Lafayette, LA vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Lafayette to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($202,312 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Lafayette 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 Lafayette, LA, you'd need about $114,217 in San Juan, PR (+$14,217).
Livability — Lafayette, LA: 72 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,941 sqft in Lafayette vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($101 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lafayette, LA | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $18,000 | +$1,548 |
| Groceries | $4,650 | $5,000 | +$350 |
| Transportation | $4,475 | $2,960 | −$1,515 |
| Utilities | $1,560 | $1,728 | +$168 |
| Insurance | $3,500 | $1,200 | −$2,300 |
| Taxes | $8,509 | $37,720 | +$29,211 |
| Total | $39,146 | $66,608 | +$27,462 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lafayette, LA | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 87.6 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.97% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.6% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.98 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $202,312 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $101 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.56% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,500 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 630 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 43 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |