San Diego, CA vs Merced, CA
Moving from San Diego to Merced? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $419,171 median home) and taxes.
San Diego vs Merced 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 $89,956 in Merced, CA (−$10,044).
Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · Merced, CA: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 1,790 sqft in Merced ($631 vs $279 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Diego, CA | Merced, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $35,412 | $23,700 | −$11,712 |
| Groceries | $5,112 | $5,247 | +$134 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $5,125 | +$0 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $3,804 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,500 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $21,601 | $18,715 | −$2,886 |
| Total | $72,554 | $58,091 | −$14,464 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Diego, CA | Merced, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.7 | 99.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.34% | 10.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.30 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $946,365 | $419,171 |
| Home price ÷ income | 9.8× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $631 | $279 |
| Median rent | $2,951 | $1,975 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.68% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $138 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 9.8 | 13.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 68% | 75% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |