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Worcester, MA vs San Diego, CA

Moving from Worcester to San Diego? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($482,611 → $946,365 median home) and taxes.

Worcester vs San Diego at a glance

Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.

Worcester, MA San Diego, CA Cost-of-living index Worcester, MA — Cost-of-living index: 103 103 San Diego, CA — Cost-of-living index: 111 111 Median home price Worcester, MA — Median home price: $483k $483k San Diego, CA — Median home price: $946k $946k Price per sqft Worcester, MA — Price per sqft: $284 $284 San Diego, CA — Price per sqft: $631 $631 Median rent Worcester, MA — Median rent: $2,182 $2,182 San Diego, CA — Median rent: $2,951 $2,951 Combined sales tax Worcester, MA — Combined sales tax: 6.3% 6.3% San Diego, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Property tax rate Worcester, MA — Property tax rate: 1.39% 1.39% San Diego, CA — Property tax rate: 0.72% 0.72% Violent crime /100k Worcester, MA — Violent crime /100k: 330 330 San Diego, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Electricity ¢/kWh Worcester, MA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 29.4 29.4 San Diego, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Avg commute (min) Worcester, MA — Avg commute (min): 29 29 San Diego, CA — Avg commute (min): 26 26 Avg summer high °F Worcester, MA — Avg summer high °F: 82° 82° San Diego, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Avg winter low °F Worcester, MA — Avg winter low °F: 22° 22° San Diego, CA — Avg winter low °F: 45° 45°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Worcester, MA, you'd need about $107,534 in San Diego, CA (+$7,534).

Livability — Worcester, MA: 56 · San Diego, CA: 44 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,761 sqft in Worcester vs 793 sqft in San Diego ($284 vs $631 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategoryWorcester, MASan Diego, CADifference
Housing $26,184 $35,412 +$9,228
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 $16,011 $21,601 +$5,591
Total $55,322 $72,554 +$17,232

Side by side

MetricWorcester, MASan Diego, CA
Cost-of-living index103.0110.7
Unemployment rate5.78%6.34%
Population growth (5-yr)4.3%0.2%
Air quality (median AQI)3771
Big Mac price (est.)$5.86$6.30
Median home price$482,611$946,365
Home price ÷ income5.6×9.8×
1-yr home appreciation1.8%-1.1%
Price per square foot$284$631
Median rent$2,182$2,951
Total tax burden (% income)11.5%13.5%
Combined sales tax6.25%8.82%
Capital gains tax9.00%13.30%
Property tax rate1.39%0.72%
Healthcare (annual)$8,200$7,200
Childcare (annual, infant)$21,000$19,000
Vehicle property tax2.25%0.65%
Avg commute (min)2926
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 ¢/kWh29.435.3
Gas $/gal3.304.85
Violent crime /100k330500
Avg summer high °F8284
Avg winter low °F2245
Permit difficulty (1–5)45
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