Omaha, NE vs San Jose, CA
Moving from Omaha to San Jose? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($310,337 → $1,610,466 median home) and taxes.
Omaha 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 Omaha, NE, you'd need about $122,259 in San Jose, CA (+$22,259).
Livability — Omaha, NE: 69 · San Jose, CA: 32 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,738 sqft in Omaha vs 466 sqft in San Jose ($183 vs $1074 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Omaha, NE | San Jose, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,328 | $43,500 | +$26,172 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $5,247 | +$419 |
| Transportation | $3,300 | $5,125 | +$1,825 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $3,804 | +$2,364 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,500 | −$2,100 |
| Taxes | $11,575 | $25,449 | +$13,875 |
| Total | $42,070 | $84,625 | +$42,554 |
Side by side
| Metric | Omaha, NE | San Jose, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.5 | 113.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.42% | 4.50% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 50 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.26 | $6.43 |
| Median home price | $310,337 | $1,610,466 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 10.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.2% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $183 | $1074 |
| Median rent | $1,444 | $3,625 |
| 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 | 1.71% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.27% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 28 |
| 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 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 14 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |