Cost of living comparison
compared to
Virgin Islands vs. Puerto Rico Cost of Living Summary
Virgin Islands is 87.6% more expensive than Puerto Rico overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 62.5% more in Virgin Islands
- Groceries
-
pay 2.0 times more in Virgin Islands
- Transportation
-
pay 2.3 times more in Virgin Islands
- Housing
-
pay 67.2% more in Virgin Islands
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Virgin Islands
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 83.3% more in Virgin Islands
- Clothing
-
pay 44.6% more in Virgin Islands
The cost of transportation, childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, and restaurants in Virgin Islands are more expensive than in Puerto Rico. Notably, transportation, childcare, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Virgin Islands.
Virgin Islands vs. Puerto Rico Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Virgin Islands instead of Puerto Rico, you would:
pay 62.5% more for restaurants
|
Puerto Rico
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.10
|
$25.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.01
|
$10.48
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.58
|
$3.10
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.35
|
$2.42
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.0 times more for groceries
|
Puerto Rico
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.18
|
$6.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.16
|
$8.40
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.11
|
$9.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.34
|
$7.46
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.76
|
$11.78
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$4.66
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.06
|
$2.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.54
|
$3.50
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$4.69
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.65
|
$1.28
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
|
$2.53
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of groceries
pay 2.3 times more for transportation
|
Puerto Rico
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.65
|
$5.28
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$35.20
|
$60.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,700.00
|
$45,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.22
|
$44.85
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of transportation
pay 67.2% more for housing
|
Puerto Rico
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.46
|
$98.46
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$800.93
|
$1,513.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$580.00
|
$1,216.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$242.07
|
$272.68
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
Puerto Rico
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$453.00
|
$1,287.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,760.00
|
$15,433.33
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of childcare
pay 83.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Puerto Rico
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.73
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.38
|
$6.93
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.21
|
$4.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.37
|
$118.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.90
|
$11.50
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 44.6% more for clothing
|
Puerto Rico
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$42.97
|
$71.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$54.22
|
$62.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.06
|
$146.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.00
|
$111.67
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Virgin Islands - 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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