Compare / San Antonio to San Diego
San Antonio, TX vs San Diego, CA
Simple answer
You'd likely save $1,382 a month in San Antonio.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $1,382: San Diego is higher at $2,823 versus $1,441.
Texas has no tax on wages. California taxes wages at rates up to 13.30%. Combined sales tax differs by 0.8 percentage points, higher in California. The effective property tax gap is 0.60 percentage points, higher in Texas.
After a move from Texas to California, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.
A $75,000 salary in San Antonio lines up with about $88,597 in San Diego on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
San Antonio
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,441
- HUD area
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,422
- All-items price parity
- 94.7
- Goods price parity
- 93.8
- Utilities price parity
- 82.2
- Mean commute
- 27.6 min
- Median household income
- $78,112
San Diego
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $2,823
- HUD area
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA
- Census median gross rent
- $2,336
- All-items price parity
- 111.9
- Goods price parity
- 108.0
- Utilities price parity
- 174.2
- Mean commute
- 26.1 min
- Median household income
- $109,132
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$88,597
Salary in San Diego that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$97,787
Gross salary in San Diego whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$146,929
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Texas | California |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | No wage tax | up to 13.30% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 8.2% | 9.0% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 1.31% | 0.71% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $5,246 a year in Texas and $2,828 in California. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in California
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Texas and once in California. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
San AntonioLikely eligible
San DiegoLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
San AntonioLikely eligible
San DiegoLikely eligible
WIC
San AntonioLikely eligible
San DiegoLikely eligible
School meals
San AntonioLikely eligible
San DiegoLikely eligible
LIHEAP
San AntonioMaybe
San DiegoMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
San AntonioLikely eligible
San DiegoLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
San AntonioLikely eligible
San DiegoLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
San AntonioLikely eligible
San DiegoUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
San AntonioLikely eligible
San DiegoLikely eligible
SSI
San AntonioUnlikely
San DiegoUnlikely
| Program | San Antonio | San Diego |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Likely eligible | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In San Antonio the result is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” In San Diego it is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” California expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
Related comparisons
From San Antonio
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from San Antonio.
- San Antonio and San Francisco · rent gap $2,256
- San Antonio and San Jose · rent gap $1,831
- San Antonio and Boston · rent gap $1,567
- San Antonio and New York · rent gap $1,530
- San Antonio and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,523
- San Antonio and Miami · rent gap $1,123
- San Antonio and Seattle · rent gap $1,108
- San Antonio and Urban Honolulu · rent gap $1,101
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.