San Diego, CA vs Salem, OR
Moving from San Diego to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
San Diego vs Salem 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 $92,521 in Salem, OR (−$7,479).
Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($631 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Diego, CA | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $35,412 | $19,536 | −$15,876 |
| Groceries | $5,112 | $5,239 | +$127 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,680 | −$1,445 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,704 | −$2,100 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $900 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $21,601 | $13,135 | −$8,466 |
| Total | $72,554 | $44,194 | −$28,360 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Diego, CA | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.7 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.34% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 71 | 35 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.30 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $946,365 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 9.8× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $631 | $268 |
| Median rent | $2,951 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 4.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |