San Antonio vs Houston
The short version
- San Antonio is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 4% lower than in the Houston area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $235,700 in San Antonio and $277,800 in Houston.
- San Antonio is growing faster: +8% since 2020 vs +4.2%.
Side by side
| San Antonio, TX | Houston, TX | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 1,548,422 | 2,397,315 |
| Growth since 2020 | +8% | +4.2% |
| People per square mile | 3,103 | 3,741 |
| Median age | 34.9 | 34.4 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 29% | 37% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $65,056 | $64,813 |
| Median home value | $235,700 | $277,800 |
| Home value to income | 3.6× | 4.3× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,324 | $1,361 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 94.7 | 98.6 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 94.6 | 104.5 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $71,000 | $74,000 |
| Homeowners | 52% | 42% |
| Top state income tax | None | None |
| Combined sales tax | 8.2% | 8.2% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 24.5 | 27.2 |
| Work from home | 14% | 13% |
| Take public transit | 2% | 3% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 6.2% | 6.9% |
| Poverty rate | 17.1% | 19.9% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 63° / 41° | 64° / 44° |
| July high / low | 95° / 75° | 95° / 76° |
| Precipitation per year | 32 in | 52 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 122 | 111 |
| Nights below freezing | 14 | 10 |
| Comfortable months | 6 | 6 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Very High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 99.4 | 99.9 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 42% | 10% |
| Home prices, past year | -0.5% | +3.4% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +29.3% | +32.7% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: San Antonio: February to April and October to December. Houston: November to April.
Full monthly tables: San Antonio weather by month and Houston weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $71,000 in San Antonio and $74,000 in Houston. Moving from San Antonio to Houston, you would need about $78,100 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between San Antonio and Houston
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from San Antonio and Houston.
Which would you pick?
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