How Much Income You Really Need to Buy in Boerne vs. Santa Clara County

If you’re in Santa Clara County and feel like homeownership has turned into a numbers game you can’t win, you’re not imagining it. The math really has tilted against middle- and even upper-middle-income families. Let’s compare income needed to buy a home in Boerne vs Santa Clara County.

In this post, I’m going to walk through actual numbers for buying a typical home in:

• Santa Clara County, California, and
• Boerne, Texas (with a quick look at nearby Fair Oaks Ranch)

We’ll look at home prices, property taxes, insurance, utilities, and the income lenders typically want to see. The goal isn’t to scare you; it’s to give you a clear picture of what’s possible if you decide to redirect your life — and your money — to Texas Hill Country.

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1. The starting point: What homes actually cost

Santa Clara County

According to the Santa Clara County Real Estate Market Trends Report, the median price for a single-family home in November 2025 was $1,935,250. scc.rereport.com

That’s county-wide, all cities, all neighborhoods — not a luxury outlier.

Boerne & Fair Oaks Ranch (Texas Hill Country)

A 2025 analysis of San Antonio–area suburbs found that: MySA

• Boerne (78006): Recent median sales around $600,000–$610,000
• Fair Oaks Ranch: Median home prices closer to $780,000 (reflecting more golf-course and gated communities)

For this post, I’ll use:

• $1,935,000 – median single-family in Santa Clara County
• $606,500 – recent Boerne median
• $781,000 – Fair Oaks Ranch median scenario

That alone tells you something: the “typical” Santa Clara County house costs roughly 3× a typical Boerne home and about 2.5× a Fair Oaks Ranch home.

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2. Incomes on the ground: who can actually afford what?

Let’s compare median household incomes:

• Santa Clara County
  Recent data puts median household income around $155,000–$170,000. Data USA
• Kendall County (Boerne / Fair Oaks Ranch)
  Kendall County’s median household income is roughly $110,000–$115,000, while the City of Boerne itself is in the high-$80,000s to low-$90,000s depending on the dataset. Data USA+1

So Santa Clara households generally earn more — but not nearly enough to keep up with the 3× home price differential.

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3. Assumptions for the comparison

To keep the comparison honest and clear, here’s the framework:

• 20% down payment (to avoid mortgage insurance)
• 30-year fixed mortgage
• Interest rate: about 6.2%, roughly where U.S. 30-year fixed rates have been hovering in late 2025. FRED+1
• Front-end ratio (housing): lenders often like your PITI (Principal + Interest + Taxes + Insurance) to be no more than ~28% of your gross monthly income.
• Utilities: using recent averages for each state / metro.
• Everything is approximate — but grounded in current data and standard underwriting guidelines.

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4. Scenario A – Buying the median home in Santa Clara County

Home price: $1,935,000 scc.rereport.com
Down payment (20%): about $387,000
Loan amount: about $1,548,000

Using a 30-year fixed at ~6.2%:

• Principal & interest (P&I): ≈ $9,480/month

Property taxes

• California’s average effective property tax rate is about 0.68% of assessed value statewide, but this includes long-time owners enjoying deep Prop 13 discounts. AARP States
• New buyers should plan closer to 1.1–1.2% of purchase price once you add local assessments. reAlpha+1

For a realistic new-buyer estimate, I’ll use 1.2%:

• Property tax: 1.2% × $1,935,000 ≈ $23,220/year
  → about $1,935/month

Homeowners insurance

Recent studies put average California homeowners insurance somewhere in the $1,100–$1,400 per year range, with San Jose and Bay Area suburbs generally in the middle of that band. MoneyGeek.com+2Hippo+2

We’ll use $1,300/year:

• Insurance: ≈ $108/month

Utilities & energy

• California’s average residential electricity price is about 30–32¢ per kWh, roughly double the U.S. average. Center for Jobs+1
• In San Jose, typical combined utilities (electric, gas, water, trash) plus internet often land around $300–$350/month for a detached home. Apartment List

We’ll conservatively use $320/month for utilities.

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Monthly cost summary – Santa Clara County median SFH

• Principal & interest: ≈ $9,480
• Property tax: ≈ $1,935
• Homeowners insurance: ≈ $108

PITI (what the lender really cares about): ≈ $11,520/month

Add typical utilities:

• Utilities: ≈ $320

Total housing + utilities: ≈ $11,840/month

Income you’d need

Using a 28% housing-to-income guideline:

• Required annual gross income ≈ $11,520 × 12 / 0.28 ≈ $494,000

That’s not a luxury lifestyle. That’s just what it takes to make the numbers work on a median single-family home at today’s prices and rates in Santa Clara County.

Compare that to a median household income around $160,000, and you can see the gap. Data USA

This is why so many perfectly responsible, high-earning families feel like they’re running uphill in wet concrete.

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5. Scenario B – Buying a typical home in Boerne

Home price: $606,500 (recent median for Boerne) MySA
Down payment (20%): ≈ $121,300
Loan amount: ≈ $485,200

At the same ~6.2% 30-year rate:

• Principal & interest: ≈ $2,970/month

Property taxes

In Boerne, your total tax bill combines multiple jurisdictions. A recent breakdown shows approximate 2024 rates of: Boerne, TX Official Website

• City of Boerne: 0.4716%
• Kendall County: 0.3827%
• Boerne ISD (school): 0.9909%
• Cow Creek Groundwater: 0.0050%

Total ≈ 1.85% of assessed value (before homestead and over-65 exemptions).

Using 1.8% for round numbers:

• Property tax: 1.8% × $606,500 ≈ $10,917/year
  → about $910/month

Homeowners insurance

Texas homeowners insurance is higher than the national average, and statewide estimates range from low-$2,000s to over $4,000 per year for a $300,000 dwelling, depending on insurer and coverage. Texas United Mortgage+2Richey Insurance Agency+2

Boerne is inland (not coastal, not in the highest wildfire corridors), so I’ll use $3,500/year as a conservative estimate for a $600k-range home:

• Insurance: ≈ $292/month

Utilities & energy

Texas electricity is materially cheaper per kWh than California:

• Texas average residential electricity rate is around 15–16¢/kWh. Quick Electricity+1
• California averages around 30–32¢/kWh. Center for Jobs+1

Overall utility bills in Texas tend to be in the $350–$450/month band for a typical single-family home, depending on summer AC usage and home efficiency. Bay Management Group Texas+2SoFi+2

We’ll use $400/month.

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Monthly cost summary – Boerne median home

• Principal & interest: ≈ $2,970
• Property tax: ≈ $910
• Homeowners insurance: ≈ $292

PITI: ≈ $4,170/month

Add utilities:

• Utilities: ≈ $400

Total housing + utilities: ≈ $4,570/month

Income you’d need

Using the same 28% housing-to-income guideline:

• Required annual gross income ≈ $4,170 × 12 / 0.28 ≈ $179,000

In other words, the income needed to buy a median Boerne home is less than half of what’s needed for a median Santa Clara County single-family home — and the down payment is much more attainable.

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6. Scenario C – A Fair Oaks Ranch home

If you prefer a golf-course, master-planned feel, Fair Oaks Ranch is a good benchmark.

Home price: $781,000 (recent median) MySA
Down payment (20%): ≈ $156,200
Loan amount: ≈ $624,800

At the same rate:

• Principal & interest: ≈ $3,830/month

Assuming similar 1.8% property tax and slightly higher utilities (~$450/month for a larger home), and the same $3,500/year insurance assumption:

• Property tax ≈ $1,170/month
• Insurance ≈ $292/month

PITI: ≈ $5,292/month

Using the 28% guideline:

• Required income ≈ $5,292 × 12 / 0.28 ≈ $227,000/year

So even a more upscale Fair Oaks Ranch property requires far less income than a median Santa Clara County home, and you’re still in the San Antonio metro with strong job growth and a lower overall cost of living. San Antonio Express-News+1

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7. State income tax: the silent pressure on your paycheck

The mortgage underwriter doesn’t care where you live. But your net take-home pay absolutely does.

• California
  Has a progressive state income tax with nine brackets from 1% up to 12.3%, plus an additional mental-health tax on very high earners. AARP States+1
• Texas
  Has no state income tax at all, by constitutional design. afm.utexas.edu+3AARP States+3Raisin+3

If you’re a high earner in Santa Clara County, you’re not just wrestling with a bigger mortgage. You’re also sending a significant slice of your income to Sacramento before you ever see it.

When you relocate to Texas, the same gross income translates into higher net income, which makes it easier to:

• Qualify for the home you want
• Actually save and invest
• Build reserves for repairs, college, retirement — real life

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8. The “hidden costs” side of the story

Axios recently highlighted that California homeowners face the highest “hidden” ongoing owner costs in the country, including taxes, utilities, insurance, maintenance, and association fees — averaging over $32,000 per year, with property taxes alone averaging around $7,300 and utilities about $4,700. Axios

Texas certainly isn’t “cheap” anymore — especially in high-demand areas like Austin and parts of San Antonio — but when you combine:

• Lower home prices
• No state income tax
• Cheaper electricity per kWh
• And a more moderate overall cost of living

…the total burden of homeownership is simply lighter for most families than in Silicon Valley or broader Santa Clara County. Kiplinger+3San Antonio Express-News+3Center for Jobs+3

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9. What this means if you’re living in Santa Clara County now

Let’s be blunt:

• In Santa Clara County, the median income household is nowhere near the income required to buy the median single-family home under conservative lending guidelines.
• In Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch, strong dual-income households and families with equity from a California sale can realistically qualify for a comfortable home — often with money left over each month instead of living right at the edge.

If you’re feeling boxed in in California, that’s not a personal failure. It’s a structural math problem:

• High home prices
• High state income taxes
• High utility costs
• High overall cost of living

The Hill Country can’t solve every problem in your life, but it can give you:

• A more realistic path to single-family homeownership
• The breathing room to fund retirement, college, and emergencies
• A community where your money and your energy go further

If you’re curious what your specific Santa Clara County sale proceeds and income could buy in Boerne or Fair Oaks Ranch, that’s where I come in. My job is to translate this kind of analysis into a concrete plan for your family.

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10. Important caveats

Numbers like these are powerful, but they’re still illustrations, not guarantees.

• Interest rates move.
• Your credit, debts, and reserves matter.
• Property tax and insurance can vary by subdivision and coverage.
• New Texas homestead and over-65 exemptions can meaningfully reduce your tax bill. Kiplinger+1

You should always run your exact situation past a qualified lender and tax professional. But the direction of travel is clear: for the same or lower income, homeownership in Boerne/Fair Oaks Ranch is far more attainable than in Santa Clara County.