San Juan, PR vs Memphis, TN
Moving from San Juan to Memphis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $247,229 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Memphis 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 $91,947 in Memphis, TN (−$8,053).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Memphis, TN: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 4,045 sqft in Memphis ($200 vs $124 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Memphis, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $17,292 | −$708 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $4,715 | −$285 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $3,130 | +$170 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $1,608 | −$120 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,200 | +$1,000 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $5,158 | −$32,562 |
| Total | $66,608 | $34,103 | −$32,505 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Memphis, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 91.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 6.84% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | -0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.23 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $247,229 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 0.1% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $124 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,441 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.87% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |