Chicago, IL vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Chicago to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Chicago 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 Chicago, IL, you'd need about $97,574 in San Juan, PR (−$2,426).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($208 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $18,000 | −$9,192 |
| Groceries | $5,215 | $5,000 | −$215 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $2,960 | −$590 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $1,728 | −$480 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,200 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $14,141 | $37,720 | +$23,579 |
| Total | $54,206 | $66,608 | +$12,402 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 56 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $200 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |