San Juan, PR vs Lakeland, FL
Moving from San Juan to Lakeland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $298,816 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Lakeland 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 $97,733 in Lakeland, FL (−$2,267).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Lakeland, FL: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 3,096 sqft in Lakeland ($200 vs $162 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Lakeland, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $22,188 | +$4,188 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $4,813 | −$187 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $4,800 | +$1,840 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $1,656 | −$72 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $4,200 | +$3,000 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $4,036 | −$33,684 |
| Total | $66,608 | $41,693 | −$24,915 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Lakeland, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 4.63% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | 12.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $298,816 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 4.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | -3.2% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $162 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,849 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.73% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $5 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $40 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $60 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 57.0 | 51.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 65% | 68% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |