SAN ANTONIO — A single adult would need an annual income of just over $90,000 to live comfortably in San Antonio, according to an April 2026 cost-of-living report, while the area median income for a single person in 2025 was less than $68,000. The findings come as the Consumer Price Index for April 2026 showed a 3.8% increase over the previous 12 months, with gasoline prices up 28.4% year over year.

San Antonio has a reputation as an affordable city, and a 2025 report placed it as the 10th-cheapest metro area. The city also had the third-highest poverty rate among the 25 largest metro areas in 2023 and 2024.

"For a year-over-year, 3.8 might not sound like a scary number, but when you compound it over the last five years of inflation we've been experiencing, that's where the hit really starts to become apparent," said Taylor Collins, chairman of the University of the Incarnate Word Department of Economics. "That's still not a huge relief when people are already spending at their limit and now experiencing these additional costs on top of it," he said.

Residents described adjusting household budgets in response to rising costs. "Some things you got to take away, make up for the inflation," said Luis Velazquez. "Sometimes you got to tell them, 'Well, can't get that right now. We got to put it towards gas, electric, water bill,'" he said.

The City of San Antonio is considering increasing its property tax rate for the first time in 33 years. The San Antonio Water System has proposed raising its rates, and CPS Energy has discussed the possibility of raising rates but has not yet presented a proposal.

Housing costs have moved in the opposite direction over the past year. Rents at multifamily developments in San Antonio fell 3.4% over the past 12 months to an average of $1,251, according to Apartments.com, and home prices fell 0.6% year over year to an average just below $310,000, according to Homes.com. Housing prices in San Antonio rose after the pandemic, and rental prices rose following that increase.

"San Antonio is definitely affordable compared to other cities, but it's also like you have to put into perspective that San Antonio doesn't pay much," said Ana Nuñez. Many job offers in the city pay between $15 and $18 per hour, according to Nuñez. "They don't move to San Antonio to get their dream job. They usually move out, unfortunately," she said.

"Something we know in economics is that people respond to future expectations," Collins said. "So, in part, prices are going to today because people expect them to go up in the future, and as that cycle continues, we can expect the stretch to get harder and harder." Collins also said, "If you're in an emergency situation, that's what the programs are available for."