Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Salvador vs. San Juan Cost of Living Summary
San Salvador is 33.5% cheaper than San Juan.
- Restaurants
-
pay 48.8% less in San Salvador
- Groceries
-
pay 31.3% less in San Salvador
- Transportation
-
pay 0.1% less in San Salvador
- Housing
-
pay 37.7% less in San Salvador
- Childcare
-
pay 72.7% less in San Salvador
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 35.9% less in San Salvador
- Clothing
-
pay 0.6% more in San Salvador
San Salvador vs. San Juan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Salvador instead of San Juan, you would:
pay 48.8% less for restaurants
|
San Juan
|
San Salvador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.13
|
$6.75
SVC59.02
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.19
|
$7.00
SVC61.21
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.87
|
$1.14
SVC10.01
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.48
|
$0.83
SVC7.29
|
|
San Juan vs. San Salvador - Cost of restaurants
pay 31.3% less for groceries
|
San Juan
|
San Salvador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.63
|
$2.85
SVC24.92
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.27
|
$3.85
SVC33.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.20
|
$6.95
SVC60.77
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.41
|
$3.02
SVC26.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.37
|
$3.16
SVC27.64
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.30
|
$2.29
SVC20.05
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.63
SVC5.53
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.18
SVC10.34
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.18
|
$1.56
SVC13.67
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.71
|
$1.33
SVC11.65
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.79
|
$1.49
SVC13.04
|
|
San Juan vs. San Salvador - Cost of groceries
pay 0.1% less for transportation
|
San Juan
|
San Salvador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.60
|
$4.75
SVC41.57
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.00
|
$37.50
SVC327.89
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$40,000.00
|
$25,000.00
SVC219K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.50
|
$30.00
SVC262.31
|
|
San Juan vs. San Salvador - Cost of transportation
pay 37.7% less for housing
|
San Juan
|
San Salvador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.79
|
$42.50
SVC371.61
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,813.12
|
$898.99
SVC7,860.51
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$834.00
|
$770.00
SVC6,732.65
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$245.59
|
$99.35
SVC868.71
|
|
San Juan vs. San Salvador - Cost of housing
pay 72.7% less for childcare
|
San Juan
|
San Salvador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$821.00
|
$162.67
SVC1,422.31
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,527.31
|
$4,720.00
SVC41,270.25
|
|
San Juan vs. San Salvador - Cost of childcare
pay 35.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Juan
|
San Salvador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.00
|
$2.00
SVC17.49
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.60
|
$3.55
SVC31.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$4.00
SVC34.97
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.99
|
$31.60
SVC276.30
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.50
|
$5.00
SVC43.72
|
|
San Juan vs. San Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.6% more for clothing
|
San Juan
|
San Salvador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.25
|
$67.15
SVC587.14
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$61.25
|
$47.00
SVC410.95
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$108.75
|
$118.33
SVC1,034.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$113.75
|
$117.00
SVC1,023.01
|
|
San Juan vs. San Salvador - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: San Juan vs. San Salvador
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See the
cost of living in Puerto Rico vs. El Salvador.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Puerto Rico and El Salvador.
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