Merced → San Antonio-New Braunfels
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Merced to San Antonio-New Braunfels is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 98.3 to 94.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $405/mo.
- +$184
- BLS median salary higher in San Antonio-New Braunfels
- 477 to 395
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 21.5:1 to 14.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $10,354
- DOL infant care lower / yr in San Antonio-New Braunfels
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + 4% lower cost of living
- + $405/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 98.3 to 94.7 (ratio 0.96), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $405/mo ($4,860/yr) from $1,503 in Merced to $1,098 in San Antonio-New Braunfels.
San Antonio-New Braunfels leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. San Antonio-New Braunfels sits #222 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (middle third). Merced is #370/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $184 higher ($68,749 → $68,933). Labor-market size: 72,870 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,113,320 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Texas scores 65 (C, #19/51) vs California at 40 (F, #50/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 70
- Property tax
- 72
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 4
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 55
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 44
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Merced to see what you'd need to earn in San Antonio-New Braunfels to maintain the same purchasing power.
San Antonio-New Braunfels metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026