San Juan, PR vs Salem, OR
Moving from San Juan to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
San Juan vs Salem 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 $102,459 in Salem, OR (+$2,459).
Livability — San Juan, PR: 56 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in San Juan vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($200 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Juan, PR | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $19,536 | +$1,536 |
| Groceries | $5,000 | $5,239 | +$239 |
| Transportation | $2,960 | $3,680 | +$720 |
| Utilities | $1,728 | $1,704 | −$24 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $900 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $37,720 | $13,135 | −$24,585 |
| Total | $66,608 | $44,194 | −$22,414 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Juan, PR | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -5.5% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 35 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.69 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 13.0× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.0% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 11.50% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 33.00% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $5,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,300 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.0 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 4.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 72 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |