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San Diego, CA vs Worcester, MA

Moving from San Diego to Worcester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $482,611 median home) and taxes.

San Diego vs Worcester at a glance

Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.

San Diego, CA Worcester, MA Cost-of-living index San Diego, CA — Cost-of-living index: 111 111 Worcester, MA — Cost-of-living index: 103 103 Median home price San Diego, CA — Median home price: $946k $946k Worcester, MA — Median home price: $483k $483k Price per sqft San Diego, CA — Price per sqft: $631 $631 Worcester, MA — Price per sqft: $284 $284 Median rent San Diego, CA — Median rent: $2,951 $2,951 Worcester, MA — Median rent: $2,182 $2,182 Combined sales tax San Diego, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Worcester, MA — Combined sales tax: 6.3% 6.3% Property tax rate San Diego, CA — Property tax rate: 0.72% 0.72% Worcester, MA — Property tax rate: 1.39% 1.39% Violent crime /100k San Diego, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Worcester, MA — Violent crime /100k: 330 330 Electricity ¢/kWh San Diego, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Worcester, MA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 29.4 29.4 Avg commute (min) San Diego, CA — Avg commute (min): 26 26 Worcester, MA — Avg commute (min): 29 29 Avg summer high °F San Diego, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Worcester, MA — Avg summer high °F: 82° 82° Avg winter low °F San Diego, CA — Avg winter low °F: 45° 45° Worcester, MA — Avg winter low °F: 22° 22°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in San Diego, CA, you'd need about $92,994 in Worcester, MA (−$7,006).

Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · Worcester, MA: 56 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 1,761 sqft in Worcester ($631 vs $284 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySan Diego, CAWorcester, MADifference
Housing $35,412 $26,184 −$9,228
Groceries $5,112 $4,938 −$175
Transportation $5,125 $3,210 −$1,915
Utilities $3,804 $3,180 −$624
Insurance $1,500 $1,800 +$300
Taxes $21,601 $16,011 −$5,590
Total $72,554 $55,322 −$17,232

Side by side

MetricSan Diego, CAWorcester, MA
Cost-of-living index110.7103.0
Unemployment rate6.34%5.78%
Population growth (5-yr)0.2%4.3%
Air quality (median AQI)7137
Big Mac price (est.)$6.30$5.86
Median home price$946,365$482,611
Home price ÷ income9.8×5.6×
1-yr home appreciation-1.1%1.8%
Price per square foot$631$284
Median rent$2,951$2,182
Total tax burden (% income)13.5%11.5%
Combined sales tax8.82%6.25%
Capital gains tax13.30%9.00%
Property tax rate0.72%1.39%
Healthcare (annual)$7,200$8,200
Childcare (annual, infant)$19,000$21,000
Vehicle property tax0.65%2.25%
Avg commute (min)2629
Home insurance / yr$1,500$1,800
Auto insurance / yr$2,400$1,500
Flood insurance / yr$750$800
Earthquake insurance / yr$950$100
Electricity ¢/kWh35.329.4
Gas $/gal4.853.30
Violent crime /100k500330
Avg summer high °F8482
Avg winter low °F4522
Permit difficulty (1–5)54
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