McAllen, TX vs San Juan, PR
Moving from McAllen to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($193,978 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
McAllen 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 McAllen, TX, you'd need about $116,178 in San Juan, PR (+$16,178).
Livability — McAllen, TX: 78 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,411 sqft in McAllen vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($92 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | McAllen, TX | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,536 | $18,000 | +$4,464 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $5,000 | +$353 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $2,960 | −$715 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,728 | −$108 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,200 | −$2,400 |
| Taxes | $4,917 | $37,720 | +$32,803 |
| Total | $32,211 | $66,608 | +$34,397 |
Side by side
| Metric | McAllen, TX | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 86.1 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.61% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.0% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.90 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $193,978 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.6% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $92 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,128 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.82% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |