San Antonio-New Braunfels → Waco

Moving from San Antonio-New Braunfels to Waco shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 94.7 to 92.5 (100 = US average), so a San Antonio-New Braunfels salary needs to be multiplied by 0.98 to hold the same purchasing power in Waco. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,098/month in San Antonio-New Braunfels to $973/month in Waco - a lower monthly bill of $125, or $1,500/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $68,933 in San Antonio-New Braunfels versus $60,744 in Waco - a raw gap of $8,189 lower. The Waco labor market has 117,690 tracked jobs against 1,113,320 in San Antonio-New Braunfels, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near San Antonio-New Braunfels and Waco are 395 and 395 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14.7:1 at origin versus 14.7:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $7,566/year in San Antonio-New Braunfels versus $7,566/year in Waco. Our composite verdict - Neutral — Depends on Priorities - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.