Economics plays a role in why people move to San Antonio

See Why move to San Antonio? Transplants point to costs, culture, comida: Come for the affordability, stay for the Tex-Mex by Emma Weidmann of MYSA. Excerpt:

"unemployment in San Antonio and New Braunfels fell to 4.2 percent in September 2025, down from 4.4 percent the month before. That's just a smidge below the national unemployment rate in November 2025, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports was 4.6 percent. 

Meanwhile, the average rent in San Antonio is 18 percent lower than the national average, according to Zillow. The average home value in the Alamo City is $245,985 compared to the national average of $359,241, Zillow reports. And of course, Texas is attractive overall for its lack of state income and state property tax."

Also mentioned are the food & culture. San Antonio is often called a big city with a small town feel. 

But if more people move here things could get more congested (the article mentions heavy traffic). Housing prices could rise if the demand keeps increasing. Then San Antonio becomes less desirable.

The economist Steven Landsburg gave this definition for the "Indifference Principle." "Except when people have unusual tastes or unusual talents, all activities must be equally desirable"  (from his book "The Armchair Economist").

We could also say that all places to live will be equally desirable. If a city has a high quality of life, then more people want to move there. But that raises prices (like housing, for instance). Then it costs more to get those extra benefits from the quality of life. As more people move there, prices keep rising and eventually all the extra benefits are completely offset by the higher cost of living).

It would work in reverse. If a city is really bad, then some people leave and then congestion and prices fall so that it is not so bad anymore.

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The Indifference Principle Comes To San Antonio (2021)

San Antonio cracks top 25 on U.S. News and World Report's "Best Places to Live" (2017)

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