San Jose, CA vs Durham, NC
Moving from San Jose to Durham? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,610,466 → $414,340 median home) and taxes.
San Jose 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 Jose, CA, you'd need about $86,103 in Durham, NC (−$13,897).
Livability — San Jose, CA: 32 · Durham, NC: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 466 sqft in San Jose vs 2,413 sqft in Durham ($1074 vs $207 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Jose, CA | Durham, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $43,500 | $20,436 | −$23,064 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $4,840 | −$407 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,130 | −$1,995 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,752 | −$2,052 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,000 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $25,449 | $9,397 | −$16,052 |
| Total | $84,625 | $41,555 | −$43,070 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Jose, CA | Durham, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 113.1 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.50% | 4.03% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.6% | 17.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.43 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $1,610,466 | $414,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 10.6× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.4% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $1074 | $207 |
| Median rent | $3,625 | $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 | 0.71% | 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) | 28 | 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 |