Scranton, PA vs San Antonio, TX
Moving from Scranton to San Antonio? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($227,793 → $280,297 median home) and taxes.
Scranton vs San Antonio 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 Scranton, PA, you'd need about $101,003 in San Antonio, TX (+$1,003).
Livability — Scranton, PA: 68 · San Antonio, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,840 sqft in Scranton vs 3,745 sqft in San Antonio ($130 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Scranton, PA | San Antonio, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,296 | $16,848 | +$552 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,647 | −$268 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,675 | +$235 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,836 | −$480 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $3,600 | +$2,400 |
| Taxes | $7,898 | $6,956 | −$942 |
| Total | $36,065 | $37,562 | +$1,497 |
Side by side
| Metric | Scranton, PA | San Antonio, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.4 | 94.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.40% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 8.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.31 | $5.37 |
| Median home price | $227,793 | $280,297 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $130 | $134 |
| Median rent | $1,358 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.60% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |