Knoxville, TN vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Knoxville to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($367,158 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Knoxville 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 Knoxville, TN, you'd need about $108,420 in San Juan, PR (+$8,420).
Livability — Knoxville, TN: 68 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,723 sqft in Knoxville vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($184 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Knoxville, TN | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,144 | $18,000 | −$3,144 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $5,000 | +$286 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $2,960 | −$170 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,728 | +$120 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,200 | −$1,000 |
| Taxes | $4,576 | $37,720 | +$33,145 |
| Total | $37,372 | $66,608 | +$29,236 |
Side by side
| Metric | Knoxville, TN | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.2 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.24% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.5% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $367,158 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.8% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $184 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,762 | $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 | 0.53% | 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $5 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $121 | $40 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 72 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.5 | 57.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 4.7 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 65% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |