San Juan, PR vs Richmond, VA
Moving from San Juan to Richmond? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $397,705 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Richmond 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 $98,337 in Richmond, VA (−$1,663).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Richmond, VA: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 2,514 sqft in Richmond ($200 vs $199 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Richmond, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $21,156 | +$3,156 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $4,853 | −$147 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $3,080 | +$120 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $1,872 | +$144 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,500 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $10,041 | −$27,679 |
| Total | $66,608 | $42,502 | −$24,106 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Richmond, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 4.78% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.60 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $397,705 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 4.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 2.3% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $199 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,763 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.76% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 28 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |