Albuquerque, NM vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Albuquerque to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs San Juan at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Albuquerque, NM, you'd need about $106,807 in San Juan, PR (+$6,807).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($191 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $18,000 | −$24 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $5,000 | +$129 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $2,960 | −$300 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,728 | +$96 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,200 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $37,720 | +$26,839 |
| Total | $40,568 | $66,608 | +$26,040 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 61 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |