San Juan, PR vs Fort Smith, AR
Moving from San Juan to Fort Smith? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $205,554 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Fort Smith 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 $85,311 in Fort Smith, AR (−$14,689).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Fort Smith, AR: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith ($200 vs $103 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Fort Smith, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $12,252 | −$5,748 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $4,657 | −$343 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $3,405 | +$445 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $1,524 | −$204 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,800 | +$1,600 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $8,127 | −$29,593 |
| Total | $66,608 | $32,764 | −$33,844 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Fort Smith, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 85.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 5.23% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | -12.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $4.85 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $205,554 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $103 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,021 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |