San Jose, CA vs Springfield, MA
Moving from San Jose to Springfield? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,610,466 → $376,017 median home) and taxes.
San Jose vs Springfield 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 $86,741 in Springfield, MA (−$13,259).
Livability — San Jose, CA: 32 · Springfield, MA: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 466 sqft in San Jose vs 2,260 sqft in Springfield ($1074 vs $221 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Jose, CA | Springfield, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $43,500 | $23,292 | −$20,208 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $4,938 | −$309 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,210 | −$1,915 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $3,180 | −$624 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,800 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $25,449 | $15,617 | −$9,832 |
| Total | $84,625 | $52,036 | −$32,588 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Jose, CA | Springfield, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 113.1 | 98.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.50% | 5.93% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.6% | 9.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.43 | $5.58 |
| Median home price | $1,610,466 | $376,017 |
| Home price ÷ income | 10.6× | 5.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.4% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $1074 | $221 |
| Median rent | $3,625 | $1,941 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 1.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 23 |
| 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 ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $138 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 13.5 | 47.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 51.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 68% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |