Tucson, AZ vs San Antonio, TX
Moving from Tucson to San Antonio? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($343,580 → $280,297 median home) and taxes.
Tucson 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 Tucson, AZ, you'd need about $99,364 in San Antonio, TX (−$636).
Livability — Tucson, AZ: 70 · San Antonio, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,693 sqft in Tucson vs 3,745 sqft in San Antonio ($186 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tucson, AZ | San Antonio, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,676 | $16,848 | −$828 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,647 | −$194 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $3,675 | −$285 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,836 | +$168 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $3,600 | +$1,800 |
| Taxes | $7,594 | $6,956 | −$638 |
| Total | $37,539 | $37,562 | +$23 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tucson, AZ | San Antonio, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.9 | 94.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.87% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.5% | 8.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 56 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.37 |
| Median home price | $343,580 | $280,297 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.3× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.1% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $186 | $134 |
| Median rent | $1,473 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |