San Juan, PR vs Lancaster, PA
Moving from San Juan to Lancaster? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $388,207 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Lancaster 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 $96,754 in Lancaster, PA (−$3,246).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Lancaster, PA: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 2,254 sqft in Lancaster ($200 vs $222 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Lancaster, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $18,312 | +$312 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $4,915 | −$85 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $3,440 | +$480 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $2,316 | +$588 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,200 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $9,202 | −$28,518 |
| Total | $66,608 | $39,385 | −$27,223 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Lancaster, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 96.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 3.38% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | 3.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 50 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.51 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $388,207 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $222 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,526 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.48% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |