Cost of Living Index: 2.3% pricier to live in urban San Juan, Bayamón, Caguas
This is according to the index published by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, in which 301 urban areas nationwide participated.
The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute has published the results of the Cost of Living Index (COLI) for the first quarter of 2024. The data reveal that the urban area of the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas ranks 82nd out of 301 urban areas in terms of overall cost of living in the United States, with a composite index of 102.3.
Nationally, the average cost of living is set at an index of 100. The composite index of 102.3 for the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas MSA indicates that living in this region is 2.3% more expensive than the average for the 301 participating urban areas nationwide.
Higher costs in supermarkets and utilities are partially offset by relatively lower costs in health care and miscellaneous goods.
The COLI is a crucial tool for understanding regional differences in the costs of consumer goods and services. The indices are calculated from data collected quarterly by different entities in each participating urban area.
The COLI has been calculated in urban areas of the United States since 1968, using methodology developed by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), a nonprofit organization dedicated to research on community and economic development.
The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute, along with the network of C2ER-affiliated members, is responsible for collecting prices of goods and services as established by C2ER.
Additionally, the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics has designed a comparative calculator that it will be making available for the cost of living between the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas MSA and the rest of the participating cities in the United States.
