San Diego, CA vs Duluth, MN
Moving from San Diego to Duluth? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $264,350 median home) and taxes.
San Diego vs Duluth 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 $78,725 in Duluth, MN (−$21,275).
Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · Duluth, MN: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 3,404 sqft in Duluth ($631 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Diego, CA | Duluth, MN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $35,412 | $16,572 | −$18,840 |
| Groceries | $5,112 | $4,846 | −$266 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,375 | −$1,750 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,776 | −$2,028 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,200 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $21,601 | $14,852 | −$6,749 |
| Total | $72,554 | $43,621 | −$28,933 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Diego, CA | Duluth, MN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.7 | 87.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.34% | 4.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 4.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 71 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.30 | $4.96 |
| Median home price | $946,365 | $264,350 |
| Home price ÷ income | 9.8× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 6.6% |
| Price per square foot | $631 | $147 |
| Median rent | $2,951 | $1,381 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 8.10% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 9.85% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 1.12% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 1.58% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 16.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.15 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 4 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |