Syracuse, NY vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Syracuse to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($264,903 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Syracuse 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 Syracuse, NY, you'd need about $104,475 in San Juan, PR (+$4,475).
Livability — Syracuse, NY: 61 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,019 sqft in Syracuse vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($166 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Syracuse, NY | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,596 | $18,000 | −$1,596 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $5,000 | +$132 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $2,960 | −$935 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,728 | −$1,452 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,200 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $18,225 | $37,720 | +$19,495 |
| Total | $51,364 | $66,608 | +$15,244 |
Side by side
| Metric | Syracuse, NY | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.7 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.79% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.1% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.45 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $264,903 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 6.6% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $166 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,633 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 2.64% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.40 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $5 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $40 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 72 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.0 | 57.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 65% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |