Chattanooga, TN vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Chattanooga to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($326,370 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga, TN, you'd need about $108,284 in San Juan, PR (+$8,284).
Livability — Chattanooga, TN: 67 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($163 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chattanooga, TN | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,360 | $18,000 | −$360 |
| Groceries | $4,704 | $5,000 | +$296 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $2,960 | −$170 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,728 | +$120 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,200 | −$1,000 |
| Taxes | $4,907 | $37,720 | +$32,814 |
| Total | $34,908 | $66,608 | +$31,700 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chattanooga, TN | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.3 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.49% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $326,370 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.2% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,530 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |