San Jose, CA vs Merced, CA
Moving from San Jose to Merced? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,610,466 → $419,171 median home) and taxes.
San Jose 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 Jose, CA, you'd need about $88,112 in Merced, CA (−$11,888).
Livability — San Jose, CA: 32 · Merced, CA: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 466 sqft in San Jose vs 1,790 sqft in Merced ($1074 vs $279 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Jose, CA | Merced, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $43,500 | $23,700 | −$19,800 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $5,247 | +$0 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $5,125 | +$0 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $3,804 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,500 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $25,449 | $18,715 | −$6,734 |
| Total | $84,625 | $58,091 | −$26,534 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Jose, CA | Merced, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 113.1 | 99.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.50% | 10.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.6% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.43 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $1,610,466 | $419,171 |
| Home price ÷ income | 10.6× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.4% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $1074 | $279 |
| Median rent | $3,625 | $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 | 0.71% | 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) | 28 | 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) | 13.5 | 13.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 68% | 75% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |