Tucson, AZ vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Tucson to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($343,580 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Tucson 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 Tucson, AZ, you'd need about $105,339 in San Juan, PR (+$5,339).
Livability — Tucson, AZ: 70 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,693 sqft in Tucson vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($186 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tucson, AZ | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,676 | $18,000 | +$324 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $5,000 | +$160 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $2,960 | −$1,000 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,728 | +$60 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,200 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $7,594 | $37,720 | +$30,126 |
| Total | $37,539 | $66,608 | +$29,070 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tucson, AZ | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.9 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.87% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.5% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $343,580 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.3× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.1% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $186 | $200 |
| Median rent | $1,473 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.40 |
| Natural gas / mo | $54 | $5 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $40 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 72 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 10.6 | 57.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 65% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |