Cost of Living
per year
per month
How San Antonio's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in San Antonio?
Your $100,000 in San Antonio has the same purchasing power as $106,293 in the average US city. You'd need $6,293 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of San Antonio's cost index of 94, sorted by closest match.
People moving to San Antonio usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: living costs come in under the us baseline, wage income stays untaxed at the state level, plus 3 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
San Antonio sits at 94 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 6% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $1,189/mo against a typical household income of $59,593, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Wage income in San Antonio isn't taxed at the state level. Texas is one of the few US states with no income tax, which is one of the reasons people relocating from high-tax states tend to land here in the first place.
San Antonio's Walk Score is 82/100 — top-tier walkability by US standards. Groceries, coffee, work, social life: most of it lands within reasonable foot range of wherever you live. A lot of residents skip car ownership entirely, which is its own form of savings on top of the lifestyle change. Transit Score comes in at 52/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
San Antonio's Bike Score is 60/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
The average one-way commute in San Antonio is about 25 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from San Antonio's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Now and then. San Antonio's winters are cool rather than truly cold — about 43°F on average — so most of the precipitation falls as rain. A snowy morning happens a few times a season; sustained accumulation is rare.
Mild on the cold side. San Antonio's winter average of about 43°F is the kind of weather where you want a jacket but the heating bill is manageable. Snow is rare, frost is occasional, and the lawn never really browns out.
Genuinely hot. Summer in San Antonio averages about 94°F, and peak afternoons run well over a hundred. Outdoor plans move to mornings and evenings; AC is the most-used appliance in the house.
Zone 9, give or take a half-zone. San Antonio's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 9 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
San Antonio is at about 728 feet (222 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
Atlantic basin storms can form from June 1 to November 30, but the serious ones cluster in August, September, and the first half of October. Residents of San Antonio learn the season's rhythm fast: watch the cone, board up when it's the call, and don't shrug off the slow-mover storms — those are usually the ones that flood.
Higher than average. San Antonio reports about 5,997 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
Roughly average. San Antonio's cost-of-living index is 94, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Yes — San Antonio is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 82/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 52 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $65,856 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in San Antonio runs about $1,189/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.