The 10 Cheapest San Antonio, TX Neighborhoods To Live In For 2021


We used science and data to determine which neighborhoods in San Antonio are the cheapest of the cheap.

Chris Kolmar, About HomeSnacks
December 29, 2020
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Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2021. This is our third time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in San Antonio.
Cheapest Neighborhoods In San Antonio
Source: Flickr User nan palmero | CC BY 2.0

Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.

I'd much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I'd rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.

And while every neighbhorhood in San Antonio might be more expensive than living in rural Texas, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.

So what exactly are those San Antonio neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further -- you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in San Antonio are the cheapest.

What's the cheapest neighborhood to live in San Antonio for 2021? According to the most recent census data, Wilshire looks to be the cheaptest San Antonio neighborhood to live in.

At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for -- some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in San Antonio. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.

Read on to see how we determined the places around San Antonio that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you're interested in the worst neighborhoods in San Antonio.

Once you're done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.

For more Texas reading, check out:

How We Determined The Cheapest San Antonio Hoods In 2021

In order to rank the cheapest places to live in San Antonio, we had to determine what criteria defines "cheap".

Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • Overall Cost Of Living
  • Rent To Income Ratio
  • Median Home Value To Income Ratio

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 295 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the "Cheapest City Neighborhood In San Antonio." We're lookin' at you, Wilshire.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the cheapest places San Antonio. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In San Antonio For 2021

1. Wilshire

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 3,198
Cost Of Living Index: 76 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.3 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.006 (2nd cheapest)
More on Wilshire: Homes For Sale | Data

2. South Southwest

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 14,272
Cost Of Living Index: 81 (40th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.5 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (43rd cheapest)
More on South Southwest: Homes For Sale | Data

3. Highland Forest

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 143
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (26th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.5 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (9cheapest)
More on Highland Forest: Homes For Sale | Data

4. Tierra Linda

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,829
Cost Of Living Index: 75 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.4 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (120th cheapest)
More on Tierra Linda: Homes For Sale | Data

5. Olmos Park Terrace

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,420
Cost Of Living Index: 79 (17th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (59th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (57th cheapest)
More on Olmos Park Terrace: Homes For Sale | Data

6. Misty Oaks

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,566
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (83rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.6 (2cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (45th cheapest)
More on Misty Oaks: Homes For Sale | Data

7. Kingsborough Ridge

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,064
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (26th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (68th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (59th cheapest)
More on Kingsborough Ridge: Homes For Sale | Data

8. Valencia

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 1,367
Cost Of Living Index: 89 (122nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.6 (20th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.01 (2cheapest)
More on Valencia: Homes For Sale | Data

9. El Dorado

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 2,061
Cost Of Living Index: 88 (114th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.7 (29th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (29th cheapest)
More on El Dorado: Homes For Sale | Data

10. Northwest Crossing

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 10,718
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (106th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.8 (42nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (34th cheapest)
More on Northwest Crossing: Homes For Sale | Data

Summing Up The Cheapest Places In San Antonio

If you're measuring the neighborhoods in San Antonio where prices are low and it's cheap to live, this is an accurate list.

As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in San Antonio aren't all cheap. Maverick Creek takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in San Antonio.

We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.

For more Texas reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In San Antonio For 2021

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 Wilshire 76
2 South Southwest 81
3 Highland Forest 80
4 Tierra Linda 75
5 Olmos Park Terrace 79
6 Misty Oaks 85
7 Kingsborough Ridge 80
8 Valencia 89
9 El Dorado 88
10 Northwest Crossing 87
11 Los Jardines 76
12 San Antonio Creekside 90
13 Rainbow Hills 84
14 Valley Forest 82
15 Village North One 79
16 High Country 86
17 Knollcreek 90
18 Crown Meadows 89
19 Lago Vista-South Southwest 88
20 Third World 81
21 Southpark 89
22 Highland Oaks 81
23 Randolph Hills 94
24 Stablewood-Valley Hi North 89
25 Village At Big Country 84
26 Memorial Heights 79
27 165 Association 90
28 Culebra Park-Third World 80
29 Oak Grove Estates 85
30 Timber Ridge 87
31 Stone Wood 87
32 Woodbridge At Monte Viejo 90
33 Tanglewood 91
34 University Park 81
35 Valley Hi North 92
36 Greater Gardendale 78
37 Quintana Community 79
38 Dellview Area 80
39 Stanton Run 98
40 Culebra Park 82
41 Pecan Valley 84
42 Thunderbird Hills 83
43 Parkwood Maintenance 89
44 Ingram Hills 81
45 Braun Willow 90
46 French Creek Village 91
47 Lakeside 87
48 Sunshine Estates 85
49 Crownhill Park 95
50 Community Workers Council-Los Jardines 78
51 Overlook Of Carriage Hills 99
52 Springvale 80
53 Brady Gardens 81
54 Northern Hills 91
55 Woodlawn Lake 79
56 Hidden Cove-Indian Creek-Southwest 81
57 Alamo Farmsteads-Babcock Road 91
58 Hunters Brook-Hunters Chase 102
59 Heritage 89
60 St James Place 91
61 Tezel Trails 95
62 Prospect Hill 75
63 Jefferson-Monticello Park 86
64 Riverside South 75
65 Quail Creek 92
66 The Crossing At Quail Creek 92
67 Royal Ridge 88
68 Southwest 82
69 Northhampton 91
70 Tezel Heights 93
71 Northwest Los Angeles Heights 83
72 Ventura 91
73 Sun Gate 85
74 Highland Farms 91
75 Braun Station West 99
76 Mountain View Acres 102
77 Adams Hill 89
78 Hidden Meadow 86
79 North Central Thousand Oaks 95
80 Villa De San Antonio 81
81 Great Northwest 91
82 Hunters Mill 93
83 Loma Vista 79
84 Collins Garden 81
85 Candlewood Park 89
86 East Terrell Hills 84
87 Ridgestone 94
88 Woodstone 86
89 Braun Station East 98
90 Park Place 95
91 Palm Heights 79
92 Thompson Community 81
93 Alamo Farmsteads-Babcock Road-Westfield 98
94 Verde Hills 92
95 Community Workers Council 76
96 Westwood Village 83
97 Coliseum-Willow Park 81
98 Sunrise 85
99 Lindsey Place 90
100 Southeast Side 80
101 Denver Heights 81
102 Woodlake 92
103 Los Angeles Heights-Keystone 85
104 Harvard Place-Eastlawn 76
105 Thousand Oaks 92
106 Shady Oaks 90
107 Silverbrook 101
108 Wheatley Heights 82
109 The Estates At Stonegate 102
110 Cable-Westwood 79
111 Eden 101
112 Mission San Jose 81
113 Riverside 81
114 Oak Bluff 96
115 Feather Ridge 86
116 San Antonio Cambridge Village-East Terrell Hills 85
117 Edison 84
118 Woods Of Shavano 96
119 Village In The Woods 104
120 Braun Hollow 104
121 Stonefield 101
122 Dellcrest Area 82
123 Jefferson Heights 78
124 Highland Hills 83
125 Saddlebrook Farms 96
126 Villages Of Westcreek 100
127 East Village 84
128 Green Spring Valley 98
129 Shearer Hills-Ridgeview 90
130 Terrell Heights 96
131 Woodridge 96
132 Fairways Of Woodlake 96
133 Coliseum Oaks 86
134 Countryside San Pedro 93
135 Estates-Mission Hills 92
136 The Terraces At Encino Creek 105
137 Arena District 77
138 Meadowbrook 92
139 Vance Jackson 91
140 Avenida Guadalupe 79
141 Nevada Street 82
142 Redland Woods 107
143 Donaldson Terrace 81
144 Downtown 86
145 Encino Park 107
146 Sunny Slope 81
147 Oak Meadow 97
148 Country View Village-Alamo Farmsteads-Babcock Road 95
149 The Hills Of Park North 80
150 Trophy Ridge 97
151 Northmoor 85
152 Oak Haven Heights 98
153 Laddie Place And North Wilson 84
154 Highland Park 83
155 Sierra Springs 97
156 Hills And Dales 109
157 Oak Creek 96
158 Emerald Forest 105
159 Provincia Villas 92
160 Stone Valley 113
161 North Central Heritage 98
162 Las Lomas-Stone Oak 112
163 Forest Oak 93
164 Eastgate 84
165 Santa Fe Trails 99
166 Roosevelt Park 82
167 Spring Creek 94
168 Eastwood Village 80
169 Northern Heights 85
170 Pipers Meadow 85
171 Hunters Creek 103
172 Meadow Village 82
173 Government Hill Alliance 82
174 Artesia Community Guild 76
175 Oak Park-Northwood 102
176 Loma Park 81
177 Guilbeau Park 95
178 Steubing Ranch 100
179 Camelot 86
180 Bluffview At Camino Real 109
181 Greystone Country Estates 121
182 Five Points 82
183 The Champions Estates-Stone Oak 128
184 Brentfield 93
185 United Westwood 83
186 Wildwood West 97
187 Historic Gardens 83
188 Beacon Hill 87
189 Blossom Park 92
190 Friends Of Friedrich Wilderness Park 131
191 Deerfield 106
192 The Bluffs Of Henderson Pass 92
193 Lorrence Creek 93
194 Jefferson 90
195 Coolcrest 96
196 General Krueger 84
197 Hillcrest 86
198 Stone Mountain 106
199 Shavano Heights 106
200 Jade Oaks 101
201 Cielo Vista 121
202 Gardens At Brookhollow 101
203 East Pyron-Symphony Lane-Mission San Jose 85
204 Remington Heights 107
205 Champions Ridge 131
206 The Heights At Stone Oak 131
207 The Vineyard 116
208 Hart Ranch Unit One 102
209 Stone Oak 110
210 Crownridge Of Texas 121
211 Summit-Stone Oak 110
212 Lafayette Place 86
213 El Chaparral Fertile Valley 89
214 184 Association 85
215 Tierra Del Sol 95
216 Citizens On Alert 87
217 Villas Of Babcock-Summerwind 85
218 Alta Vista 88
219 Preston Hollow 98
220 Greater Harmony Hills 93
221 Castle Hills Forest 103
222 Promontory Pointe-Heights 111
223 Longs Ridge 100
224 Eckhert Crossing 95
225 Dellcrest Forrest 81
226 Rolling Ridge Village-Rolling Ridge Club 87
227 Jefferson-Monticello Park-Woodlawn Lake 93
228 Forest At Stone Oak 118
229 Oxbow 87
230 North Shearer Hills 87
231 Apple Creek 93
232 Park Village 81
233 Oakwood 125
234 Woods Of Deerfield 125
235 Forests At Inwood 125
236 Arbor At Sonoma Ranch 109
237 The Fountains At Deerfield 129
238 Woodglen 97
239 Ridge At Deerfield 113
240 The Park At Deerfield 115
241 Big Springs 110
242 Skyline Park 80
243 Stone Oak Communities 110
244 Monte Vista 107
245 Vista 95
246 Regency Meadow 93
247 Dignowity Hill 86
248 Rolling Ridge Club 90
249 The Dominion 150
250 Ridgehaven Volunteer 94
251 Hein-Orchard 82
252 Creekview Estates 106
253 Encino Ranch 112
254 Cavalo Creek Estates 113
255 Inspiration Hills 91
256 The Seventh At Sonterra-The Vineyard 115
257 Tobin Hill 94
258 Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake 91
259 Fieldstone 108
260 United Homeowners 86
261 Lower Southeast Side 87
262 Woller Creek 98
263 Mission Ridge 102
264 Mockingbird Hill 95
265 Lavaca 88
266 North San Antonio Hills 115
267 Arboretum 99
268 Summerglen 127
269 Canyon Creek Estates 106
270 Mahncke Park 90
271 Castle Wood Forest 107
272 Oak Hills 104
273 College Park 98
274 Huntington Place 101
275 Wilshire Village 92
276 Sonterra-Stone Oak 115
277 Cadillac Drive 103
278 Redland Ridge 102
279 Deer Hollow 104
280 Gold Canyon 105
281 Walker Ranch 106
282 Regency Park 106
283 King William 110
284 Churchill Estates 103
285 North Castle Hills 105
286 Canyon View 108
287 Dreamhill Estates Neighborhood 89
288 Inwood Homeowners 141
289 Lockhill Estates 94
290 Vista Del Norte 105
291 Oakland Heights 108
292 Mission Trace-Vance Jackson 99
293 River Road 97
294 Wellsprings-Vance Jackson 101
295 Maverick Creek 104

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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