Springfield, MA vs San Diego, CA
Moving from Springfield to San Diego? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($376,017 → $946,365 median home) and taxes.
Springfield vs San Diego 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 Springfield, MA, you'd need about $112,923 in San Diego, CA (+$12,923).
Livability — Springfield, MA: 60 · San Diego, CA: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,260 sqft in Springfield vs 793 sqft in San Diego ($221 vs $631 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Springfield, MA | San Diego, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,292 | $35,412 | +$12,120 |
| Groceries | $4,938 | $5,112 | +$175 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $5,125 | +$1,915 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $3,804 | +$624 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,500 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $15,617 | $21,601 | +$5,985 |
| Total | $52,036 | $72,554 | +$20,518 |
Side by side
| Metric | Springfield, MA | San Diego, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.1 | 110.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.93% | 6.34% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 9.4% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.58 | $6.30 |
| Median home price | $376,017 | $946,365 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.3× | 9.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $221 | $631 |
| Median rent | $1,941 | $2,951 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.59% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $108 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $71 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.1 | 9.8 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 51.7 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 68% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 5 |