Columbia, SC vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Columbia to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($256,154 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Columbia 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 Columbia, SC, you'd need about $107,270 in San Juan, PR (+$7,270).
Livability — Columbia, SC: 69 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Columbia vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($128 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbia, SC | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,444 | $18,000 | −$444 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $5,000 | +$203 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $2,960 | −$505 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $1,728 | −$120 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,200 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $10,215 | $37,720 | +$27,505 |
| Total | $40,769 | $66,608 | +$25,839 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbia, SC | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.71% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $256,154 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,537 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.63% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |