With San Antonio constantly growing and undertaking multiple high-profile developments this year, we figured it was time to talk about the cost of planting some roots in the Alamo City.
The median household income in Bexar County is $62,169 according to the US Census Bureau. State-wide, Texas ranks No. 24 in the country for median income at ~$66,963 per household.
The overall cost of living in San Antonio is lower than the national average.
Screenshot via bestplaces.net
The overall cost of living in the 210 is lower than the national average and lower than the rest of the state.
In San Antonio, the cost of healthcare is lower compared to other parts of the state + the US. The cost of groceries, housing, transportation, and other miscellaneous expenses in the city have lower average costs than other cities in Texas and the country overall.
Breaking down the numbers
Hypothetically speaking, if you live in a household that brings in $50,000 annually — according to experts — you shouldn’t spend more than 30% of your monthly gross income on rent. Don’t worry, we did the math for you — your max monthly rent budget would be $1,250. The average monthly rent for an apartment in San Antonio is $1,304 — putting you over budget.
According to a recent study by Attom Data Solutions, it’s actually more affordable to buy a home in Bexar County than to rent.
Take a look at the chart below to see how SATX’s cost of living compares to that of Austin.
San Antonio is generally more affordable than Austin.
Screenshot via bestplaces.net
Interested in seeing San Antonio’s cost of living compared to cities in other states? We played around on NerdWallet’s cost of living calculator, where you can put in any city along with your current pre-tax household income to find out what other cities you could actually afford to live in.
We took a look at the cost of living in San Antonio compared to Austin. Here’s what we found:
- The cost of living is 11% higher in Austin.
- To maintain our standard of living, we would need to bring in $55,641 to our ATX household.
- The median cost for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,724, which is $347 more than San Antonio.
The Alamo City also has entities such as the San Antonio Housing Authority + other government-funded programs to help develop more affordable units.
There are also a number of local development firms working on apartments seemingly all the time — from Overland Partners involved in landmark developments to Weston Urban’s 32-story, downtown residential tower. Even Hemisfair is getting in on the mixed-use housing space with Phase II of Civic Park being approved by the Historic Design Review Commission.
