Dallas composite
47.1 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Dallas vs San Antonio
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX and San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 47.1
- Dallas Life Score
- C+
- Dallas grade
- 61.2
- San Antonio Life Score
- A-
- San Antonio grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Dallas scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and San Antonio on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Dallas San Antonio ◗
cost of living
12
45
wages
86
72
rent
10
82
safety
36
33
schools
42
45
childcare
77
73
environment
85
88
Dallas and San Antonio differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Dallas has a cost-of-living index of 103.1 vs San Antonio's 94.7 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $73,476 in Dallas and $68,933 in San Antonio. A 2-bedroom averages $1,931/mo vs $1,098/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Dallas vs San Antonio Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Dallas and San Antonio works out to $9,996 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Dallas carries the same local purchasing power as $91,877 in San Antonio - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 394.7 per 100,000 residents in TX vs 394.7 in TX, with property-crime rates of 2058.2 and 2058.2 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: TX lists 9,061 public schools at a 14.4:1 student-teacher ratio, while TX lists 9,061 schools at 14.4:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,566/yr in the Dallas area versus $7,566/yr in San Antonio - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Dallas and San Antonio are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
San Antonio composite
61.2 /100
Grade A- · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
3 pts
San Antonio cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
3 pts
Dallas safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Dallas
Dallas composite (Grade C+)
San Antonio
San Antonio composite (Grade A-)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Dallas | San Antonio |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 103.1 | 94.7 |
| Goods | 102.8 | 93.8 |
| Services | 90.7 | 82.2 |
| Rents | 117.9 | 94.6 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in San Antonio gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Dallas?
$
Equivalent in San Antonio:
$91,877
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Dallas: 103.1, San Antonio: 94.7, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Dallas | San Antonio |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,582/mo | $831/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,648/mo | $1,002/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,931/mo | $1,098/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,431/mo | $1,435/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $3,091/mo | $1,454/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Dallas | San Antonio |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $73,476 | $68,933 |
| Total Employment | 4,019,090 | 1,113,320 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Dallas (TX) | San Antonio (TX) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 394.7 | 394.7 |
| Property Crime | 2058.2 | 2058.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 9,061 | 9,061 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.4:1 | 14.4:1 |
| Charter Schools | 11.1% | 11.1% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,566/yr | $7,566/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,109/yr | $7,109/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,926/yr | $6,926/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 2,342 | 2,342 |
| Water Systems | 4,620 | 4,620 |
| Superfund Sites | 70 | 70 |
| Water Violations | 35,693 | 35,693 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Dallas | San Antonio |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 59.0 | 52.0 |
| Good Air Days | 28.2% | 42.5% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 45 days | 11 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 13/100 | 13/100 |
| Total Violations | 746,210 | 746,210 |
| Health-Based Violations | 162,945 | 162,945 |
| Systems with Violations | 90.2% | 90.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 67/100 | 67/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 33.0% | 33.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 1,119 | 1,119 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 64/100 | 64/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 49.0 | 49.0 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 44.7 | 44.7 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dallas more expensive than San Antonio? ▼
Dallas has a cost of living index of 103.1 compared to San Antonio's 94.7 (national average = 100). Dallas is 8.4 points above San Antonio on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Dallas and San Antonio? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,931/mo in Dallas vs $1,098/mo in San Antonio, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,582/mo to $831/mo.
How do salaries compare between Dallas and San Antonio? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $73,476 in Dallas and $68,933 in San Antonio, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Dallas has the same purchasing power as $91,877 in San Antonio.
Is Dallas or San Antonio safer? ▼
At the state level, TX has a violent crime rate of 394.7 per 100,000 residents compared to TX's 394.7 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 2058.2 vs 2058.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Dallas and San Antonio? ▼
TX has 9,061 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.4:1, while TX has 9,061 schools at 14.4:1. Charter schools make up 11.1% of TX schools vs 11.1% in TX. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare