Charleston, WV vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Charleston to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($148,817 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Charleston 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 Charleston, WV, you'd need about $112,286 in San Juan, PR (+$12,286).
Livability — Charleston, WV: 77 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,714 sqft in Charleston vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($88 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, WV | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,180 | $18,000 | +$2,820 |
| Groceries | $4,767 | $5,000 | +$233 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $2,960 | −$450 |
| Utilities | $1,740 | $1,728 | −$12 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,200 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $8,230 | $37,720 | +$29,491 |
| Total | $34,627 | $66,608 | +$31,982 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, WV | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.76% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 17.3% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $148,817 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 2.7× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $88 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,265 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.55% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.12% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.65% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.66% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.1 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.40 |
| Natural gas / mo | $68 | $5 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $253 | $40 |
| Home internet / mo | $73 | $60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 72 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.5 | 57.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 12.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 65% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |