San Diego, CA vs Durham, NC
Moving from San Diego to Durham? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $414,340 median home) and taxes.
San Diego vs Durham 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 $87,905 in Durham, NC (−$12,095).
Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · Durham, NC: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 2,413 sqft in Durham ($631 vs $207 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Diego, CA | Durham, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $35,412 | $20,436 | −$14,976 |
| Groceries | $5,112 | $4,840 | −$273 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,130 | −$1,995 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,752 | −$2,052 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,000 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $21,601 | $9,397 | −$12,204 |
| Total | $72,554 | $41,555 | −$31,000 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Diego, CA | Durham, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.7 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.34% | 4.03% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 17.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 71 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.30 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $946,365 | $414,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 9.8× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $631 | $207 |
| Median rent | $2,951 | $1,703 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.87% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |