San Jose, CA vs Reno, NV
Moving from San Jose to Reno? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,610,466 → $570,546 median home) and taxes.
San Jose vs Reno 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 $86,703 in Reno, NV (−$13,297).
Livability — San Jose, CA: 32 · Reno, NV: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 466 sqft in San Jose vs 1,665 sqft in Reno ($1074 vs $300 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Jose, CA | Reno, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $43,500 | $23,736 | −$19,764 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $4,841 | −$405 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $4,740 | −$385 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,548 | −$2,256 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $25,449 | $5,060 | −$20,389 |
| Total | $84,625 | $41,225 | −$43,400 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Jose, CA | Reno, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 113.1 | 98.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.50% | 5.01% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.6% | 9.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 50 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.43 | $5.58 |
| Median home price | $1,610,466 | $570,546 |
| Home price ÷ income | 10.6× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.4% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $1074 | $300 |
| Median rent | $3,625 | $1,978 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.48% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |
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