San Juan, PR vs Columbia, SC
Moving from San Juan to Columbia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $256,154 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Columbia 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 San Juan, PR, you'd need about $93,223 in Columbia, SC (−$6,777).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Columbia, SC: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 3,903 sqft in Columbia ($200 vs $128 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Columbia, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $18,444 | +$444 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $4,797 | −$203 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $3,465 | +$505 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $1,848 | +$120 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,000 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $10,215 | −$27,505 |
| Total | $66,608 | $40,769 | −$25,839 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Columbia, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 5.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $256,154 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $128 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,537 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.63% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.05 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 36 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |