?WhereToHQ

Residential comparison · 13 facts

New York, NY vs San Jose, CA

Compare the housing, tax, cost, income, safety, school, and climate facts that are available for both places. The table shows the numbers without declaring one city universally better.

A household earning $85,000 in New York needs about $67,000 in San Jose to keep the same lifestyle.
Coming from San Jose, $85,000 of lifestyle costs about $104,500 in New York.

A few differences

New York vs San Jose · facet by facet
FacetNew York, NYSan Jose, CA
Median home price$785,000$1,450,000
2-bedroom rent$4,300/mo$3,550/mo
Property tax rate0.9%0.75%
State & local income tax7.67%2.09%
Sales tax8.88%9.38%
Cost of living index168168
Groceries index116114
Utilities$195/mo$230/mo
Median household income$76,000$133,000
Unemployment rate5%3.9%
Crime index47/10036/100
School rating6.5/107.5/10
Sunny days / year224 days257 days

Data: Census ACS 2024 · BLS · Tax Foundation 2024 brackets · HUD/Zillow · NOAA 1991–2020 · FEMA NRI · Values are shown as reported; no universal winner is implied.

Full profiles: New York, NY · San Jose, CA
Questions & answers
Is New York cheaper than San Jose?
New York and San Jose display the same day-to-day cost index; the differences show up facet by facet in the table above.
What household income in San Jose equals $85,000 in New York?
A household earning $85,000 in New York needs about $67,000 in San Jose to keep the same lifestyle; coming the other way, $85,000 of San Jose lifestyle costs about $104,500 in New York.