San Juan, PR vs Columbus, GA
Moving from San Juan to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $209,527 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Columbus 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 $88,841 in Columbus, GA (−$11,159).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Columbus, GA: 76 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 4,892 sqft in Columbus ($200 vs $102 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Columbus, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $15,336 | −$2,664 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $4,816 | −$184 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $3,515 | +$555 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $1,656 | −$72 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,100 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $9,327 | −$28,393 |
| Total | $66,608 | $36,750 | −$29,858 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Columbus, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 88.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 6.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.06 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $209,527 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $102 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,278 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 7.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | 5.39% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.15 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |