What San Antonio’s cost-of-living index tells you
A cost-of-living index expresses local prices relative to the US average, which is fixed at 100. San Antonio’s composite index is 92, meaning everyday costs run about 8% below the national norm, driven mostly by affordable housing. This tool shows the category breakdown and converts a salary from your current city into the equivalent San Antonio income that preserves your standard of living.
How it works
The composite index is a weighted blend of major spending categories. To compare cities, you scale your salary by the ratio of the destination index to your origin index:
equivalent_salary = currentSalary * (sanAntonioIndex / currentCityIndex)If San Antonio’s 92 is lower than your current city’s index, the equivalent salary is smaller, because the same money goes further. The category weights used here are housing 30%, groceries 13%, transportation 12%, utilities 8%, healthcare 7%, and other goods and services 30%.
Example and notes
If you earn $80,000 in a city with an index of 120, the San Antonio equivalent is 80000 * (92 / 120) = $61,333. In other words, you could maintain the same lifestyle on roughly $61.3k in San Antonio. Remember this is a broad average. Your own mix of rent, commuting, and healthcare can shift the real figure, and Texas having no state income tax is a separate benefit that the consumer-price index of 92 does not include.