Lincoln, NE vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Lincoln to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($304,242 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Lincoln 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 Lincoln, NE, you'd need about $108,822 in San Juan, PR (+$8,822).
Livability — Lincoln, NE: 68 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,793 sqft in Lincoln vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($179 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lincoln, NE | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,128 | $18,000 | +$1,872 |
| Groceries | $4,827 | $5,000 | +$173 |
| Transportation | $3,300 | $2,960 | −$340 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $1,728 | +$288 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,200 | −$2,400 |
| Taxes | $11,420 | $37,720 | +$26,301 |
| Total | $40,715 | $66,608 | +$25,893 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lincoln, NE | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.9 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.11% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.0% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.23 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $304,242 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $179 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,344 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.97% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.20% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.59% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.27% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 19 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 14 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |