Salem, OR vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Salem to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Salem 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $97,600 in San Juan, PR (−$2,400).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($268 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $18,000 | −$1,536 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $5,000 | −$239 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $2,960 | −$720 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,728 | +$24 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,200 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $37,720 | +$24,585 |
| Total | $44,194 | $66,608 | +$22,414 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.40 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $5 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $40 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 72 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 57.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 65% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |