Cost of living comparison
compared to
Puerto Rico vs. New York Cost of Living Summary
Puerto Rico is 25.2% cheaper than New York.
- Restaurants
-
pay 26.0% less in Puerto Rico
- Groceries
-
pay 3.5% less in Puerto Rico
- Transportation
-
pay 26.1% less in Puerto Rico
- Housing
-
pay 12.8% less in Puerto Rico
- Childcare
-
pay 67.8% less in Puerto Rico
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 37.4% less in Puerto Rico
- Clothing
-
pay 3.0% less in Puerto Rico
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, housing, and groceries are lower in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico vs. New York Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Puerto Rico instead of New York, you would:
pay 26.0% less for restaurants
|
New York
|
Puerto Rico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.39
|
$15.10
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.80
|
$10.01
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.45
|
$1.58
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.86
|
$1.35
|
|
New York vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.5% less for groceries
|
New York
|
Puerto Rico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.78
|
$3.18
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.84
|
$4.16
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.25
|
$8.11
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.76
|
$5.34
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.49
|
$3.76
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.39
|
$2.50
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.88
|
$1.06
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.16
|
$1.54
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.38
|
$1.84
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.43
|
$1.65
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.04
|
|
New York vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of groceries
pay 26.1% less for transportation
|
New York
|
Puerto Rico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.32
|
$3.65
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$95.86
|
$35.20
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,821.80
|
$34,700.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.88
|
$9.22
|
|
New York vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of transportation
pay 12.8% less for housing
|
New York
|
Puerto Rico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.63
|
$62.46
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,876.02
|
$800.93
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,567.68
|
$580.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$139.14
|
$242.07
|
|
New York vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of housing
pay 67.8% less for childcare
|
New York
|
Puerto Rico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,788.00
|
$453.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,966.76
|
$9,760.00
|
|
New York vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of childcare
pay 37.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York
|
Puerto Rico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.28
|
$2.73
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.14
|
$3.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.22
|
$11.21
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.27
|
$37.37
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.99
|
$9.90
|
|
New York vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.0% less for clothing
|
New York
|
Puerto Rico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.49
|
$42.97
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.18
|
$54.22
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.00
|
$81.06
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.57
|
$96.00
|
|
New York vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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