Washington, DC vs San Juan, PR
Moving from Washington to San Juan? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($583,013 → $350,000 median home) and taxes.
Washington 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 Washington, DC, you'd need about $91,288 in San Juan, PR (−$8,712).
Livability — Washington, DC: 39 · San Juan, PR: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,286 sqft in Washington vs 2,500 sqft in San Juan ($389 vs $200 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Washington, DC | San Juan, PR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $28,992 | $18,000 | −$10,992 |
| Groceries | $5,318 | $5,000 | −$318 |
| Transportation | $3,855 | $2,960 | −$895 |
| Utilities | $2,748 | $1,728 | −$1,020 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,200 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $17,710 | $37,720 | +$20,010 |
| Total | $60,023 | $66,608 | +$6,585 |
Side by side
| Metric | Washington, DC | San Juan, PR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 109.5 | 100.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.87% | 13.00% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.2% | -5.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.23 | $5.69 |
| Median home price | $583,013 | $350,000 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 13.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.5% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $389 | $200 |
| Median rent | $2,416 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.0% | 11.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 11.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.75% | 33.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.95% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $5,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $26,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 34 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $1,300 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 25.4 | 16.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 1,000 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 29 | 72 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |