Cost of Living in San Juan, 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 2 3 $2,400 $1,400 $3,200 $1,050 $175

Utilities 20 21 — $250 $350 $200 —

Internet & Mobile 6 7 $80 $110 $160 $80 $5

Groceries 11 22 23 24 25 26 27 $455 $540 $960 $440 $14

Transportation 8 13 $150 $200 $380 $50 $28

Dining Out 4 28 29 30 $900 $450 $580 $135 $65

Leisure Activities 12 15 $240 $125 $450 $50 $22

Health Insurance 14 $63 $250 $800 $200 —

Visa & Legal Fees 19 — $25 $50 — —

Total $4,288 $3,350 $6,930 $2,205 $309

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 2 12 $1,050.00 $619 – $1,700 per month

Coworking Space 4 5 $350.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 3 $2,400.00 $1,900 – $3,100 per month

Coliving Space 2 3 $850.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 4 12 $3.70 per cup

Beer 11 12 $4.20 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 4 30 12 $21.00 per meal

Fast Food Combo 28 11 $11.00 per meal

Apples 22 12 $4.80 per kg

Bread 23 $4.00 per loaf

Milk 24 $2.40 per liter

Rice 25 $2.40 per kg

Chicken Fillets 11 12 $5.86 per kg

Beef 11 12 $9.63 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 26 12 $19.00 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 29 $85.00 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 27 $1.90 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 13 12 $2.55 per trip

Taxi per km 13 $1.75 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 8 $50.00 per month

Gasoline 9 10 $1.16 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 13 $11.00 per trip

Scooter Rental 36 $35.00 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 6 $30.00 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 7 $50.00 per month

Gym Membership 15 $25.00 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 35 12 $22.00 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 6 $15.00 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 34 19 $12.00 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 37 12 $57.00 per pair

Summer Dress 38 12 $53.00 per dress

Running Shoes 2 12 $97.00 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 31 $28.00 per visit

Laundry 32 $4.00 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 17 16 $56.00 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 11 33 $11.00 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, New York, Bangkok, Santo Domingo, Bayamon

HUD FY2026 FMR San Juan Municipio (1BR USD 619)Official
Zillow Rentals San Juan 1BR avg USD 1,700 (Oct 2026)Listings
AirROI San Juan STR ADR USD 225; median listing USD 2,550/moSecondary
Piloto151 Café Global USD 350/moOfficial
Code Puerto Rico hot desk USD 249/moOfficial
Claro prepago USD 15–40/month bundlesOfficial
Claro fiber 300 Mbps USD 50; 1 Gbps USD 75Official
Tren Urbano unlimited pass USD 50/30 daysOfficial
DACO regular gasoline 113.7–117.7 cents/L, 19 Oct 2026Official
Puerto Rico gasoline index USD 1.29/L (19-Oct-2026)Index
Walmart PR shopper — chicken fillets 3 lb USD 7.97; ground beef USD 4.37/lbListings
HikersBay San Juan groceries, dining, utilities Oct 2026Index
UberX San Juan base USD 2.55; USD 1.75/kmSecondary
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
Planet Fitness San Juan Classic USD 15; Black Card USD 24.99/moOfficial
Expatistan San Juan GP visit, haircut, pharmacy Oct 2026Index
Auxilio Plan de Socios physician visit copaysOfficial
Caribbean Cinemas CinemasClub ticket rewards programOfficial
US Visa Waiver Program (Puerto Rico entry)Official
Energy Bureau 800 kWh residential bill USD 271 (Oct 2026)Secondary
NEPR 800 kWh bill ~USD 220 (27.507¢/kWh Oct 2025)Secondary
SuperMax red apples USD 2.27/lbListings
SuperMax Holsum pan club blanco 24 oz USD 3.29Listings
SuperMax Tres Monjitas milk 64 oz USD 3.98Listings
SuperMax Rico arroz 3 lb USD 2.49Listings
SuperMax Santa Helena Cabernet 750 ml USD 8.99Listings
SuperMax Zephyrhills water 1.5 L USD 1.95Listings
McDonald's San Juan Fernández Juncos McCombo menuListings
Olive Garden metro entrées USD 17.59–32.39Listings
Bohiques Rest lunch special USD 10; Medalla USD 3.50Listings
Mills Hair Salon metro cut & blow dry from USD 25Listings
Ciudad LaundroMax medium wash USD 4.95Official
Walgreens NyQuil LiquiCaps 24 ct USD 13.99Listings
Caribbean Cinemas adult ticket USD 8.75 (press event)Secondary
Hacienda del Sur tennis court rental from USD 25/hrListings
Skootel PR e-scooter USD 1 start + USD 0.30/minSecondary
Kohl's Levi's jeans from USD 38.97 saleListings
Kohl's women's summer dresses from USD 17.49 clearanceListings

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 1500 2400
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 615 1050
- Apples 3.5 4.8
- Beef 11 9.63
- Beer 4.25 4.2
38 more changes
- Bread 3 4
- Chicken Fillets 7.5 5.86
- Cinema Ticket 9 12
- Coffee 4 3.7
- Coliving Space 600 850
- Coworking Space 190 350
- Dining Out local 100, nomad 1000, expat 250, family 300, tourist 40 local 135, nomad 900, expat 450, family 580, tourist 65
- Doctor Visit (GP) 60 56
- Fast Food Combo 9.5 11
- Gasoline 1.35 1.16
- Groceries local 350, nomad 100, expat 450, family 700, tourist 0 local 440, nomad 455, expat 540, family 960, tourist 14
- Gym Membership 45 25
- Haircut 20 28
- Health Insurance local 80, nomad 60, expat 150, family 400, tourist 10 local 200, nomad 63, expat 250, family 800, tourist 0
- Housing local 700, nomad 1500, expat 1100, family 1500, tourist 120 local 1050, nomad 2400, expat 1400, family 3200, tourist 175
- Internet & Mobile local 80, nomad 250, family 120, tourist 5 local 80, expat 110, family 160, tourist 5
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 60 50
- Jeans 45 57
- Laundry 5 4
- Leisure Activities local 60, nomad 250, expat 150, family 400, tourist 30 local 50, nomad 240, expat 125, family 450, tourist 22
- Meal (Inexpensive) 12 21
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 55 85
- Milk 2.5 2.4
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 8 11
- Rice 2 2.4
- Ride-hailing (5km) 8 11
- Running Shoes 85 97
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 12 15
- Scooter Rental 25 35
- Summer Dress 35 53
- Taxi Start 3.5 2.55
- Taxi per km 1.8 1.75
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 18 22
- Transportation local 40, nomad 120, expat 150, family 250, tourist 25 local 50, nomad 150, expat 200, family 380, tourist 28
- Utilities local 200, nomad 0, family 250, tourist 0 local 200, nomad 0, expat 250, family 350, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 50, expat 100, family 500 local 0, expat 25, family 50
- Water (1.5L bottle) 1.5 1.9
- Wine (Mid-range) 15 19
Apartment (1 bedroom), Coworking Space, Apples, Bread, Rice, Wine (Mid-range), Taxi Start, Cinema Ticket, Jeans, Summer Dress, Utilities, Transportation, Visa & Legal Fees, Coliving Space, Meal (Mid-range, 2 people), Ride-hailing (5km), Scooter Rental, SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid), Haircut, Laundry, and Pharmacy (basic meds) moved ≥15% vs prior generated export (section8propertyfinder.com, piloto151.com, supermaxonline.com, fortune.com, ubereats.com, fresha.com, ciudadlaundromax.com, taxis-fare.com, claropr.com).

San Juan cost of living