San Diego, CA vs Davenport, IA
Moving from San Diego to Davenport? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $195,380 median home) and taxes.
San Diego vs Davenport 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 Diego, CA, you'd need about $80,515 in Davenport, IA (−$19,485).
Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · Davenport, IA: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 4,223 sqft in Davenport ($631 vs $118 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Diego, CA | Davenport, IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $35,412 | $12,252 | −$23,160 |
| Groceries | $5,112 | $4,814 | −$298 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,150 | −$1,975 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,500 | −$2,304 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,700 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $21,601 | $9,346 | −$12,255 |
| Total | $72,554 | $32,762 | −$39,792 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Diego, CA | Davenport, IA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.7 | 89.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.34% | 4.82% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | -0.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 71 | 46 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.30 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $946,365 | $195,380 |
| Home price ÷ income | 9.8× | 2.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 4.9% |
| Price per square foot | $631 | $118 |
| Median rent | $2,951 | $1,021 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 6.94% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 1.93% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 1.00% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 13.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 12 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |