Seattle, WA vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Seattle to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs San Juan 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $88,707 in San Juan, PR (−$11,293).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($417 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $18,000 | −$8,784 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $5,000 | −$405 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $2,960 | −$1,115 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,728 | +$180 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,200 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $37,720 | +$28,894 |
| Total | $48,138 | $66,608 | +$18,470 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $200 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |