Portland, ME vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Portland to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Portland 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 Portland, ME, you'd need about $95,828 in San Juan, PR (−$4,172).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($319 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $18,000 | −$9,840 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $5,000 | +$83 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $2,960 | +$185 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $1,728 | −$1,344 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $1,200 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $37,720 | +$24,723 |
| Total | $52,601 | $66,608 | +$14,007 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $200 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |