San Juan, PR vs Providence, RI
Moving from San Juan to Providence? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $524,867 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Providence 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 $101,511 in Providence, RI (+$1,511).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Providence, RI: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 1,524 sqft in Providence ($200 vs $328 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Providence, RI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $25,956 | +$7,956 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $4,922 | −$78 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $3,875 | +$915 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $3,060 | +$1,332 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,700 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $13,121 | −$24,599 |
| Total | $66,608 | $52,634 | −$13,974 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Providence, RI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 101.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 5.82% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.78 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $524,867 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $328 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $2,163 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 11.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | 5.99% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.31% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 28.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $5 | $92 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $40 | $80 |
| Home internet / mo | $60 | $67 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 21 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 57.0 | 47.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 36.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 65% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |