?WhereToHQ

Residential comparison · 13 facts

San Antonio, TX vs San Francisco, 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 San Antonio needs about $133,000 in San Francisco to keep the same lifestyle.
Coming from San Francisco, $85,000 of lifestyle costs about $41,500 in San Antonio.

A few differences

San Antonio vs San Francisco · facet by facet
FacetSan Antonio, TXSan Francisco, CA
Median home price$285,000$1,300,000
2-bedroom rent$1,450/mo$4,300/mo
Property tax rate2.1%0.75%
State & local income tax0%2.09%
Sales tax8.25%8.63%
Cost of living index91178
Groceries index93118
Utilities$165/mo$240/mo
Median household income$59,000$127,000
Unemployment rate4.1%4%
Crime index55/10046/100
School rating5.5/107.0/10
Sunny days / year220 days259 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: San Antonio, TX · San Francisco, CA
Questions & answers
Is San Antonio cheaper than San Francisco?
San Antonio has the lower day-to-day cost index (91 vs 178 against a national 100). The other differences are shown facet by facet in the table.
What household income in San Francisco equals $85,000 in San Antonio?
A household earning $85,000 in San Antonio needs about $133,000 in San Francisco to keep the same lifestyle; coming the other way, $85,000 of San Francisco lifestyle costs about $41,500 in San Antonio.