Fargo, ND vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Fargo to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($327,854 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Fargo 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 Fargo, ND, you'd need about $112,189 in San Juan, PR (+$12,189).
Livability — Fargo, ND: 68 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,592 sqft in Fargo vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($193 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fargo, ND | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,872 | $18,000 | +$4,128 |
| Groceries | $4,850 | $5,000 | +$150 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $2,960 | −$170 |
| Utilities | $1,332 | $1,728 | +$396 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $1,200 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $8,083 | $37,720 | +$29,637 |
| Total | $33,367 | $66,608 | +$33,241 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fargo, ND | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.11% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.2% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $327,854 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.2% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $193 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,156 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.8% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.04% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.20% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 18 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.3 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.40 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $5 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $70 | $40 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 290 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | -2 | 72 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 22.6 | 57.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 50.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 65% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |