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CityLedger

Sacramento vs San Antonio

Metro-area medians — Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metro Area vs San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area — not the cities proper.

San Antonio comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 9 clearly-decided measures.

San Antonio is about 13% cheaper to live in, while Sacramento households earn about 26% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Sacramento.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Sacramento, CA
$58,296
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$54,651
real value after local prices
San Antonio, TX
$61,314
take-home / yr · 18% to tax
$64,734
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, San Antonio leaves you about $10,083/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Sacramento
San Antonio
Livability (CityLedger)
59/100
46/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
106.7
94.7
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$92,599
$82,470
Median household income
$98,775
$78,112
Median rent
$1,904/mo
$1,422/mo
Median home value
$605,500
$304,800
Unemployment
5.9%
5.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher
38.3%
32.8%
Average commute
27.7 min
27.6 min
Air quality (median AQI)
55
53
Avg temperature
63°F
70°F

Choose Sacramento for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
Full Sacramento profile →

Choose San Antonio for

  • + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full San Antonio profile →

Sacramento vs San Antonio — frequently asked

Is Sacramento cheaper than San Antonio?
San Antonio is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 13% below Sacramento's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
Which has higher household income, Sacramento or San Antonio?
Sacramento has the higher median household income — $98,775 versus $78,112 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 26% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Sacramento or San Antonio?
A paycheck stretches further in Sacramento. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $92,599 there versus $82,470 in San Antonio.
Which has cheaper rent, Sacramento or San Antonio?
San Antonio has cheaper rent — a median of $1,422/mo versus $1,904/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).