Austin, TX vs South San Francisco, CA

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

Austin

68.3

#1322 nationally

South San Francisco

63.9

#1734 nationally

Austin leads in cost of living index (129 vs 207). South San Francisco leads in walk score (63 vs 42). South San Francisco leads in median household income ($127,062 vs $91,461).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Austin, TX	South San Francisco, CA
WhereAtHome Score	68.3 (#1322)	63.9 (#1734)
Population	967,862	63,123
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$504,148	$1,235,804
Median Household Income	$91,461	$127,062
Average Commute	26.8 min	27.9 min
Walk Score	42	63
Crime Level	Moderate	8.2
School Rating	7.2	N/A
Cost of Living Index	129	207
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+39.3	D+50.3