Cost of living comparison

Gambia

compared to

Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Banjul Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 4.3 times more expensive than Banjul.

Restaurants: pay 47.2% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 2.6 times more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 4.4 times more in San Jose
Housing: pay 7.1 times more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 135.6 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 71.9% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 33.0% more in San Jose

The cost of childcare, housing, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in San Jose are more expensive than in Banjul. Notably, childcare, housing, and transportation are significantly more expensive in San Jose.

Planning a move to Costa Rica? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

San Jose vs. Banjul Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Banjul, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.2% more for restaurants

	Banjul	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.31 GMD536.99	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	+66.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.86 GMD577.36	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	+48.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.64 GMD193.83	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	+1.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 GMD116.16	$1.89 CRC858.35	+19.3%
Average			+47.2%

Banjul vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.6 times more for groceries

	Banjul	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$0.63 GMD46.35	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	+390.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.04 GMD223.48	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	+75.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.12 GMD375.98	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	+75.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.93 GMD141.54	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	+81.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.23 GMD90.11	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	+284.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.92 GMD67.58	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	+152.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.56 GMD41.30	$0.73 CRC330.88	+29.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 GMD60.07	$2.15 CRC979.64	+163.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 GMD45.05	$1.76 CRC799.36	+186.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.41 GMD30.04	$1.73 CRC787.71	+323.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.44 GMD32.29	$1.66 CRC755.96	+278.1%
Average			+162.9%

Banjul vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.4 times more for transportation

	Banjul	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.00 GMD294.08	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	+44.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.55 GMD481.43	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	+903.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$2,635.13 GMD194K	$21,990.00 CRC10M	+734.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$15.13 CRC6,887.86
Average			+344.5%

Banjul vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.1 times more for housing

	Banjul	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.05 GMD3,310.81	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	+31.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$102.56 GMD7,538.16	$942.15 CRC429K	+818.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$81.08 GMD5,959.46	$758.77 CRC345K	+835.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$23.25 GMD1,708.96	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	+211.1%
Average			+613.8%

Banjul vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 135.6 times more for childcare

	Banjul	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$6.76 GMD496.62	$980.95 CRC446K	+14418.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$135.14 GMD9,932.43	$17,102.76 CRC8M	+12556.0%
Average			+13455.1%

Banjul vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 71.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Banjul	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.61 GMD412.40	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	-41.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.69 GMD271.01	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	+20.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.69 GMD124.16	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	+250.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$23.65 GMD1,738.18	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	+208.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.38 GMD248.31	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	+126.9%
Average			+71.9%

Banjul vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 33.0% more for clothing

	Banjul	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$56.00 GMD4,116.00	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	+27.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.34 GMD3,258.99	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	+25.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.43 GMD7,308.11	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	+29.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.99 GMD6,393.77	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	+51.1%
Average			+33.0%

Banjul vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Banjul vs. San Jose

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in San Jose?

More cost comparisons

Banjul vs.

Warsaw

Banjul vs.

Dublin

Banjul vs.

Washington

Banjul vs.

Cairo

Banjul vs.

Quito

Banjul vs.

Reykjavik

Banjul vs.

Bangkok

Banjul vs.

Canberra

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Gambia vs. Costa Rica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Gambia and Costa Rica.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Banjul

Add prices for San Jose

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Jose or Banjul. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.