Roanoke, VA vs San Jose, CA
Moving from Roanoke to San Jose? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($301,139 → $1,610,466 median home) and taxes.
Roanoke 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 Roanoke, VA, you'd need about $123,961 in San Jose, CA (+$23,961).
Livability — Roanoke, VA: 73 · San Jose, CA: 32 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,320 sqft in Roanoke vs 466 sqft in San Jose ($151 vs $1074 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Roanoke, VA | San Jose, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,836 | $43,500 | +$26,664 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $5,247 | +$393 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $5,125 | +$2,045 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $3,804 | +$1,932 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,500 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $9,549 | $25,449 | +$15,901 |
| Total | $37,690 | $84,625 | +$46,935 |
Side by side
| Metric | Roanoke, VA | San Jose, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.2 | 113.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.05% | 4.50% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.19 | $6.43 |
| Median home price | $301,139 | $1,610,466 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 10.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.8% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $151 | $1074 |
| Median rent | $1,403 | $3,625 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |