San Juan, PR vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from San Juan to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Phoenix 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 $104,676 in Phoenix, AZ (+$4,676).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($200 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $20,904 | +$2,904 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $4,919 | −$81 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $3,960 | +$1,000 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $1,668 | −$60 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,800 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $7,280 | −$30,440 |
| Total | $66,608 | $40,531 | −$26,077 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 86 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $242 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 41 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |