Cost of Living in San Antonio
San Antonio runs meaningfully below the national average on overall cost of living -- BestPlaces.net puts its composite index at 91.3, meaning day-to-day costs run about 8.7% below the U.S. average (and modestly above the Texas state average). The one real exception, and it's a genuine one worth flagging plainly, is healthcare: multiple sources put San Antonio healthcare costs above the national average even as almost everything else runs cheaper.
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Learn moreThe Overall Index
BestPlaces.net's cost-of-living index for San Antonio (retrieved August 2026) scores the city at 91.3 against a national baseline of 100 -- about 8.7% below the U.S. average and roughly 3.1% above the Texas state average. Translated to dollar terms, the same source cites a monthly cost of living around $2,280 for a single adult and $5,021 for a family of four. This is consistent with San Antonio's base-record positioning as one of the more affordable major Texas metros.
Housing
Housing is the category with the widest source disagreement, worth disclosing rather than picking one figure: one BestPlaces-derived source puts monthly housing cost around $2,047 and only about 2.3% below the U.S. average, while a separate aggregator describes housing as roughly 25% cheaper than the U.S. average and cites a $270,000 median home price (close to, though not identical to, the $265,000 city-level median sale price cited in San Antonio's base record and the housing-market topic page). Treat the exact percentage as source-dependent; the directional story -- San Antonio housing runs meaningfully cheaper than Austin and most other major Texas metros -- holds across sources.
Groceries & Utilities
Groceries run about 5.6% below the national average per BestPlaces.net (around $653/month), with a separate source citing a similar roughly 7% discount -- a modest, consistent below-average category. Utilities run further below average still: BestPlaces cites about $314/month and 16.7% below the U.S. average, with another source citing "about 15% less" -- both land in the same range despite different exact figures.
Healthcare: The Real Exception
Healthcare is the one category that runs above, not below, the national average -- and sources disagree on by how much, which is itself worth naming rather than smoothing over. BestPlaces cites healthcare services at $170/month and 18.1% above the U.S. average; a separate source cites doctor visits and dentistry specifically running about 27% above the national average, matching the 27% figure already cited in San Antonio's base record. Whichever precise number you use, the honest takeaway is the same: San Antonio's overall affordability advantage does not extend evenly to healthcare, a real tradeoff for anyone budgeting a move here on medical costs specifically.
Taxes
Texas has no state personal income tax, the single largest structural cost-of-living advantage San Antonio carries. It does not offset property taxes for homeowners, which run high by national standards (see the property-taxes and taxes topic pages) -- a renter and a homeowner experience San Antonio's tax picture very differently.
Key takeaways
- San Antonio's overall cost of living runs about 8.7% below the U.S. average (BestPlaces.net index: 91.3), and about 3.1% above the Texas state average.
- Housing cost estimates vary by source (roughly 2.3% to 25% below the national average depending on methodology) but consistently describe San Antonio as cheaper than Austin and most major Texas metros.
- Groceries run about 5.6%-7% below average; utilities about 15-16.7% below average -- both consistently below-average categories.
- Healthcare is the genuine exception: cited 18.1%-27% above the national average depending on source, consistent with the 27% figure in the base overview record.
- No Texas state income tax is the biggest structural cost advantage, but it does not offset San Antonio's comparatively high property tax burden for homeowners specifically.
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