San Antonio, TX vs Lancaster, PA
Moving from San Antonio to Lancaster? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($280,297 → $388,207 median home) and taxes.
San Antonio vs Lancaster 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 San Antonio, TX, you'd need about $102,572 in Lancaster, PA (+$2,572).
Livability — San Antonio, TX: 75 · Lancaster, PA: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,745 sqft in San Antonio vs 2,254 sqft in Lancaster ($134 vs $222 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Antonio, TX | Lancaster, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,848 | $18,312 | +$1,464 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,915 | +$268 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,440 | −$235 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,316 | +$480 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,200 | −$2,400 |
| Taxes | $6,956 | $9,202 | +$2,246 |
| Total | $37,562 | $39,385 | +$1,823 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Antonio, TX | Lancaster, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.3 | 96.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 3.38% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.1% | 3.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 50 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.37 | $5.51 |
| Median home price | $280,297 | $388,207 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $134 | $222 |
| Median rent | $1,404 | $1,526 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 1.48% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |