San Juan, PR vs Des Moines, IA
Moving from San Juan to Des Moines? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $296,070 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Des Moines 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 $92,752 in Des Moines, IA (−$7,248).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Des Moines, IA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 2,787 sqft in Des Moines ($200 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Des Moines, IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $15,516 | −$2,484 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $4,831 | −$169 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $3,150 | +$190 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $1,500 | −$228 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,700 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $10,265 | −$27,455 |
| Total | $66,608 | $36,962 | −$29,646 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Des Moines, IA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 92.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 4.14% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | 14.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.28 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $296,070 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $179 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,293 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 6.94% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.00% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 13.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $5 | $73 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $40 | $82 |
| Home internet / mo | $60 | $93 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 12 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 57.0 | 35.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 35.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 65% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |