Cost of living comparison

Saint Lucia

compared to

Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Castries Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 35.1% more expensive than Castries.

Restaurants: pay 40.4% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 10.8% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 7.6% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 77.7% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 4.6 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.9% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 6.5% more in San Jose

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and clothing in San Jose are more expensive than in Castries. Expenses including groceries and transportation are lower in San Jose. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in San Jose.

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San Jose vs. Castries Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.4% more for restaurants

	Castries	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.25 EC$25.00	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	+31.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.33 EC$22.50	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	+39.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.94 EC$5.25	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	+38.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 EC$2.62	$1.89 CRC858.35	+94.2%
Average			+40.4%

Castries vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.8% less for groceries

	Castries	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.86 EC$5.02	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	+66.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.61 EC$15.17	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	-5.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.75 EC$20.95	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	+15.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.61 EC$12.47	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	-24.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.10 EC$11.09	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	+14.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.89 EC$10.50	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	-40.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 EC$2.02	$0.73 CRC330.88	-2.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.70 EC$10.00	$2.15 CRC979.64	-41.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$6.66 EC$18.00	$1.76 CRC799.36	-73.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.54 EC$4.17	$1.73 CRC787.71	+12.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 EC$2.50	$1.66 CRC755.96	+79.6%
Average			-10.8%

Castries vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.6% less for transportation

	Castries	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.83 EC$15.75	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	-0.5%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$65.71 CRC29,903.89
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,901.46 EC$70,000.00	$21,990.00 CRC10M	-15.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$15.13 CRC6,887.86
Average			-7.6%

Castries vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 77.7% more for housing

	Castries	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.60 EC$131.33	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	+21.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$456.36 EC$1,233.33	$942.15 CRC429K	+106.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$345.35 EC$933.33	$758.77 CRC345K	+119.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.32 EC$254.90	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	-23.3%
Average			+77.7%

Castries vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 4.6 times more for childcare

	Castries	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$212.76 EC$575.00	$980.95 CRC446K	+361.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$17,102.76 CRC8M
Average			+361.1%

Castries vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Castries	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.78 EC$7.50	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	+18.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.70 EC$10.00	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	+20.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.25 EC$25.00	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	-36.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.63 EC$112.50	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	+75.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.55 EC$15.00	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	+38.1%
Average			+27.9%

Castries vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.5% more for clothing

	Castries	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$83.25 EC$225.00	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	-14.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.88 EC$137.50	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	+9.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.01 EC$300.00	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	+15.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.01 EC$300.00	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	+18.4%
Average			+6.5%

Castries vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing

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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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