Tuscaloosa, AL vs San Antonio, TX
Moving from Tuscaloosa to San Antonio? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($223,201 → $280,297 median home) and taxes.
Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa, AL, you'd need about $105,859 in San Antonio, TX (+$5,859).
Livability — Tuscaloosa, AL: 74 · San Antonio, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,591 sqft in Tuscaloosa vs 3,745 sqft in San Antonio ($109 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tuscaloosa, AL | San Antonio, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,820 | $16,848 | −$972 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $4,647 | −$83 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,675 | +$210 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,836 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $3,600 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $8,901 | $6,956 | −$1,944 |
| Total | $39,199 | $37,562 | −$1,637 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tuscaloosa, AL | San Antonio, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 94.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.59% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 8.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 37 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.37 |
| Median home price | $223,201 | $280,297 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $109 | $134 |
| Median rent | $1,485 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.33% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |