Mobile, AL vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Mobile to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($197,857 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Mobile 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 Mobile, AL, you'd need about $112,691 in San Juan, PR (+$12,691).
Livability — Mobile, AL: 73 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,181 sqft in Mobile vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($97 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Mobile, AL | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,876 | $18,000 | +$2,124 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $5,000 | +$271 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $2,960 | −$505 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,728 | −$156 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,200 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $9,039 | $37,720 | +$28,682 |
| Total | $37,393 | $66,608 | +$29,215 |
Side by side
| Metric | Mobile, AL | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.7 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.91% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 45 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.05 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $197,857 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.6× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.4% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $97 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,323 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |