San Diego, CA vs Detroit, MI
Moving from San Diego to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
San Diego vs Detroit 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 $88,664 in Detroit, MI (−$11,336).
Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($631 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Diego, CA | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $35,412 | $18,000 | −$17,412 |
| Groceries | $5,112 | $4,896 | −$216 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $4,575 | −$550 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $2,316 | −$1,488 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $21,601 | $9,547 | −$12,054 |
| Total | $72,554 | $40,634 | −$31,920 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Diego, CA | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.7 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.34% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 71 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.30 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $946,365 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 9.8× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $631 | $163 |
| Median rent | $2,951 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |