympia, WA vs San Antonio, TX
Moving from Olympia to San Antonio? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($533,918 → $280,297 median home) and taxes.
Olympia 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 Olympia, WA, you'd need about $88,687 in San Antonio, TX (−$11,313).
Livability — Olympia, WA: 52 · San Antonio, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,686 sqft in Olympia vs 3,745 sqft in San Antonio ($297 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Olympia, WA | San Antonio, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,492 | $16,848 | −$7,644 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $4,647 | −$599 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,675 | −$400 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,836 | +$288 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $3,600 | +$2,100 |
| Taxes | $7,085 | $6,956 | −$129 |
| Total | $43,946 | $37,562 | −$6,384 |
Side by side
| Metric | Olympia, WA | San Antonio, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.4 | 94.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.49% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 9.0% | 8.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 26 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.05 | $5.37 |
| Median home price | $533,918 | $280,297 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.0× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $297 | $134 |
| Median rent | $2,041 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |