Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and San Juan

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $771 a month against $2,663 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $22,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

130

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,663

/mo nomad

San Juan

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Austin, TX and in San Juan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Austin, TX and in San Juan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,663 in Austin, TX versus $771 in San Juan.

Austin, TX $2,663
San Juan $771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,133 in Austin, TX versus $1,321 in San Juan.

Austin, TX $4,133
San Juan $1,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,603 in Austin, TX versus $1,870 in San Juan.

Austin, TX $5,603
San Juan $1,870

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 245% more expensive than in San Juan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 97% above, San Juan is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.77 $20.77

$10.47 TTD 70.4

98.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 $84.6

$59.2 TTD 398

42.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.32 $12.32

$7.95 TTD 53.5

54.97%

Cappuccino

$5.63 $5.63

$3.63 TTD 24.39

55.10%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 $3.72

$1.21 TTD 8.15

207.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 $2.50

$0.75 TTD 5.07

233.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.05 $8.05

$2.23 TTD 14.98

260.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.01 $9.01

$3.01 TTD 20.23

199.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 $1.12

$1.98 TTD 13.33

-43.43%

White Bread (500g)

$3.75 $3.75

$2.36 TTD 15.86

58.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 $3.26

$2.91 TTD 19.56

12.03%

Eggs

$4.17 $4.17

$3.74 TTD 25.14

11.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.90 $12.90

$6.80 TTD 45.75

89.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.16 $14.16

$10.15 TTD 68.3

39.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.22 $16.22

$8.89 TTD 59.8

82.45%

Apples (1kg)

$4.33 $4.33

$5.51 TTD 37.04

-21.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 $1.46

$2.53 TTD 17.00

-42.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.51 $4.51

$3.60 TTD 24.22

25.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$4.25 TTD 28.57

2.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 $2.58

$0.77 TTD 5.17

235.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$0.71 TTD 4.81

230.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 $1.78

$1.45 TTD 9.76

22.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 $2.22

$1.21 TTD 8.13

83.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.88 $9.88

$5.77 TTD 38.81

71.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.08 $15.08

$18.00 TTD 121

-16.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 $2.92

$1.56 TTD 10.49

87.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 $3.46

$3.01 TTD 20.23

14.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 $1.49

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.72 $41.72

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.73 $2.73

$0.87 TTD 5.82

213.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 $1.66

$0.85 TTD 5.71

95.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.30 $35.30

$14.64 TTD 98.5

141.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.16 TTD 7.78

-18.10%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$36.0K $36.0K

$37.6K TTD 253.1K

-4.18%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$27.1K $27.1K

$41.0K TTD 275.6K

-33.92%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$229 $229

$43.82 TTD 295

422.57%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$59.4 $59.4

$42.30 TTD 285

40.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.9 $69.9

$44.86 TTD 302

55.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.2 $57.2

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 $16.33

Cinema Ticket

$14.28 $14.28

$8.95 TTD 60.2

59.55%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,506 $1,506

$398 TTD 2,678

278.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K $21.5K

$10.8K TTD 72.6K

98.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 $52.8

$53.8 TTD 362

-1.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.82 $43.82

$37.61 TTD 253

16.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.8 $84.8

$87.8 TTD 591

-3.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 $103

$89.9 TTD 605

14.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,907 $1,907

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,274 $1,274

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,664 $3,664

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,538 $2,538

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,614 $7,614

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,157 $3,157

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,121 $5,121

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

5.75

18.09%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Austin, TX: October 12, 2026

Last update for San Juan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 47.8%

San Juan

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$405 15.2%

San Juan

$320 41.5% 20.9% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$358 13.5%

San Juan

$131 17% 63.4% $227

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$354 13.3%

San Juan

$176 22.8% 50.2% $178

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$128 4.8%

San Juan

$121 15.7% 5.4% $6.9

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.2%

San Juan

$18 * 2.3% 79.1% $68

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$59 2.2%

San Juan

$5.1 * 0.7% 91.3% $54

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $85.0 in Austin, TX vs $59.0 in San Juan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $405 vs $320 per month, with San Juan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇹🇹 San Juan

🕒 Local time

04:30 4:30 AM

05:30 5:30 AM

1 h ahead of Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

TTD to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Austin, TX San Juan 4,340 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
San Juan

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Austin, TX vs San Juan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Juan wins on cost – living expenses run 245% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making San Juan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $3,995 in Austin, TX and $1,157 in San Juan to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $1,506 in Austin, TX versus $398 in San Juan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Juan – a meal for two runs $59.0 versus $85.0 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $771 in San Juan versus $2,663 in Austin, TX, a $1,000 budget is realistic in San Juan but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes San Juan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find San Juan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 245% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.