Rochester, NY vs San Antonio, TX
Moving from Rochester to San Antonio? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($285,034 → $280,297 median home) and taxes.
Rochester 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 Rochester, NY, you'd need about $95,873 in San Antonio, TX (−$4,127).
Livability — Rochester, NY: 59 · San Antonio, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,807 sqft in Rochester vs 3,745 sqft in San Antonio ($178 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Rochester, NY | San Antonio, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,164 | $16,848 | −$2,316 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $4,647 | −$222 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,675 | −$220 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,836 | −$1,344 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $3,600 | +$2,000 |
| Taxes | $18,722 | $6,956 | −$11,766 |
| Total | $51,429 | $37,562 | −$13,868 |
Side by side
| Metric | Rochester, NY | San Antonio, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.4 | 94.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.01% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.6% | 8.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.60 | $5.37 |
| Median home price | $285,034 | $280,297 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.7% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $178 | $134 |
| Median rent | $1,597 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 2.76% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |