Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Puerto Rico Cost of Living Summary
United States is 27.4% more expensive than Puerto Rico overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 27.9% more in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 6.6% less in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 12.9% more in United States
- Housing
-
pay 46.7% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 68.4% more in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 1.8% less in United States
United States vs. Puerto Rico Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Puerto Rico, you would:
pay 27.9% more for restaurants
|
Puerto Rico
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.34
|
$19.86
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.24
|
$11.42
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.74
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.35
|
$2.05
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.6% less for groceries
|
Puerto Rico
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.37
|
$3.63
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.35
|
$6.52
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.71
|
$3.98
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.03
|
$4.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.95
|
$5.46
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.15
|
$2.34
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.17
|
$0.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$2.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$2.19
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.43
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.54
|
$1.39
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 12.9% more for transportation
|
Puerto Rico
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.08
|
$4.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$37.75
|
$66.70
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,571.43
|
$34,164.82
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.50
|
$18.02
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 46.7% more for housing
|
Puerto Rico
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.43
|
$70.22
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,098.02
|
$1,681.01
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$722.33
|
$1,404.28
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$228.66
|
$157.64
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
Puerto Rico
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$700.71
|
$1,450.99
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,819.51
|
$24,361.50
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 68.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Puerto Rico
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.61
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.78
|
$5.31
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.22
|
$10.42
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$29.37
|
$50.68
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.50
|
$13.95
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.8% less for clothing
|
Puerto Rico
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.28
|
$53.15
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.82
|
$41.88
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$96.61
|
$89.76
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.25
|
$114.01
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United States - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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Moving from Puerto Rico to United States · OECD 2018
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