Dallas vs San Antonio: which should you move to?
Dallas or San Antonio? Housing, rent, crime, climate, income, taxes and transit, side by side, from each city's own published figures. Written for someone deciding where to live, not for a ranking.
Dallas
San Antonio
Both cities are in Texas and both were priced at Freddie Mac's 7.03% rate of 24 September 2026, so the rate and the state's rules are shared, but the prices are different measures: Dallas's is the median single-family sale inside the city, San Antonio's the San Antonio Board of REALTORS' median for all of Bexar County. Mortgage, property tax and insurance come to about $3,529 a month on Dallas's $469,900 and $2,116 on the Bexar County median of $280,999, roughly 57% of Dallas's median household income of $74,323 and 38% of San Antonio's $66,176. Zillow's index for each city keeps the order with a smaller gap, $305,765 against $247,453. Neither levies an income tax and both charge 8.25% sales tax, but on the same $280,999 house San Antonio's seven taxing units charge $4,390 against $3,894 from Dallas's five. Crime is split: San Antonio has the lower violent crime, 532 offenses per 100,000 against 577, and homicide, about 6.8 per 100,000 against 10.5, and Dallas the lower property crime. San Antonio is now the larger city and still growing; Dallas lost residents in 2024-25. Choose Dallas for a labor market almost four times the size, DFW and the rail. Choose San Antonio for the cheaper house, the lower homicide rate and a milder winter.
| Measure | Dallas | San Antonio | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| City population | 1,329,491 (2025) | 1,548,422 (2025) | Not directly comparable |
| Metro population | 8,477,157 (2025) | 2,813,140 (2025) | Not directly comparable |
| Five-year growth Growth is pressure on rents and roads as much as it is opportunity, so it is reported without a winner. | 1.9% (2020-2025) | 8.0% (2020-2025) | Not directly comparable |
What a home costs in each
The figures the two cities' rent-versus-buy and mortgage calculators run on, read from the same tables.
| Measure | Dallas | San Antonio | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark home price MLS® HPI or equivalent benchmark. Lower is treated as the advantage, which is the buyer's view rather than the owner's. | $469,900 (August 2026) | $280,999 (August 2026) | San Antonio |
| Detached house benchmark Dallas publishes a single house index rather than a composite, so the two rows repeat. | $469,900 | $249,206 | San Antonio |
| Apartment or condominium benchmark | $310,000 | $167,371 | San Antonio |
| Two-bedroom rent | $1,853/mo (average, August 2026) | $1,179/mo (median, September 2026) | San Antonio |
| One-bedroom rent | $1,416/mo | $957/mo | San Antonio |
| Two-bedroom rent against median income A year of two-bedroom rent as a share of the median household income below. A household paying the median rent out of the median income is a fiction, but it is the same fiction in both columns and it crosses currencies. | 29.9% of a year's income | 21.4% of a year's income | San Antonio |
| Mortgage payment on the benchmark, 20% down 30-year amortization on American monthly compounding, the convention in both. | $2,509/mo at 7.03% | $1,500/mo at 7.03% | San Antonio |
| Price to household income Benchmark price divided by the median household income below. A ratio is comparable across currencies; the dollars are not. | 6.3× | 4.2× | San Antonio |
| Property tax on the benchmark home The effective rate on market value, which is what the two rates have in common and what the Advantage column is decided on; the bills are in each city's own dollars. | $7,448/yr (1.585%, 2025) | $4,389/yr (1.562%, 2025) | San Antonio |
| Transfer tax on the benchmark home Compared as a share of the price. Where the seller pays it, it is a cost of leaving rather than arriving. | None | None | Even |
| Rent control A cap protects a sitting tenant and does nothing for the next lease, so neither column is simply better. | Forbidden by state law | Forbidden by state law | Not directly comparable |
Dallas: About 1.58% of value for a homesteaded owner, worked out on the $469,900 median single-family sale price. A house in the City of Dallas and Dallas ISD is taxed by five units for 2025, which add to 2.22671 per $100 before any exemption. Each takes its own homestead exemption off the appraised value first: Dallas ISD the state's $140,000 and a further 10% of its own, and Dallas County, the City, Dallas College and the Parkland Hospital District 20% each. So Dallas County levies 0.2155 per $100 on $375,920 after a $93,980 exemption, $810; City of Dallas levies 0.6988 per $100 on $375,920 after a $93,980 exemption, $2,627; Dallas ISD levies 0.993835 per $100 on $282,910 after a $186,990 exemption, $2,812; Dallas College levies 0.106575 per $100 on $375,920 after a $93,980 exemption, $401; Parkland Hospital District levies 0.212 per $100 on $375,920 after a $93,980 exemption, $797. The five come to $7,446 a year, 1.58% of the price. Without a homestead, as a landlord or a buyer who never files, the same house owes $10,463. The appraisal district's own typical homestead is cheaper than the typical sale: its certified median market value for a City of Dallas homestead was $364,530 for the 2025 appraisal year, the value on 1 January 2025 these rates were levied on, and $364,000 for 2026. On $364,530 the same five units come to $5,465, 1.50%, lower because the school district's flat exemption is a larger share of a cheaper house. These are the 2025 rates, the bills due by 31 January 2026. The appraisal district's 2026 table was still its estimate of 4 March 2026 when these figures were retrieved, so the calculators stay on 2025 until the five units' 2026 rates are published. San Antonio: About 1.56% of value for a homesteaded owner, worked out on the $280,999 Bexar County median sale price. A house in the City of San Antonio and Northside ISD, the school district more of the city's residents live in than any other, is taxed by seven units for 2025, which add to 2.290174 per $100 before any exemption. Each takes its own homestead exemption off the appraised value first: Northside ISD the state's $140,000 and nothing more, the county's Road and Flood Control Fund the state's $3,000 for a flood control tax and a further 20%, the Alamo Community College District 1% with the state's $5,000 floor, the San Antonio River Authority 4%, and Bexar County, University Health and the City 20% each. So Bexar County levies 0.276331 per $100 on $224,799 after an exemption of $56,200, $621; Bexar County Road and Flood Control Fund levies 0.023668 per $100 on $221,799 after an exemption of $59,200, $52; University Health levies 0.276235 per $100 on $224,799 after an exemption of $56,200, $621; City of San Antonio levies 0.54159 per $100 on $224,799 after an exemption of $56,200, $1,217; Northside ISD levies 1.0049 per $100 on $140,999 after an exemption of $140,000, $1,417; Alamo Community College District levies 0.14915 per $100 on $275,999 after an exemption of $5,000, $412; San Antonio River Authority levies 0.0183 per $100 on $269,759 after an exemption of $11,240, $49. The seven come to $4,390 a year, 1.56% of the price. Without a homestead, as a landlord or a buyer who never files, the same house owes $6,435. In San Antonio ISD, the inner-city district, the school line is 1.1552 per $100 after an exemption of $145,000, and the same house comes to $4,544, 1.62%. The median is the county's, and a typical home inside the city is cheaper: on $247,453, Zillow's August 2026 value for a typical City of San Antonio home, the Northside ISD stack comes to $3,697, 1.49%, lower because the school district's flat exemption is a larger share of a cheaper house. These are the 2025 rates, the bills due by 31 January 2026. When these figures were retrieved the Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector's official table ran to 2025, with the units' 2026 rate calculation worksheets posted but no 2026 official rates, so the calculators stay on 2025 until all seven are published.
How safe each city is, by the numbers it publishes
Police-reported figures for the most recent year each force or statistics agency has released. Rates describe a whole city or metro area, and the spread between neighbourhoods inside one city is usually wider than the gap between the two cities.
| Measure | Dallas | San Antonio | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Severity Index Statistics Canada's weighted index for the metropolitan area, where 100 is Canada in 2006. American cities have no equivalent series. | Not published | Not published | Not directly comparable |
| Violent crime per 100,000 | 577 (2025) | 532 (2025) | San Antonio |
| Property crime per 100,000 | 3,081 (2025) | 3,920 (2025) | Dallas |
| Homicides Counts, not rates, and a single year in a small city moves a long way on chance alone. What each figure covers is under the table. | 140 (2025) | 106 (2025) | Not directly comparable |
On the FBI's definitions, violent offenses in Dallas went from 11,181 in 2021 to 10,255 in 2022, 9,025 in 2023, 8,747 in 2024 and 7,674 in 2025, a 12% drop in the last year and 31% in four, and property offenses from 46,991 to 49,224, a peak of 52,641 in 2023, then 45,106 and 40,962, 22% below the peak. Motor vehicle theft drove most of that swing: 11,818 in 2021, 18,457 in 2023 and 11,162 in 2025. In 2025 the CDE shows aggravated assaults down 12% (5,826 to 5,144), robberies down 10% (2,235 to 2,020), rapes down 27% (505 to 370) and murders down 23% (181 to 140). On its own definitions DPD reported violent crime down 12%, robberies down 10%, aggravated assaults down 12% and sexual assaults down 13%. The 2025 CDE counts were read on 27 September 2026 from a feed last refreshed on 15 September and can still be revised.
What the rates cover: Computed: 7,674 violent offenses (murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) in the FBI Crime Data Explorer's summarized data for the Dallas Police Department (ORI TXDPD0000) in calendar 2025, divided by the 1,329,491 Vintage 2025 city population. On the CDE's own agency population of 1,331,217 the rate is 576. DPD does not publish a total on this definition. The violent crime its Violent Crime Reduction Plan tracks is murder, robbery and aggravated assault, with family-violence and other aggravated assaults counted separately and rape left out. Its public incident dataset on Dallas OpenData, which the city describes as a research copy rather than the authoritative count, lists only 57 murder incidents and 12 family-violence aggravated assault incidents for 2025, so it cannot rebuild either total.
Homicides: 140 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters in 2025 in the FBI CDE, against 181 in 2024, about 10.5 per 100,000 on the city population. DPD's own year-end count was 141 homicides against 184 in 2024, a 23% drop (CBS Texas, February 2026); nothing fetched explains the gaps of one and three cases between the two series. The high point in the CDE series since 2021 is 244, in 2023.
On the FBI's definitions, violent offenses in San Antonio went from 11,219 in 2021 to a peak of 13,105 in 2022, then 10,440 in 2023, 9,173 in 2024 and 8,241 in 2025, a 10% drop in the last year and 37% below the peak, and property offenses from 61,559 to 74,787 and a peak of 80,789 in 2023, then 70,657 and 60,693, 25% below the peak. Motor vehicle theft drove most of that swing: 8,912 in 2021, 19,090 in 2023 and 9,527 in 2025, half the peak. In 2025 the CDE shows aggravated assaults down 9% (6,037 to 5,506), robberies down 17% (1,656 to 1,380), rapes down 8% (1,354 to 1,249) and murders down 16% (126 to 106). SAPD's own January-to-November comparison points the same way: all reported crime down 13% (143,529 to 124,314), crimes against property down 18.1%, motor vehicle theft down 26.5% and robberies down 16.4%, while crimes against society rose 15.4%, which the chief put down to more drug arrests. A University of Texas at San Antonio evaluation of the city's Violent Crime Reduction Plan found violent street crime fell 22% in treated hot spots in 2024 against 9.6% citywide (San Antonio Report). The 2025 CDE counts were read on 30 September 2026 from a feed last refreshed on 15 September and can still be revised.
What the rates cover: Computed: 8,241 violent offenses (murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) in the FBI Crime Data Explorer's summarized data for the San Antonio Police Department (ORI TXSPD0000) in calendar 2025, divided by the 1,548,422 Vintage 2025 city population. On the CDE's own agency population of 1,549,306 the rate is also 532. No SAPD total on this definition was found in anything fetched. Its year-end report to the City Council's Public Safety Committee in December 2025 counted NIBRS crimes against persons, which include simple assaults, and put them at 28,361 for January through November 2025, down 9% from 31,179 in the same months of 2024 (KSAT).
Homicides: 106 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters in 2025 in the FBI CDE, against 126 in 2024, about 6.8 per 100,000 on the city population. SAPD's own count for January through November 2025 was 99 against 119 in the same months of 2024, a drop of nearly 17% (KSAT); a full-year SAPD figure was not found in anything fetched. The high point in the CDE series since 2021 is 233, in 2022, a year whose count includes the 53 migrants found dead in a tractor-trailer on the Southwest Side (San Antonio Report).
Winters, summers and what the weather can do to a house
| Measure | Dallas | San Antonio | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| January mean | 8.8 °C | 11.2 °C | Not directly comparable |
| July mean | 30.7 °C | 29.3 °C | Not directly comparable |
| Precipitation a year | 973 mm | 822 mm | Not directly comparable |
| Snowfall a year | 4 cm | 1 cm | Not directly comparable |
| Sunshine a year | 2,850 hours | 2,629 hours | Dallas |
NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for Dallas Love Field (station USW00013960), the city's own climate station about 6 miles northwest of downtown: January mean 47.8F, July mean 87.3F, annual mean 68.0F, 38.32 in of precipitation, 1.7 in of snow. July and August tie as the warmest months at 87.3F, with mean highs of 96.9F and 97.1F, and January's mean low is 37.9F. October (4.79 in) and May (4.57 in) are the wettest months and July (1.71 in) the driest, and most of the snow falls in February (0.9 in). The normals count 107.5 days a year at 90F or above, 22.4 at 100F or above and 23.1 nights at or below freezing. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (USW00003927), where the National Weather Service keeps the metro's official record, averages 46.3F in January and 85.7F in July with 37.01 in of rain and 1.6 in of snow, 20.3 days at 100F or above and 29.2 nights at or below freezing. Converted here to 8.8 C, 30.7 C, 973 mm and 4.3 cm. That July mean is the warmest of any city this site compares, 1.5F (0.8 C) above Austin's at Camp Mabry. Sunshine hours are the older 1961-1990 NCDC means (2,850 hours, 61% of possible), since the 1991-2020 normals do not include sunshine.
Hazards: Heat is the constant. The normals give Love Field 22.4 days a year at or above 100F (37.8 C); its record since 1939 is 73 such days in 2011, including 40 in a row from 2 July to 10 August, and its highest reading is 112F (44.4 C), on 26 and 27 June 1980 and again on 22 July 2018. At DFW Airport the record is 71 days in 2011 and the longest run 42, from 23 June to 3 August 1980, when the airport reached 113F (45.0 C). The summer of 2026 is among the hottest on record: by 22 September Love Field had 54 days at 100F or above, fourth in its record, and DFW 52, tied for fifth, 27 of them in August. Hail is the costly routine hazard. NOAA's billion-dollar disaster list counts a North Texas hailstorm on 23 and 24 March 2016 at $2.06 billion in 2016 dollars, and on 11 April 2016 a supercell dropped hailstones up to 5.25 in (13.3 cm), the record for the NWS Fort Worth area, and hit 80% of the homes in Wylie, northeast of the city; Cotality counted more than 235,000 Texas homes hit by damaging hail in 2025, far more than in any other state. Tornadoes reach the city itself. On 20 October 2019 an EF3 with winds near 140 mph (225 km/h) tracked 15.76 miles (25.4 km) from near I-35E and Walnut Hill Lane through Preston Hollow to US 75 and on into Richardson, damaging a high school, a middle school and an elementary school, destroying about 118 structures and doing $1.55 billion of damage without a death; on 26 December 2015 an EF4 killed 10 people in Sunnyvale, Garland and Rowlett in eastern Dallas County. The Trinity River passes downtown between 23 miles (37 km) of levees 29 to 32 ft (8.8 to 9.8 m) high, completed in 1932 and upgraded by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s. The river's record crest at Dallas, 52.6 ft (16.0 m), came in the flood of May 1908, before them; the highest since was 47.1 ft (14.4 m) in May 1990, and by November 2023 the Corps had raised the West levee to carry 277,000 cubic feet (7,844 cubic meters) a second, with the East levee still to do. Flash floods on the creeks are the more frequent danger: on 21 and 22 August 2022, 9.19 in (233 mm) fell at DFW Airport in 24 hours, second only to 9.57 in (243 mm) in September 1932, 9.14 in (232 mm) fell at Love Field and 15.16 in (385 mm) at a gauge on White Rock Creek at Scyene Road, and at least one person died. Cold is rare and badly handled when it comes. Winter Storm Uri left 5.3 in (13.5 cm) of snow at Love Field from 14 to 17 February 2021 and a low of 2F (-16.7 C) on the 16th, matched there only in January 1949 and beaten only in January 1940 (0F, -17.8 C) and December 1989 (1F, -17.2 C); DFW Airport fell to -2F (-18.9 C), the lowest in its record since 1953. ERCOT cut power across the state grid from 15 to 18 February and about 4.5 million customers lost it at the worst; Texas counted 246 deaths from the storm, 22 of them in Dallas County. In January 2026 Winter Storm Fern brought 2.4 in (6.1 cm) of snow and sleet to DFW Airport and lows of 13F (-10.6 C), and the grid held. Drought is the slow hazard. The seven water supply lakes the Texas Water Development Board counts for the Dallas area stood at 86.5% of conservation capacity on 27 September 2026, down from 98.7% at the end of June; in the 2011 to 2015 drought they fell to 62.7% before the rains of 2015 filled them. Dallas has capped lawn watering at twice a week since April 2012.
NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for San Antonio International Airport (station USW00012921), inside the city about 8 miles north of downtown and the station where the National Weather Service keeps San Antonio's official record: January mean 52.2F, July mean 84.8F, annual mean 69.6F, 32.38 in of precipitation, 0.2 in of snow. August is the warmest month at 85.5F, with a mean high of 96.0F; July's mean high is 94.9F and January's mean low is 41.0F. May (4.40 in) and September (3.88 in) are the wettest months and February (1.74 in) the driest; the little snow the normals record falls in February and December. The normals count 122.4 days a year at 90F or above, 17.7 at 100F or above and 14.0 nights at or below freezing. Converted here to 11.2 C, 29.3 C, 822 mm and 0.5 cm. That January mean is the same as Austin's at Camp Mabry and the precipitation is the least of the Texas cities this site compares, 99 mm less than Austin's and 495 mm less than Houston's. Sunshine hours are the older 1961-1990 NCDC means (2,629 hours, 60% of possible, and 105 clear days), since the 1991-2020 normals do not include sunshine.
Hazards: Flash flooding is the defining hazard. San Antonio sits on the Balcones Escarpment in what a National Weather Service meteorologist calls Flash Flood Alley, where shallow soil over limestone sends heavy rain straight into the creeks. On 17 and 18 October 1998 a nearly stationary storm complex, fed by moisture from two Eastern Pacific hurricanes, dropped 11.26 in (286 mm) on San Antonio International on the 17th, still the station's wettest calendar day, and 13.35 in (339 mm) in 24 hours, and October 1998's 18.07 in (459 mm) remains the wettest month on record there. Across South Texas that flood killed 31 people, and NOAA puts the damage at $942 million ($1.81 billion in 2024 dollars); the San Antonio Report counts 11 of the dead in San Antonio. On 25 May 2013, over Memorial Day weekend, 9.87 in (251 mm) fell at the airport, the station's second-wettest day, and a gauge on Olmos Creek caught 15.31 in in five hours and about 17 in by the end of the day; US 281 stayed under water for days, crews made more than 235 rescues and at least two people died. The deadliest single day came on 12 June 2025, when more than 7 in fell in three hours over the Beitel Creek watershed on the Northeast Side and the airport recorded a record 3.9 in (99 mm) in one hour and 6.11 in (155 mm) for the day: the creek rose by as much as a foot every ten minutes, and 13 people died, 11 of them along Beitel Creek, where at least 15 vehicles were swept off the Loop 410 frontage road. Two more were found dead after a storm flooded Salado Creek over Labor Day weekend, and over the July Fourth weekend between the two 117 people died in nearby Kerr County and 135 across the state. Heat is the constant. The normals count 122.4 days a year at or above 90F, about the same as Austin's 122.8 and more than Houston's 111.3 or Dallas's 107.5, and 17.7 at or above 100F (37.8 C), between Houston's 7.0 and Dallas's 22.4. The airport's record is 75 days of 100F in 2023, including 23 in a row from 30 July to 21 August, well ahead of 59 in 2009 and 58 in 2022, and its highest reading is 111F (43.9 C), on 5 September 2000; 2026 had 24 such days through 22 September. Cold is rare and badly handled. Winter Storm Uri left 6.2 in (15.7 cm) of snow at the airport from 14 to 18 February 2021 and a low of 9F (-12.8 C) on the 15th, the coldest there since 6F (-14.4 C) on 23 December 1989; the station's record low is 0F (-17.8 C), on 31 January 1949, and its biggest snowfall 13.2 in (33.5 cm), on 12 January 1985. ERCOT cut power across the state grid from 15 to 18 February and about 4.5 million customers lost it at the worst; Texas counted 246 deaths from the storm, 16 of them in Bexar County, and CPS Energy, the city's municipal electric and gas utility, reported $675 million to $850 million of losses on natural gas purchases and $175 million to $250 million on purchased power.
What people earn and what the government takes
| Measure | Dallas | San Antonio | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $74,323 USD (2024) | $66,176 USD (2024) | Dallas |
| Unemployment rate | 4.2% (July 2026) | 4.7% (July 2026) | Dallas |
| Sales tax | 8.25% | 8.25% | Even |
| Top marginal income tax Federal plus provincial or state. The American figure leaves out payroll taxes and the cost of health insurance, both of which a Canadian household covers through the tax it pays here. | 37% | 37% | Even |
| Income tax on $100,000, single filer Dallas and San Antonio sit under one province's or state's income tax, so the two cells describe the same tax and any difference between them is one of method rather than of tax. The two cells agree to the dollar here. The Advantage column is Even for that reason, and the essay below says the same thing. | $13,449 USD | $13,449 USD | Even |
BLS counted 4,353,400 nonfarm jobs in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA in July 2026 (not seasonally adjusted), up 54,000 or 1.3% on the year. Professional and business services (+3.0%, to 805,200) and leisure and hospitality (+3.0%) grew fastest, then mining, logging and construction and education and health services (both +2.0%), while information (-2.8%), financial activities (-1.0%) and manufacturing (-0.7%) shrank. Trade, transportation and utilities is the largest sector at 895,000 jobs, and government employs 465,400. The seasonally adjusted series (FRED DALL148NA) was 4,363,400 in August 2026, 1.1% above August 2025. Average weekly wages across the metro were $1,785 in the first quarter of 2026 against $1,654 nationally. The Dallas Regional Chamber counts 21 Fortune 500 headquarters in the region as of 2025 and 44 in the Fortune 1000, among them AT&T, Texas Instruments, American Airlines, Kimberly-Clark, Toyota Motor North America and McKesson.
Main sectors: Trade, transportation and utilities, the metro's largest sector (DFW Airport, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, BNSF Railway), Corporate headquarters and professional and business services (AT&T, Texas Instruments, McKesson, Kimberly-Clark, Toyota Motor North America), Financial activities (the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Charles Schwab, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America), Health care and education (Baylor Scott & White Health, Texas Health Resources, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Children's Health), Aerospace and advanced manufacturing (Lockheed Martin, Bell Textron, Raytheon, Texas Instruments).
Property tax is the local levy that matters. Tax Foundation puts Texas's effective property tax rate on owner-occupied homes at 1.40%, and school districts must exempt $140,000 of a homestead's value from their tax. The City of Dallas's own rate for the fiscal year that starts on 1 October 2026 is 69.78 cents per $100 of taxable value, down from 69.88 cents, the eleventh cut in a row, in a $5.66 billion budget. Proposition U, a charter amendment Dallas voters approved in November 2024, requires the council to put at least half of each year's revenue growth into the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System, with any remainder of that half going to police pay and to a force of at least 4,000 officers; the budget adopted in September 2026 funds 3,651 officers by the end of September 2027 and 3,800 a year later. The county, school district and other levies on the same bill belong to the housing layer.
BLS counted 1,191,700 nonfarm jobs in the San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA in August 2026 (not seasonally adjusted, preliminary), up 6,100 or 0.5% on the year. Professional and business services grew fastest (+4.8%, to 162,400), then construction (+2.9%) and trade, transportation and utilities (+2.8%), while information (-7.7%), government (-3.1%, to 181,800) and private education and health services (-2.0%, to 180,300) shrank; federal government employment fell 6.7%, from 38,700 to 36,100. Trade, transportation and utilities is the largest sector at 216,300 jobs. The seasonally adjusted series (SMS48417000000000001) was 1,195,900 in August 2026, 0.8% above August 2025. BLS's federal line is far smaller than the base itself: the Texas Comptroller counts 74,713 direct employees at Joint Base San Antonio in 2025, 33,256 of them active-duty military, and estimates the base supported 223,349 Texas jobs and $33.9 billion of the state's GDP ($53.5 billion of output). Greater SATX, the regional economic development group, calls it the largest joint base in the US military. UT San Antonio, formed when UTSA and UT Health San Antonio merged in September 2025, calls health care and biosciences, a $44.1 billion sector, the city's largest industry. H-E-B, USAA, Valero Energy and iHeartMedia are all headquartered in the city.
Main sectors: Military and federal installations: Joint Base San Antonio (Fort Sam Houston with Brooke Army Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base with the Air Force's basic military training and the 16th Air Force, and Randolph Air Force Base with the Air Education and Training Command), Health care and biosciences (the South Texas Medical Center, University Health, UT Health San Antonio and UT San Antonio, Methodist Hospital, the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital), Tourism and hospitality (Visit San Antonio counts $23.4 billion of economic impact and more than 150,000 jobs in 2024), Trade, transportation and utilities, the metro's largest sector by payroll jobs (H-E-B, headquartered in the city; CPS Energy; San Antonio International Airport's cargo), Financial services, energy and media headquarters (USAA, Valero Energy, iHeartMedia).
Property tax is the local levy that matters. Tax Foundation puts Texas's effective property tax rate on owner-occupied homes at 1.40%, and school districts must exempt $140,000 of a homestead's value from their tax. On 17 September 2026 the City Council voted 7 to 4, with Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones in the minority, to raise the city's own rate for the first time since 1992, as part of a plan to close a $158 million deficit over two years that also includes cuts, fee increases and a second rate increase planned for fiscal 2028. The fiscal 2027 rate is 56.288 cents per $100 of taxable value: 35.138 cents for maintenance and operations, two cents more than before, and 21.150 cents for debt service. The two outlets that gave a figure for the average homestead disagree: KSAT put it at about $49 more a year on a taxable value of $231,356, and the San Antonio Report at $35.43 on a $234,000 home. Senior and disabled homeowners with a tax freeze, about 47% of the city's homesteads, are unaffected (KSAT). The county, school district, University Health, San Antonio River Authority, Alamo Colleges and other levies on the same bill belong to the housing layer.
Whether you need a car
| Measure | Dallas | San Antonio | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| System | DART buses (nearly 700 vehicles), four light rail lines on 93 miles of track, the 26-mile Silver Line commuter rail from Plano to DFW Airport (opened October 2025), the Trinity Railway Express to Fort Worth run with Trinity Metro, the Dallas Streetcar and GoLink on-demand zones | VIA buses on 95 routes (three Primo rapid lines, 21 frequent and 70 standard) with 511 buses and 5,984 stops, VIA Link on-demand rideshare zones and paratransit (138 vehicles), across San Antonio, 13 smaller cities and unincorporated Bexar County; there is no rail, and the Green Line, the first of two Advanced Rapid Transit bus lines, is under construction | Not directly comparable |
| Commute by public transit | 2.0% (2024) | 2.4% (2024) | San Antonio |
| Walk or cycle to work | 2.5% (2024) | 2.5% (2024) | Even |
| Airport | Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), 85,660,127 passengers in 2025, 2.5% fewer than 2024's 87,817,864, per the airport's December 2025 traffic report; 12.65 million of them were international and American Airlines carried 82.6%. ACI World ranked it the fourth-busiest airport in the world by passengers in 2025 and third by aircraft movements. Dallas Love Field (DAL), about 6 miles northwest of downtown and the birthplace and headquarters of Southwest Airlines, handled 16,899,203 passengers in 2025, 5.5% fewer than in 2024 (FAA figures as cited by Wikipedia; the airport's website refused the fetcher). | San Antonio International Airport (SAT), about 8 miles north of downtown and with no airline hub, handled 10,740,694 passengers in 2025, 3.2% fewer than the record 11,094,278 of 2024, and a record 274,847,470 pounds of air cargo, up 15.7%, per the airport's year-end statistics report, which puts the passenger decline down to economic uncertainty and the federal government shutdown. The airport is building Terminal C, which it says will add more than 850,000 square feet and up to 18 domestic and international gates by mid-2028. | Not directly comparable |
DART carried 52,823,800 unlinked trips in 2025, 28,151,100 of them by bus and 21,611,600 on light rail, and about 157,300 a weekday in the second quarter of 2026, 65,300 of them on light rail (APTA ridership reports, as cited by Wikipedia; APTA's PDFs refused the fetcher). DART's own figure is more than 171,000 passengers a day across a 700-square-mile, 12-city service area. The Trinity Railway Express, which DART runs with Fort Worth's Trinity Metro, carried 1,337,600 trips in 2025 (APTA, same source). The Silver Line opened on 25 October 2025 through Plano, Richardson, Dallas, Addison, Carrollton, Coppell and Grapevine to DFW Airport, every 30 minutes at weekday peaks and hourly otherwise. DART is paid for by a 1% sales tax in its member cities, and the suburbs have pushed back on what they pay: Plano, Irving and Farmers Branch canceled withdrawal elections set for May 2026 after agreements that return part of their sales tax over six years for local transportation projects, Addison and University Park voted to stay, and Highland Park voted by 70% to leave, with service ending on 14 May 2026.
VIA carried 30,665,700 unlinked trips in 2025 and about 105,800 a weekday in the second quarter of 2026 (APTA ridership reports, as cited by Wikipedia; APTA's PDFs refused the fetcher), against 78.0 million for Houston's METRO and 52.8 million for DART. Bexar County voters created VIA in 1977 with a half-cent sales tax, and a city-only Advanced Transportation District approved in 2004 adds more. The VIA Rapid Green Line will run along San Pedro Avenue from San Antonio International Airport through downtown to Brooks Transit Center, with dedicated bus lanes and new signal-protected crossings. It is a $481 million project, $268 million of it a federal grant the Federal Transit Administration committed in December 2024; construction began in the summer of 2025, work is active along San Pedro, and the FTA's revenue service date is April 2028. The east-west Silver Line, from the Frost Bank Center area to General McMullen Drive, is in design and projected for late 2030.
Health care, schools and what each city is like
Health care
Care is paid for through employer or marketplace insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, and Texas is one of the ten states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (KFF, August 2026). It had the highest uninsured rate of any state in 2024: 16.7%, or 5,152,427 of 30,799,312 people, against 8.2% nationally and 12.0% in Georgia, the next highest, on the ACS 2024 1-year estimates. The City of Dallas's rate was 22.7% (297,684 of 1,313,770), Dallas County's 21.9% and the metro's 16.2%. Parkland Memorial Hospital, licensed for 983 beds, is Dallas County's only public hospital and UT Southwestern's primary teaching hospital; it became the first certified Level I trauma center in Texas in 1983 and runs a burn center. UT Southwestern Medical Center, whose faculty have received six Nobel Prizes, runs William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital in the Southwestern Medical District, and more than half the doctors practicing in Dallas trained there at least in part. Baylor University Medical Center, which opened in 1903 and is now the North Texas flagship of Baylor Scott & White Health, has 914 beds and a Level I trauma center that Baylor Scott & White describes as one of only three adult trauma centers in Dallas. Children's Health and UT Southwestern broke ground in October 2024 on a $5 billion pediatric campus with 552 beds to replace Children's Medical Center Dallas, projected to open in 2031. This file did not verify a wait time figure for primary or specialist care.
Education
Dallas ISD, the second-largest school district in Texas, opened the 2026-27 year on 11 August with about 132,000 students, down from about 134,300 a year earlier (KERA). Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde blamed federal immigration policy in part. KERA adds that charter schools and the state's new education savings accounts may account for some of the loss; more than 2,800 students in the district had qualified for the accounts, which help pay private school tuition, on the Comptroller's latest count. The district made pre-kindergarten free for all 3- and 4-year-olds this year and enrolled about 11,000 children in it, and the Texas Education Agency rated the district B for 2025. Southern Methodist University (12,544 students in fall 2025) is in University Park, a separate town north of downtown, the University of Texas at Dallas is in Richardson, and Dallas College runs seven campuses in Dallas County.
Living there
Dallas is the corporate and financial center of the fourth-largest metro in the country, and the metro is growing around the city rather than inside it. The Dallas-Fort Worth area added 123,557 people in 2024-25, more than any metro but Houston, while the city lost 1,808 and Dallas County lost 46,226 more residents to the rest of the country than it gained, so newcomers settle in Collin, Denton and Kaufman counties. The city has 93 miles of DART light rail and, since October 2025, a commuter line to DFW Airport, yet 68.6% of its workers drive alone and 2.0% take transit. Summer is the hard season: the July mean at Love Field is 87.3F, the warmest of any city this site compares, and the station had 54 days at 100F or more by late September 2026. Hail and tornadoes are the costly weather. Texas takes no income tax, and 22.7% of the city's residents have no health insurance. The open question is whether the city can hold up its end as the region spreads outward: three suburbs won back part of the sales tax they pay DART and a fourth voted to leave, voters wrote a minimum of 4,000 police officers into the charter in 2024 and the adopted budget plans for 3,800 by September 2028, and Dallas ISD began 2026-27 with about 2,300 fewer students than the year before.
Health care
Care is paid for through employer or marketplace insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, and Texas is one of the ten states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (KFF, August 2026). It had the highest uninsured rate of any state in 2024: 16.7%, or 5,152,427 of 30,799,312 people, against 8.2% nationally and 12.0% in Georgia, the next highest, on the ACS 2024 1-year estimates. The City of San Antonio's rate was 18.0% (268,665 of 1,496,335), Bexar County's 15.8% and the metro's 14.5%. The South Texas Medical Center on the Northwest Side covers more than 900 acres around the medical school that opened there in 1968 and holds the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Medical Center and a dozen other hospitals; a UTSA study cited by the San Antonio Report in 2022 put its annual economic effect on the region at $24.5 billion. University Health, the Bexar County Hospital District, runs University Hospital there, a 716-bed teaching hospital and a Level I trauma center for adults and children, and the 300-bed Women's & Children's Hospital that opened on the same campus in 2023; it plans to open two community hospitals elsewhere in the county in 2027. Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston has about 8,500 staff. UT Health San Antonio, the clinical arm of UT San Antonio, counts more than 2.5 million patient visits a year. This file did not verify a wait time figure for primary or specialist care.
Education
No single school district covers the city. Northside ISD, the largest in the San Antonio area with about 98,000 students, faced a $35 million deficit in March 2026, down from nearly $108 million, and its superintendent said closures were possible but not expected for 2026-27 (KSAT). North East ISD lost about 2,000 students in 2025-26, now serves about 55,000, closed three campuses the year before and will accept students from anywhere in the region from 2026-27 (San Antonio Report). San Antonio ISD has closed 25 schools in the last decade and in March 2026 voted to close Rhodes Middle School and hand three other campuses to a charter operator, Third Future Schools, citing falling enrollment and state accountability ratings. Districts say they cannot yet tell how many students the state's new education savings accounts, which help pay private school tuition from 2026-27, will draw away. UT San Antonio, formed on 2 September 2025 when UTSA merged with UT Health San Antonio, has about 40,000 students and 17,000 employees and calls itself the third-largest public research university in Texas by research spending, and the Alamo Colleges District runs five community colleges.
Living there
San Antonio is the second city of Texas and the seventh-largest in the country, and unlike Dallas it is still growing inside its own limits: it added 14,359 residents in 2024-25, the third-largest gain of any US city, and 8.0% since 2020. The military has shaped it for three centuries, and Joint Base San Antonio, with 74,713 direct employees, sits beside the South Texas Medical Center and a tourism trade Visit San Antonio values at $23.4 billion as the pillars of the economy. Household income is lower than in Dallas or Austin, and 18.0% of residents have no health insurance. VIA runs buses only, 2.4% of workers take them and 68.2% drive alone, and the Green Line along San Pedro Avenue, the city's first rapid transit line, is due in April 2028. Summers are long and dry rather than humid, with 122 days a year at 90F or above and 75 at 100F in 2023, and water is the killer: the creeks rise within minutes, and a single night of rain on 12 June 2025 drowned 13 people. The open questions are fiscal and civic: the council raised the city's property tax rate for the first time since 1992 on a 7 to 4 vote the mayor opposed, with a second increase planned, and the big school districts are shrinking, closing campuses and competing for each other's students as the state's education savings accounts begin.
Where each city wins, and where it loses
Both cities are in Texas and both were priced at Freddie Mac's 7.03% rate for 24 September 2026, so the rate and the state's rules are the same on both sides: no transfer or mortgage tax, no rent control, and for a homestead a $140,000 school exemption and a 10% annual cap on appraised value. The prices are different measures. Dallas's is the NTREIS median of single-family houses sold in the city, $469,900 in August 2026, 6.0% below a year earlier. San Antonio's is the San Antonio Board of REALTORS' median sale price for Bexar County, $280,999, 3.1% below, a county figure because no city median could be found; the city holds 72% of the county's residents. Zillow's index, which models every home in each city, stood at $305,765 for Dallas and $247,453 for the City of San Antonio in August, so the order holds on a measure that is the same in both, at about a third of the gap. At 20% down, Dallas's $375,920 loan costs about $2,509 a month and San Antonio's $224,799 loan about $1,500. Property tax is $7,448 a year in Dallas and $4,390 in San Antonio with a homestead, and insurance is budgeted at $400 and $250 a month, the Dallas figure set by North Texas hail and neither with a flood policy in it. The three lines come to about $3,529 and $2,116, roughly 57% and 38% of each city's 2024 median household income; of the $1,413 gap about $1,008 is the mortgage, $255 the property tax and $150 the insurance. Rents are on different series, RentCafe's August averages for Dallas and Apartment List's September medians for San Antonio, because RentCafe refused the request: a one-bedroom at $1,416 against $957, a two-bedroom $1,853 against $1,179. Zillow's observed rent index, the same measure in both, was $1,591 in Dallas and $1,386 in San Antonio in August.
The definitions match: both cities' figures are the FBI's summarized counts for 2025, divided by Census Vintage 2025 populations and read on 27 and 30 September 2026. The two split. Dallas's 7,674 violent offenses come to 577 per 100,000 against San Antonio's 532 on 8,241, while its property offenses come to 3,081 against 3,920 on 60,693. Homicide is the widest gap: 140 in Dallas, about 10.5 per 100,000, and 106 in San Antonio, about 6.8. DPD's own count was 141 homicides; SAPD's report ran from January to November, 99 against 119 a year earlier, and no full-year figure was found. Both are improving at about the same pace. Violent offenses dropped 12% in Dallas in 2025 and 31% in four years, and 10% in San Antonio, where they are 37% below the 2022 peak of 13,105. Motor vehicle theft drove the property swing in both, from 18,457 in 2023 to 11,162 in Dallas and from 19,090 to 9,527 in San Antonio, and larceny made up 43,738 of San Antonio's 60,693 property offenses in 2025. Both sets of counts come from a feed last refreshed on 15 September and can still be revised.
Dallas has the hotter July and the colder winter; San Antonio the longer, drier heat. July averages 30.7 C at Love Field, the warmest July mean of the cities this site compares, against 29.3 C at San Antonio International, and January 8.8 C against 11.2 C, with 23.1 nights at or below freezing against 14.0. San Antonio's normals count 17.7 days a year at or above 37.8 C (100F) and Dallas's 22.4, but 122.4 days at 90F or above against 107.5. Dallas gets 973 mm of rain and 4.3 cm of snow, San Antonio 822 mm, the least of the Texas cities here, and 0.5 cm; on the older 1961-1990 series Dallas has more sun, 2,850 hours against 2,629. The record years are close, 73 days of 100F at Love Field in 2011 and 75 at San Antonio International in 2023. The hazards differ in kind. Dallas's costly ones are hail, with stones up to 5.25 in (13.3 cm) in April 2016, and tornadoes such as the October 2019 EF3 through Preston Hollow. San Antonio's is the flash flood off the Balcones Escarpment: 11.26 in (286 mm) fell at the airport on 17 October 1998, and on 12 June 2025 a storm over the Northeast Side killed 13 people, 11 of them along Beitel Creek. Winter Storm Uri hit both in February 2021, with 2F (-16.7 C) at Love Field and 9F (-12.8 C) at San Antonio International, and Texas counted 22 of its 246 deaths in Dallas County and 16 in Bexar.
Dallas-Fort Worth's labor market is almost four times San Antonio's and growing faster. BLS counted 4,353,400 nonfarm jobs around Dallas-Fort Worth in July 2026, 1.3% more than a year earlier, and 1,191,700 around San Antonio in August, 0.5% more. Unemployment, not seasonally adjusted, was 4.6% in Dallas-Fort Worth and 4.7% around San Antonio in July, against 4.4% nationally. Trade, transportation and utilities is the largest sector in both, 895,000 jobs around DFW Airport, American Airlines and BNSF, and 216,300 around San Antonio, where H-E-B has its headquarters. Behind it Dallas has corporate headquarters, finance and aerospace, and the Dallas Regional Chamber counts 21 Fortune 500 headquarters in its region for 2025. San Antonio has the military, medicine and visitors: the Texas Comptroller counts 74,713 direct employees at Joint Base San Antonio in 2025, 33,256 of them on active duty, UT San Antonio calls health care and biosciences, a $44.1 billion sector, the city's largest industry, and USAA, Valero Energy and iHeartMedia also have their headquarters in the city. Government jobs in the San Antonio metro fell 3.1% on the year, federal ones 6.7%. Dallas's average weekly wage was $1,785 in the first quarter of 2026; San Antonio's profile carries no wage figure. City median household income was $74,323 in Dallas and $66,176 in San Antonio in 2024, and the metros' $92,733 and $78,112. The state's taxes are shared: no income tax, so $100,000 pays $13,449 in both, and 8.25% sales tax. The property tax stacks are not. San Antonio's seven units add to 2.290174 per $100 and Dallas's five to 2.22671, and Dallas ISD adds 10% to the state's $140,000 where Northside ISD adds nothing, so the same house pays more in San Antonio: $4,390 against $3,894 on $280,999, and $8,293 against $7,448 on $469,900.
Neither is a transit city, and Dallas has the rail. In 2024, 2.0% of Dallas workers took transit and 2.5% walked or cycled, against 2.4% and 2.5% in San Antonio, all of it there by bus; the two drove alone at almost the same rate, 68.6% and 68.2%, and 13.5% and 11.1% worked from home. DART carried 52,823,800 trips in 2025, 21,611,600 of them on 93 miles of light rail, plus the Silver Line to DFW Airport since October 2025; VIA carried 30,665,700, all by bus. San Antonio's first rapid transit line is under construction: the VIA Rapid Green Line, a $481 million project with a $268 million federal grant committed in December 2024, will run on dedicated bus lanes along San Pedro Avenue from the airport through downtown and is due in April 2028. Both are paid for by sales tax, 1% for DART in its member cities and 0.875% in the City of San Antonio, and DART's suburbs have pushed back on what they pay: Plano, Irving and Farmers Branch won part of it back, and Highland Park voted to leave. The airports are far apart. DFW handled 85,660,127 passengers in 2025, 12.65 million of them international, and Love Field 16,899,203; San Antonio International, with no airline hub, handled 10,740,694 and is building Terminal C, with up to 18 gates, for mid-2028.
Coverage is Texas's problem in both cities, and the larger one in Dallas. The state has not expanded Medicaid and had the highest uninsured rate of any state in 2024, 16.7%; the City of Dallas's rate was 22.7% and the City of San Antonio's 18.0%, and their counties' 21.9% and 15.8%. Dallas has Parkland Memorial Hospital, UT Southwestern's primary teaching hospital and the first certified Level I trauma center in Texas, and Baylor University Medical Center, and a $5 billion Children's Health campus is due in 2031. San Antonio has the South Texas Medical Center, more than 900 acres of the Northwest Side around the medical school that opened there in 1968, where University Health runs University Hospital, 716 beds and a Level I trauma center for adults and children; Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston has about 8,500 staff. Neither profile verified a wait time. Dallas ISD opened 2026-27 with about 132,000 students against about 134,300, made pre-kindergarten free for all 3- and 4-year-olds and was rated B by the state for 2025. No single district covers San Antonio: Northside ISD, the largest in the area with about 98,000 students, faced a $35 million deficit in March 2026, North East ISD lost about 2,000 students in 2025-26, and San Antonio ISD has closed 25 schools in a decade. SMU and UT Dallas sit outside Dallas's city limits; UT San Antonio, formed by a merger with UT Health San Antonio in September 2025, has about 40,000 students inside San Antonio's.
What people underestimate is that San Antonio is now the larger city and the one still growing. It had 1,548,422 residents in July 2025 against Dallas's 1,329,491, grew 8.0% from 2020 against 1.9%, and added 14,359 in the last year, the third-largest gain of any US city, while Dallas lost 1,808. The metros run the other way: Dallas-Fort Worth added 123,557 people in 2024-25, second in the country, and San Antonio-New Braunfels 38,402, ninth. Dallas County lost 46,226 more residents to the rest of the country than it gained, and Bexar County gained 2,505. So $7,448 and $4,390 are bills for an address inside each city and its largest school district, Dallas ISD and Northside ISD. San Antonio surrounds separate cities, Alamo Heights, Olmos Park and Terrell Hills among them, and in its extraterritorial jurisdiction Bexar County has created 24 special improvement districts for new subdivisions, 22 of them levying 0.54159 per $100, the City's own rate, which the $4,390 does not include. The rates are moving apart. The City of Dallas cut its own for the eleventh year in a row, to 69.78 cents from 1 October 2026. San Antonio's council voted 7 to 4 on 17 September 2026 to raise the City's for the first time since 1992, from 54.159 cents to 56.288 for fiscal 2027, to help close a $158 million deficit over two years, with a second increase planned for fiscal 2028.
Better here
- The metro had 4,353,400 nonfarm jobs in July 2026, almost four times San Antonio's 1,191,700, and they grew 1.3% on the year against 0.5%.
- Property crime ran 3,081 per 100,000 in 2025 against 3,920 in San Antonio on the same FBI counts.
- City median household income was $74,323 in 2024 against $66,176 in San Antonio, and the metro's $92,733 against $78,112.
- DFW handled 85,660,127 passengers in 2025 and Love Field another 16,899,203, against 10,740,694 at San Antonio International.
- DART runs 93 miles of light rail and, since October 2025, the Silver Line to DFW Airport, where VIA runs buses only.
- The City of Dallas cut its tax rate for the eleventh year in a row, to 69.78 cents from 1 October 2026, while San Antonio's rises for fiscal 2027.
Worse here
- Mortgage, property tax and insurance come to about $3,529 a month on the August 2026 median, against $2,116 on the Bexar County median at the same 7.03% rate.
- There were 140 homicides in 2025, about 10.5 per 100,000, against 106 in San Antonio at about 6.8, and violent crime ran 577 per 100,000 against 532.
- The City of Dallas's uninsured rate was 22.7% in 2024 against 18.0% in the City of San Antonio.
- January averages 8.8 C with 23.1 nights a year at or below freezing, against 11.2 C and 14.0 in San Antonio.
- Home insurance is budgeted at $400 a month because North Texas hail is a routine cost, against $250 in San Antonio.
- The city lost 1,808 residents in 2024-25, while the City of San Antonio added 14,359.
Choose Dallas if
- you work in corporate headquarters, finance, logistics or aerospace
- you want a labor market of 4,353,400 jobs rather than 1,191,700
- you fly often enough that an airport handling 85,660,127 passengers in 2025 changes how you travel
- you want light rail, or a train to the airport
The Dallas guide · Neighborhoods · Dallas rent vs buy · Dallas mortgage calculator
Better here
- Mortgage, property tax and insurance come to about $2,116 a month on the Bexar County median, roughly 38% of the city's median household income, against $3,529 and 57% in Dallas at the same 7.03% rate.
- There were 106 homicides in 2025, about 6.8 per 100,000, against 140 in Dallas at about 10.5, and violent crime ran 532 per 100,000 against 577 on the same FBI counts.
- The City of San Antonio's uninsured rate was 18.0% in 2024 against 22.7% in the City of Dallas, and Bexar County's 15.8% against Dallas County's 21.9%.
- January averages 11.2 C with 14.0 nights a year at or below freezing, and the normals count 17.7 days at or above 37.8 C (100F) against 22.4 at Love Field.
- The city added 14,359 residents in 2024-25, the third-largest gain of any US city, and grew 8.0% from 2020 to 2025 against Dallas's 1.9%.
- Joint Base San Antonio had 74,713 direct employees in 2025, and H-E-B, USAA, Valero Energy and iHeartMedia have their headquarters in the city.
Worse here
- The seven taxing units take $4,390 a year on a $280,999 homestead where Dallas's five would take $3,894, an effective 1.56% against 1.39%.
- The metro's 1,191,700 nonfarm jobs grew 0.5% in the year to August 2026, against 1.3% around Dallas-Fort Worth, and federal jobs fell 6.7%.
- San Antonio International handled 10,740,694 passengers in 2025 with no airline hub, against 85,660,127 at DFW and 16,899,203 at Love Field.
- VIA runs buses only and carried 30,665,700 trips in 2025, against DART's 52,823,800, and the Green Line is not due until April 2028.
- The normals count 122.4 days a year at 90F or above against 107.5 at Love Field, and 2023 had 75 days at 100F.
- Flash floods come within minutes: 13 people died on 12 June 2025, 11 of them along Beitel Creek, and a homeowners policy does not cover rising water.
Choose San Antonio if
- you want to own at about $2,116 a month on the county's median rather than $3,529 on Dallas's
- you are posted to Joint Base San Antonio, or work in military medicine, health care, insurance at USAA, or tourism
- you want the lower homicide and violent crime rates, on figures built the same way
- you would take a longer hot season and flash floods for a milder winter and a lower insurance budget
The San Antonio guide · Neighborhoods · San Antonio rent vs buy · San Antonio mortgage calculator
Dallas or San Antonio, in short
Is Dallas or San Antonio cheaper to live in?
San Antonio, to own, by a wide margin, and by less against local pay. Both cities were priced at the same 7.03% mortgage rate of 24 September 2026, so the figures net directly, though the prices are different measures. The Dallas single-family median inside the city was $469,900 in August 2026 and the San Antonio Board of REALTORS' median for all of Bexar County $280,999; Zillow's index for each city, $305,765 against $247,453, keeps the order with a smaller gap. At 20% down the mortgage is about $2,509 against $1,500. Property tax is $7,448 a year against $4,390 with a homestead, and insurance $400 a month against $250, so the three lines come to about $3,529 in Dallas and $2,116 in San Antonio, roughly 57% and 38% of each city's median household income, $74,323 and $66,176. Renting is cheaper in San Antonio too: Zillow's observed rent index was $1,591 in Dallas and $1,386 in San Antonio in August. Income tax is nil in both and sales tax 8.25% in both.
Is Dallas or San Antonio safer?
San Antonio, on violence, and Dallas on property, on figures built the same way. Both are the FBI's summarized counts for 2025 divided by Census estimates, read on 27 and 30 September 2026. Violent offenses ran 577 per 100,000 in Dallas against 532 in San Antonio, and homicide was 140 in Dallas, about 10.5 per 100,000, against 106 in San Antonio, about 6.8. Property offenses ran the other way, 3,081 in Dallas against 3,920, most of San Antonio's being thefts. Both improved in 2025, violent offenses dropping 12% in Dallas and 10% in San Antonio. Every rate here is a count divided by a Census estimate rather than a published rate, and the counts can still be revised.
Which has the worse weather, Dallas or San Antonio?
They fail differently. Dallas has the hotter July, 30.7 C at Love Field against 29.3 C, more of the 100F days, 22.4 a year against 17.7, and the colder winter, 8.8 C in January against 11.2 C with 23.1 freezing nights against 14.0. San Antonio's heat lasts longer, with 122.4 days a year at 90F or above against 107.5, and it is the drier, 822 mm of rain against 973 mm. Dallas's costly hazards are hail and tornadoes, which is why its insurance is budgeted at $400 a month against $250. San Antonio's is the flash flood: the creeks rise within minutes, and a single storm on 12 June 2025 killed 13 people. In both, flood cover is a separate policy.
Why does the same house pay more property tax in San Antonio than in Dallas?
Because San Antonio's units levy a little more and its school district exempts less. The state frame is the same: a $140,000 homestead exemption from the school levy and a 10% annual cap on a homestead's appraised value that starts after purchase. San Antonio's seven units add to 2.290174 per $100 and Dallas's five to 2.22671. Dallas ISD adds 10% of its own to the state's $140,000 and Dallas's other four units take 20%. In San Antonio, Bexar County, University Health and the City take 20%, the county's Road and Flood Control Fund $3,000 and 20%, the River Authority 4% and the college district 1% with a $5,000 floor, and Northside ISD, the largest line, grants the state's $140,000 and nothing more. On the same $280,999 house that comes to $4,390 in San Antonio and $3,894 in Dallas, and on $469,900 to $8,293 against $7,448. Without a homestead the two medians would owe $6,435 and $10,463. The gap is widening: Dallas cut its city rate again from 1 October 2026, and San Antonio raised its own for fiscal 2027.
Where the figures come from
Housing figures are the ones behind each city's calculators, dated on those pages. The rest are listed here with the date they were retrieved. See the methodology for how facts, estimates and opinion are kept apart.
- Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places in Texas: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 (SUB-EST2025) · US Census Bureau · retrieved Supports: City population, Five-year growth, Violent crime rate, Property crime rate, Homicides, Character
- Annual Resident Population Estimates and Components of Change for Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas and Their Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 (CBSA-EST2025-ALLDATA) · US Census Bureau · retrieved Supports: Metro population, Five-year growth, Character
- Crime Data Explorer summarized agency data, Dallas Police Department (TXDPD0000): violent crime, property crime, homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson, 2021-2025 · FBI · retrieved Supports: Violent crime rate, Property crime rate, Homicides, Crime trend
- Violent Crime Reduction Plan Update, Public Safety Committee, June 3, 2025 · Dallas Police Department (City of Dallas) · retrieved Supports: Violent crime rate, Crime trend
- Police Incidents (Dallas Police Public Data, RMS incidents from June 1, 2014) · City of Dallas OpenData · retrieved Supports: Violent crime rate
- Dallas sees lowest violent crime numbers since 2015 as chief credits new crime strategies · CBS Texas · retrieved Supports: Homicides, Crime trend
- US Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USW00013960 Dallas Love Field (Access Data Service) · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · retrieved Supports: January mean, July mean, Annual precipitation, Annual snowfall, Climate normals, Climate hazards, Character, January 47.8F, July and August 87.3F from the monthly series, and annual mean 68.0F, precipitation 38.32 in, snowfall 1.7 in and the counts of days at 90F and 100F and nights at freezing from dataset=normals-annualseasonal-1991-2020 for the same station
- US Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USW00003927 Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (Access Data Service) · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · retrieved Supports: Climate normals
- Global Historical Climatology Network daily summaries, Dallas Love Field (USW00013960), 1939-2026 · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards, Character, 73 days at or above 100F in 2011 and 40 in a row from 2 July to 10 August 2011, 54 in 2026 through 22 September, 112F on 26 and 27 June 1980 and 22 July 2018, 5.3 in of snow from 14 to 17 February 2021, 2F on 16 February 2021, 31 January 1949, 1F on 23 December 1989 and 0F on 23 January 1940, 13F on 25 January 2026
- Global Historical Climatology Network daily summaries, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (USW00003927), 1953-2026 · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards, 113F on 26 and 27 June 1980, -2F on 16 February 2021, 2.4 in of snow and sleet on 24 and 25 January 2026
- Dallas/Fort Worth: Annual and Consecutive 100 Degree Days (last updated 22 September 2026) · National Weather Service, Fort Worth/Dallas · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- Average Annual Sunshine in US Cities · Current Results (NCDC Comparative Climatic Data, 1961-1990) · retrieved Supports: Sunshine hours, Climate normals
- Weather and Climate Billion-Dollar Disasters to affect the U.S. from 1980-2024 (events list) · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- April 11th 2016 Hail Storm · National Weather Service, Fort Worth/Dallas · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- Cotality 2026 Report: Hail risk now rivals major hurricanes (2026 Severe Convective Storm Risk Report) · Cotality · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- North Texas Tornadoes, October 20, 2019 · National Weather Service, Fort Worth/Dallas · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- 2019 North Dallas tornado (path length, structures destroyed, damage, casualties) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- December 26, 2015 Tornado Outbreak · National Weather Service, Fort Worth/Dallas · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- Dallas Levee System · City of Dallas, Trinity River Corridor Project · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- Trinity River at Dallas (DALT2), historic crests · NOAA National Water Prediction Service · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- Milestone Achievement for Dallas Floodway Project: Providing Flood Risk Management to Communities · US Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District (DVIDS) · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- Wettest 24 hours in nearly a century for Dallas-Fort Worth · Yale Climate Connections · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- February 2021 Winter Storm-Related Deaths, Texas (mortality surveillance report) · Texas Department of State Health Services · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- The Timeline and Events of the February 2021 Texas Electric Grid Blackouts · The University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- How the Texas power grid is holding up during the winter storm · CBS Texas · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- Energy Secretary Issues Emergency Order to Secure Texas Grid Amid Winter Storm Fern · US Department of Energy · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- Dallas Area Reservoirs (daily storage, percent full) · Texas Water Development Board, Water Data for Texas · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- Frequently Asked Questions (watering schedule) and City of Dallas Water Conservation Ordinance · Dallas Water Utilities, Save Dallas Water · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- ACS 2024 1-year tables B08301 and B19013 for Dallas city and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA · Census Reporter API (US Census Bureau ACS) · retrieved Supports: Median household income, Transit commute share, Walk and cycle commute share, Character
- ACS 2024 1-year table B27001 (health insurance coverage) for the 50 states, DC, the US, Dallas County, Dallas city and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA · Census Reporter API (US Census Bureau ACS) · retrieved Supports: Health care, Character
- Unemployment Rate in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (MSA), DALL148UR and DALL148URN · FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (BLS LAUS data) · retrieved Supports: Unemployment rate
- All Employees: Total Nonfarm in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (MSA), DALL148NA · FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (BLS CES data) · retrieved Supports: Labour market
- Dallas-Fort Worth Area Economic Summary · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · retrieved Supports: Unemployment rate, Main sectors, Labour market
- Dallas Regional Economic Development Guide 2026: Major Companies and Headquarters · Dallas Regional Chamber · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market
- City Sales and Use Tax (city rate table) · Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · retrieved Supports: Sales tax
- Transit Sales and Use Tax (Dallas MTA, effective January 1, 1984) · Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · retrieved Supports: Sales tax, Transit ridership
- Sales and Use Tax · Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · retrieved Supports: Sales tax
- Texas Tax Rates & Rankings · Tax Foundation · retrieved Supports: Top marginal income tax, Income tax on $100,000, Tax notes, Character
- 2025 Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates · Tax Foundation · retrieved Supports: Top marginal income tax, Income tax on $100,000
- 2026 Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates · Tax Foundation · retrieved Supports: Top marginal income tax, Income tax on $100,000
- Property Tax Exemptions · Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · retrieved Supports: Tax notes
- Dallas approves $5.66 billion budget for 2026-27 fiscal year · Lake Highlands Advocate · retrieved Supports: Tax notes, Character
- City of Dallas Update on Proposition U, Police and Fire Funding Appropriation · City of Dallas · retrieved Supports: Tax notes, Character
- About DART (DART facts) · Dallas Area Rapid Transit · retrieved Supports: Transit system, Transit ridership, Character
- Silver Line Launches Oct. 25, Connecting Seven Cities and DFW Airport with Modern, Reliable Transit · Dallas Area Rapid Transit · retrieved Supports: Transit system, Transit ridership, Character
- Dallas Area Rapid Transit (citing the APTA Transit Ridership Reports, Q4 2025 and Q2 2026, through Template:American transit ridership) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Transit system, Transit ridership
- DART services in Richardson, Plano to remain unchanged as Highland Park withdraws · Community Impact · retrieved Supports: Transit ridership, Character
- DFW Total Passengers, December 2025 (calendar year 2025 vs 2024) · Dallas Fort Worth International Airport · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers
- World's Busiest Airports: Atlanta Holds, Asia Climbs (2025 passenger and movement rankings) · ACI World · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers
- Dallas Love Field (2025 passenger totals from the FAA, location, Southwest Airlines) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers, Climate normals
- Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions · KFF · retrieved Supports: Health care
- Parkland Memorial Hospital · UT Southwestern Medical Center · retrieved Supports: Health care
- About the Trauma Center · Parkland Health · retrieved Supports: Health care
- Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health · Baylor Scott & White Health · retrieved Supports: Health care
- Children's Health and UT Southwestern break ground on new Dallas pediatric campus, announce $100 million donation from The Rees-Jones Foundation · UT Southwestern Medical Center · retrieved Supports: Health care
- UT Southwestern and Children's Health receive $25 million from the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Foundation for new pediatric campus · UT Southwestern Medical Center · retrieved Supports: Health care
- New Dallas Pediatric Campus Puts Children First · Southwestern Medical District · retrieved Supports: Health care
- On Dallas ISD's first day of school, enrollment's down, but letter grade may be up · KERA News · retrieved Supports: Education, Character
- Southern Methodist University (fall 2025 enrollment, University Park) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Education
- University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Education
- Dallas College (seven campuses in Dallas County) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Education
- Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places of 50,000 or More (all states, SUB-EST2025) · US Census Bureau · retrieved Supports: City population, Character
- Crime Data Explorer summarized agency data, San Antonio Police Department (TXSPD0000): violent crime, property crime, homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson, 2021-2025 · FBI · retrieved Supports: Violent crime rate, Property crime rate, Homicides, Crime trend
- Crime in San Antonio dropped 13% in 2025, SAPD report says · KSAT · retrieved Supports: Violent crime rate, Homicides, Crime trend
- San Antonio sees 20% drop in homicides in 2025, new report shows · San Antonio Report · retrieved Supports: Homicides, Crime trend
- US Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USW00012921 San Antonio International Airport (Access Data Service) · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · retrieved Supports: January mean, July mean, Annual precipitation, Annual snowfall, Climate normals, Climate hazards, Character, January 52.2F, July 84.8F and August 85.5F from the monthly series, and annual mean 69.6F, precipitation 32.38 in, snowfall 0.2 in and the counts of days at 90F and 100F and nights at freezing from dataset=normals-annualseasonal-1991-2020 for the same station
- Global Historical Climatology Network daily summaries, San Antonio International Airport (USW00012921), 1946-2026 · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards, Character, 11.26 in on 17 October 1998, 9.87 in on 25 May 2013, 6.11 in on 12 June 2025, 75 days at or above 100F in 2023 and 23 in a row from 30 July to 21 August 2023, 59 in 2009, 58 in 2022, 24 in 2026 through 22 September, 111F on 5 September 2000, 6.2 in of snow from 14 to 18 February 2021 and 9F on 15 February 2021, 6F on 23 December 1989, 0F on 31 January 1949, 13.2 in of snow on 12 January 1985
- October 1998 Flood Event (South Central Texas) · National Weather Service, Austin/San Antonio · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- October 1998 Central Texas floods · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- 12 years ago, San Antonio's Highway 281 was submerged by record flooding during Memorial Day weekend · KSAT · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- Texas flash floods kill 2 in San Antonio · CBS News · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- It's San Antonio's deadliest flood year in 27 years. What's going on? · San Antonio Report · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards, Character
- ACS 2024 1-year tables B08301 and B19013 for San Antonio city and the San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA · Census Reporter API (US Census Bureau ACS) · retrieved Supports: Median household income, Transit commute share, Walk and cycle commute share, Character
- ACS 2024 1-year table B27001 (health insurance coverage) for the 50 states, DC, the US, Bexar County, San Antonio city and the San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA · Census Reporter API (US Census Bureau ACS) · retrieved Supports: Health care, Character
- Local Area Unemployment Statistics, San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA (LAUMT484170000000003), Bexar County, the Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin MSAs, and the US rate (LNU04000000), not seasonally adjusted · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · retrieved Supports: Unemployment rate
- Current Employment Statistics, San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA: total nonfarm (SMU48417000000000001, SMS48417000000000001) and supersectors (SMU484170xx00000001) · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market
- Joint Base San Antonio (Texas military installations economic impact, 2025) · Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market, Health care, Character
- Why SATX (Joint Base San Antonio, Military City USA) · Greater SATX Regional Economic Partnership · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market
- Visit San Antonio celebrates National Travel and Tourism Week 2026 · Visit San Antonio · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Character
- UTSA and UT Health San Antonio complete merger to become The University of Texas at San Antonio · UT San Antonio · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market, Health care, Education
- USAA (headquarters) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market
- H-E-B (headquarters) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market
- Valero Energy (headquarters) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market
- iHeartMedia (headquarters) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market
- City's proposed plan: Collect sales tax for 4 years before revenue goes to VIA · San Antonio Report · retrieved Supports: Sales tax
- San Antonio approves first property tax hike in 34 years · KSAT · retrieved Supports: Tax notes, Character
- San Antonio council passes FY 2027 budget with higher property tax revenue and fees · News 4 San Antonio · retrieved Supports: Tax notes
- San Antonio approves first tax increase in more than 30 years · San Antonio Report · retrieved Supports: Tax notes, Character
- VIA Metropolitan Transit (routes, fleet, stops, history, Green and Silver lines) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Transit system, Transit ridership
- Template:American transit ridership (APTA Transit Ridership Reports, Q4 2025 and Q2 2026) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Transit ridership
- Construction Updates, VIA Rapid Green Line · VIA Metropolitan Transit (Keep SA Moving) · retrieved Supports: Transit system, Transit ridership, Character
- When will San Pedro construction be complete? Here's what VIA says about progress on the Green Line. · KSAT · retrieved Supports: Transit ridership, Character
- San Antonio locks down federal funding for $480M Green Line · San Antonio Report · retrieved Supports: Transit ridership, Sales tax
- December & Year End 2025 Statistics · San Antonio International Airport · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers
- December 2024 Statistics (2024 passenger record) · San Antonio International Airport · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers
- Terminal Development Program (ELEVATE/SAT) · San Antonio International Airport · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers
- San Antonio International Airport (location, airlines, 2025 statistics) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers, Climate normals
- Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions · KFF · retrieved Supports: Health care
- San Antonio Medical Foundation marks 75th anniversary · San Antonio Report · retrieved Supports: Health care, Main sectors
- About Us · University Health · retrieved Supports: Health care
- University Hospital · University Health · retrieved Supports: Health care
- University Health (University Hospital beds, Women's & Children's Hospital) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Health care
- Northside ISD faces $35 million deficit, but does not anticipate layoffs · KSAT · retrieved Supports: Education
- Like other San Antonio districts, NEISD drops its boundaries · San Antonio Report · retrieved Supports: Education, Character
- San Antonio ISD cites declining enrollment, poor academics for school closure · KSAT · retrieved Supports: Education, Character
- Alamo Colleges District (five colleges) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Education
- NTREIS monthly MLS summary report, August 2026 · North Texas Real Estate Information System and the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, via the MetroTex Association of REALTORS · retrieved Supports: A median single-family sale price of $469,900 in the City of Dallas in August 2026 on 640 sales, against $499,900 on 667 sales in August 2025, A median townhouse sale price of $543,000 on 30 sales, against $475,000 on 42, and a median condominium sale price of $310,000 on 121 sales, against $237,000 on 136, 2,725 active single-family listings and 4.2 months of inventory in the City of Dallas, A median single-family lease of $2,850 a month on 276 leases, City figures by property type only, with no all-types median
- Housing market reports · MetroTex Association of REALTORS · retrieved Supports: Monthly reports featuring data from the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, based on listings of properties physically located within the specified geographic areas
- Zillow Home Value Index, all homes, middle tier, smoothed and seasonally adjusted, by city · Zillow Research · retrieved Supports: A typical home value of $305,765 for the city of Dallas (region 38128) in August 2026, $310,919 in August 2025, so a fall of 1.7% over the year
- Zillow Home Value Index, single-family and condominium series, by city · Zillow Research · retrieved Supports: A typical single-family value of $319,987 in the city of Dallas in August 2026, against $324,674 a year earlier, down 1.4%, A typical condominium value of $208,501 in the same month, against $222,477, down 6.3%, from the condominium file at https://files.zillowstatic.com/research/public_csvs/zhvi/City_zhvi_uc_condo_tier_0.33_0.67_sm_sa_month.csv
- Dallas, TX average rent and rent trends · RentCafe / Yardi Matrix · retrieved Supports: An average Dallas apartment rent of $1,592, down 0.92% from $1,607 a year earlier, updated 31 August 2026, Average rents of $1,245 studio, $1,416 one-bedroom, $1,853 two-bedroom and $2,221 three-bedroom
- Zillow Observed Rent Index, all homes plus multifamily, smoothed, by city · Zillow Research · retrieved Supports: An observed rent index of $1,591 for the city of Dallas in August 2026, up 0.63% from $1,581 a year earlier
- 2025 ad valorem tax rates for Dallas County, revised 5 November 2025 · Dallas Central Appraisal District · retrieved Supports: 2025 rates per $100: Dallas County 0.215500, Parkland Hospital 0.212000, Dallas College 0.106575, Dallas 0.698800, Dallas ISD 0.993835, Optional homestead exemptions of 20% for Dallas County, Parkland Hospital, Dallas College and the City of Dallas, and 10% for Dallas ISD, A general homestead exemption of $140,000 for every school district, contingent on the November 2025 constitutional amendment, A calculated local optional homestead value of not less than $5,000, Separate rates and exemptions for Highland Park, University Park, Cockrell Hill and Highland Park ISD
- 2026 estimated ad valorem tax rates for Dallas County, revised 4 March 2026 · Dallas Central Appraisal District · retrieved Supports: The 2026 table was an estimate, repeating the 2025 rates for the five units, when these figures were retrieved
- 2025 and 2026 residence homestead average and median values · Dallas Central Appraisal District · retrieved Supports: A certified median residence homestead market value of $364,530 in the City of Dallas for 2025, on 177,599 homesteads, A certified median of $364,000 for 2026, on 172,862 homesteads, in the table dated 22 July 2026
- Annual report, 2025 appraisal year · Dallas Central Appraisal District · retrieved Supports: 230,276 protests received for the 2025 appraisal year, 180,733 of them residential, and 788,553 appraisal notices mailed, A protest process that begins around 15 April and concludes by 20 July each year
- Valuing property: the homestead cap and the circuit breaker limitation · Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · retrieved Supports: A residence homestead's appraised value may not rise more than 10% a year, from the year after the owner first qualifies, A 20% annual limit on the appraised value of non-homestead property valued at $5 million or less, the circuit breaker, which expires on 31 December 2026
- Tax Code, Section 41.44: notice of protest · Texas Legislature · retrieved Supports: A protest must be filed by 15 May or the 30th day after the appraisal notice is delivered, whichever is later
- Midtown Improvement District · City of Dallas Office of Economic Development · retrieved Supports: The Midtown Improvement District, formerly the Vickery Meadow Public Improvement District, established in 1993 and renewed to 31 December 2032, An annual budget and assessment rate subject to a public hearing and Dallas City Council approval
- Public Improvement Districts (PIDs) layer · City of Dallas · retrieved Supports: Public improvement districts mapped by the City including Dallas DID, Uptown, Deep Ellum, Klyde Warren/DAD, Knox Street, Oak Lawn-Hi Line, Prestonwood, Lake Highlands, North Lake Highlands, Midtown, University Crossing, South Side, Far East Dallas and RedBird
- Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 24 September 2026 · Freddie Mac · retrieved Supports: A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 7.03%, up from 6.95% the week before and 6.30% a year earlier
- Texas homeowners insurance market overview · Texas Department of Insurance · retrieved Supports: A statewide average homeowners premium of $3,489 a year for 2025, from the Texas Statistical Plan for Residential Risks, Hail as the largest cause of paid homeowners losses, $4.93 billion in 2024 against $2.21 billion for wind
- Insurance and your roof: what to know when buying a policy or filing a claim · Texas Department of Insurance · retrieved Supports: Replacement cost coverage pays for a new roof at current prices, and actual cash value coverage pays replacement cost minus depreciation, As roofs age, some companies will switch to actual cash value, A deductible for wind and hail damage can differ from the deductible for other damage
- Texas homeowners insurance · NerdWallet · retrieved Supports: An average Dallas premium of $6,915 a year and a Texas average of $5,910, for $500,000 of dwelling cover, updated 20 February 2026
- How much is homeowners insurance in Dallas, TX? · Insure.com · retrieved Supports: An average Dallas premium of $4,212 a year for $300,000 of dwelling cover, $100,000 of liability and a $1,000 deductible, updated 27 May 2026
- Renters insurance in Texas · NerdWallet · retrieved Supports: An average Dallas renters premium of $167 a year for $30,000 of personal property, updated 23 September 2026
- Monthly homeowners' or condominium association fee, table B25143, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Dallas city · United States Census Bureau · retrieved Supports: A median monthly association fee of $280 among Dallas owner-occupied units that pay one, 50,335 of 226,859 owner-occupied units, or 22.2%, paying such a fee, from table B25142
- City of Dallas utility fees effective 1 October 2025 · City of Dallas · retrieved Supports: A residential sanitation fee of $40.09 a month, $43.40 with tax, A residential stormwater fee of $5.39 to $21.01 a month by impervious area, An environmental cleanup fee of $3.00 a month on every City of Dallas utility account
- Dallas Homebuyer Assistance Program (DHAP) · City of Dallas Housing and Homelessness Solutions · retrieved Supports: Assistance of up to $60,000 in High Opportunity Areas and $50,000 elsewhere in Dallas, for households at or below 80% of area median income, A maximum sales price of $342,000 for existing and newly built homes, for contracts from 1 September 2024, A second lien as an interest-free forgivable deferred loan with no monthly payments, prorated annually, with partial repayment due on a sale, lease or transfer, Administered by Business and Community Lenders of Texas from 1 May 2026
- 2025 Gazetteer files: places, Texas · United States Census Bureau · retrieved Supports: A land area of 339.685 square miles and a water area of 43.966 square miles for Dallas city
- San Antonio home sales rise 4% in August as prices hold steady · San Antonio Board of REALTORS · retrieved Supports: Bexar County: 2,068 home sales in August 2026, up 8.8% on the year, at a median price of $280,999, down 3.1%, and an average of $336,979, down 2.6%, The San Antonio area MLS: 3,104 sales, up 4%, at a median of $299,275 and an average of $372,989, released 10 September 2026, The release's table: an area median of $310,000 in August 2025 and $313,995 in August 2024, although its prose calls the median unchanged on the year, 5.87 months of inventory, 16,940 active listings and an average of 82 days on the market, 5,024 active residential rental listings at an average monthly rent of $1,832, down 2%, SABOR's membership serving Atascosa, Bee, Bexar, Frio, Karnes, Kendall, La Salle, Maverick, McMullen, Medina, Uvalde, Val Verde and Wilson counties
- South Texas market report: monthly releases · San Antonio Board of REALTORS · retrieved Supports: The monthly MLS releases for January through August 2026, reporting the San Antonio area and Bexar County and no City of San Antonio figure
- San Antonio Rent Report, October 2026 · Apartment List · retrieved Supports: A median rent of $957 for a one-bedroom and $1,179 for a two-bedroom in the city of San Antonio, and $1,121 across all bedroom sizes, Rents down 0.2% over September and down 4.3% over the past 12 months, against -2.1% for the state
- Apartments for rent in San Antonio, TX: average rent · Apartment List · retrieved Supports: Average listed rents of $1,069 and up for a studio, $1,141 and up for one bedroom, $1,477 and up for two, and $1,887 and up for three or more
- FY 2026 fair market rents, San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX HUD Metro FMR Area · United States Department of Housing and Urban Development · retrieved Supports: FY 2026 fair market rents of $1,177 for one bedroom, $1,426 for two and $1,830 for three, as gross rents including utilities, Housing Choice Voucher programs in the metro using Small Area Fair Market Rents set by ZIP code
- 2025 official tax rates and exemptions · Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector · retrieved Supports: 2025 rates per $100: Bexar County 0.276331, Road and Flood Control Fund 0.023668, Hospital District 0.276235, City of San Antonio 0.541590, Northside ISD 1.004900, San Antonio ISD 1.155200, Alamo Community College District 0.149150, San Antonio River Authority 0.018300, Homestead exemptions of $5,000 or 20% for Bexar County, the Hospital District and the City; $3,000 and 20% for the Road and Flood Control Fund; $5,000 or 1% for the college district; $5,000 or 4% for the River Authority; $140,000 for Northside ISD; $140,000 and 0.01% for San Antonio ISD, San Antonio Municipal Utility District No. 1 at 0.20, twelve emergency service districts at up to 0.10, and 24 special improvement districts, 22 of them at 0.541590, The Downtown Public Improvement District at 0.15, and 0.09 on condominiums, Official tables from 2005 to 2025 and none yet for 2026, from https://www.bexar.org/1591/Tax-Rates
- 2024 actual tax rates and 2025 actual tax rates, as of 5 December 2025 · Bexar Appraisal District · retrieved Supports: The same 2025 rates to the sixth decimal, and each unit's 2024 rate beside it: the City, the county, the Road and Flood fund, the Hospital District, the college district and Northside ISD unchanged, and the River Authority up from 0.017870, Local option homestead exemptions not less than $5,000, and the Road and Flood fund's $3,000 homestead exemption, Redbird Ranch water districts at 1.00 per $100
- 2025 tax rate calculation worksheets: City of San Antonio · Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector · retrieved Supports: A debt rate of 0.21150 per $100 within the City's 0.54159, leaving 0.33009 for maintenance and operations, The same 0.54159 adopted for the 2024 tax year
- Property tax protests and appeals · Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · retrieved Supports: A protest deadline of 15 May or 30 days after the appraisal district mails the notice of appraised value, whichever is later
- 2020 block assignment files, Texas: unified school districts and places · United States Census Bureau · retrieved Supports: Read with the 2020 redistricting file's block populations, at https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/Texas/tx2020.pl.zip, Of the City of San Antonio's 1,434,625 residents in 2020: 468,901 in Northside ISD, 368,830 in North East ISD, 298,175 in San Antonio ISD, 59,802 in Harlandale ISD, 56,792 in Edgewood ISD and 45,376 in South San Antonio ISD, 298,175 of San Antonio ISD's 300,690 residents inside the city, and 468,901 of Northside ISD's 665,676
- Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) · City of San Antonio Planning Department · retrieved Supports: The ETJ as the unincorporated land within five miles of the City's boundaries and not within another city's limits or ETJ, The area in which the City may annex land, with the consent of the landowner or voter approval, Senate Bill 2038, effective 1 September 2023, establishing a petition and election process for releasing property from a city's ETJ
- ETJ planning · City of San Antonio Planning Department · retrieved Supports: Two Military Protection Areas, within five miles of Camp Bullis and the Lackland Training Annex, developed as a direct result of a 2017 state law curtailing unilateral annexation by Texas cities
- Annexation and growth management policy, adopted 31 August 2023 · City of San Antonio Planning Department · retrieved Supports: Senate Bill 6 (2017) curtailing the annexation powers of cities in counties of more than 500,000 people, such as San Antonio, and requiring landowner or voter approval, Elections called in 2018 for areas within five miles of Camp Bullis-Camp Stanley and Lackland Air Force Base-Medina Training Annex, where owners chose land use controls rather than annexation, Chapter 382 public improvement districts created by the county with the City's written consent as the most common special district request
- Public improvement districts and special districts · City of San Antonio Planning Department · retrieved Supports: Special districts in the City's ETJ, including Chapter 382 public improvement districts, also called special improvement districts, water control and improvement districts and fresh water supply districts, Districts created by the county at a landowner's request with the City's consent, conditioned through development agreements
- Our history · CPS Energy · retrieved Supports: The nation's largest public power, natural gas and electric company, serving more than 996,000 electric and 399,000 natural gas customers, $10.6 billion in revenue generated for the City of San Antonio since 1942, Acquired by the City of San Antonio on 24 October 1942
- Edwards Aquifer · San Antonio Water System · retrieved Supports: About 47%, some 154,000 acre-feet, of the water SAWS customers used in 2025 came from the Edwards Aquifer, Permitted withdrawals subject to cutbacks of zero to 44% in critical periods
- Water supplies · San Antonio Water System · retrieved Supports: In 1995 all of San Antonio's water came from the Edwards Aquifer; SAWS now manages 13 supply projects from seven sources
- Stage 3 watering rules · San Antonio Water System · retrieved Supports: Stage 3 rules in effect on 30 September 2026: landscape watering once a week, on the customer's day, from 5 to 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight
- Stormwater fee · San Antonio Water System · retrieved Supports: SAWS bills the City of San Antonio's stormwater fee on the City's behalf, Residential rates of $3.75 a month up to 2,750 square feet of impervious area, $4.94 to 4,220 square feet and $10.45 above it
- Solid waste rates and fees · City of San Antonio Solid Waste Management Department · retrieved Supports: Monthly totals of $19.76, $25.26 and $35.75 for the small, medium and large garbage cart, including the $3.00 solid waste and $2.00 parks environmental fees, The fee shown and collected on the CPS Energy bill, with no additional fee for the recycling and organics carts
- June 11 to 12, 2025 San Antonio area flood event · National Weather Service, Austin/San Antonio · retrieved Supports: 13 fatalities from flooding across the San Antonio area, 12 in the Beitel Creek basin and one in the Leon Creek basin, 15 vehicles swept into Beitel Creek from the Loop 410 frontage road near Perrin Beitel Road, 3.98 inches of rain in one hour at San Antonio International Airport, the highest hourly rate on record since 1934
- San Antonio, TX · Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas · retrieved Supports: The flood of 9 and 10 September 1921, which put up to twelve feet of water downtown and killed at least fifty-one people, and the Olmos Dam and river bypass built after it
- Home, flood, wind: which policies do you need? · Texas Department of Insurance · retrieved Supports: Most home policies do not cover floods; a flood policy covers damage from rising water
- How much is homeowners insurance in San Antonio, TX? · Insure.com · retrieved Supports: An average San Antonio premium of $2,866 a year for $300,000 of dwelling cover, $100,000 of liability and a $1,000 deductible, updated 27 May 2026, An average of $2,222 a year for $200,000 of dwelling cover
- Monthly homeowners' association and condominium fee, tables B25142 and B25143, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, San Antonio city · United States Census Bureau, via the Census Reporter API · retrieved Supports: A median monthly association fee of $60 among San Antonio owner-occupied units that pay one, 110,122 of 295,530 owner-occupied units, or 37.3%, paying such a fee, and 4,864 paying $500 or more a month
- Homeownership Incentive Programs (HIP) · City of San Antonio Neighborhood and Housing Services Department · retrieved Supports: HIP 80: $1,000 to $30,000 as a 0% interest, no-payment second loan, the first $15,000 forgiven over five years and the rest over ten, on an existing home up to $260,000 or a new one up to $284,000, with 2026 income limits of $56,350 for one person to $80,500 for four, HIP 120: $1,000 to $15,000, 75% forgiven over ten years and 25% perpetual, on an existing home up to $301,700 or a new one up to $332,800, with income limits of $84,500 for one person to $120,700 for four, A HUD-approved eight-hour homebuyer class, a home inside the city limits and a $500 minimum earnest money deposit
- HIP 80 and HIP 120 general information · City of San Antonio Neighborhood and Housing Services Department · retrieved Supports: Both programs for income-eligible first-time homebuyers buying a primary residence, which must pass a HIP property review and inspection, The remaining balance repaid in part on a change of ownership, a sale or a cash-out refinance, from this sheet and the HIP 120 sheet at https://www.sa.gov/files/assets/main/v/5/nhsd/documents/hip120-generalinformation.pdf