The American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association (ACCRA) conductsa quarterly survey to measure the differences between areas in the cost of consumergoods and services, excluding taxes andnon-consumer expenditures. It measuresrelative price levels for consumer goodsand services in participating areas. Theaverage for a participating place, bothmetropolitan and non-metropolitan, equals 100, and each participant’s index is readas a percentage of the average of all places. Across the board, San Antonio is extremely affordable for a large metropolitan city. San Antonio residents enjoy a cost of living that is consistently ranked one of the lowest among U.S. cities with populations of 1 million or more, according to the ACCRA.

Of special note is the low cost of housing. Houses in San Antonio cost 30 percent less than the national median and are available at less than half the cost of comparable housing in cities in California and New England. Equally important, these prices are for large, attractive, solidly built homes.