City comparison
Houston, TX is about 200 miles (300 km) from San Antonio, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 225 miles, or about 4 h behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Houston, TX to San Antonio, TX takes about 23 min, covering roughly 200 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Houston has a population of 2,296,253, vs 1,445,662 in San Antonio — about 1.6× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 500 sq mi for San Antonio.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Houston | San Antonio | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,235/mo | $1,189/mo | 3.9% higher in Houston |
| Median home value | $235,000 | $198,000 | 18.7% higher in Houston |
| Median household income | $60,440 | $59,593 | 1.4% higher in Houston |
| Groceries index | 100.4 | 94.2 | 6.6% higher in Houston |
| Utilities index | 96.3 | 83.3 | 15.6% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 95.8 | 96.6 | 0.9% higher in San Antonio |
| Healthcare index | 95.2 | 96.1 | 1.0% higher in San Antonio |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Houston, you'd need $94,127 in San Antonio to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
San Antonio, TX is about 5.9% cheaper overall than Houston, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 10% higher in Houston than in San Antonio. If you earn $80,000 in Houston, you'd need about $75,302 in San Antonio to keep the same standard of living.