Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 8.4% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.7% more in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 12.3% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 5.0% less in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 9.9% more in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 24.1% more in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.5% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 10.5% more in San Jose
The cost of childcare, groceries, clothing, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in San Jose are more expensive than in Costa Rica.
San Jose vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Costa Rica, you would:
pay 3.7% more for restaurants
|
Costa Rica
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.77
CRC4,772.77
|
$9.95
CRC4,861.62
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
CRC4,657.00
|
$9.91
CRC4,838.51
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CRC977.87
|
$2.06
CRC1,004.21
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.57
CRC767.80
|
$1.67
CRC817.27
|
|
Costa Rica vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.3% more for groceries
|
Costa Rica
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.54
CRC1,240.79
|
$2.64
CRC1,288.25
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.50
CRC2,198.95
|
$4.95
CRC2,419.25
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.52
CRC3,675.18
|
$7.78
CRC3,801.22
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.80
CRC1,365.53
|
$2.88
CRC1,404.76
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.83
CRC1,869.62
|
$3.97
CRC1,936.83
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.78
CRC871.36
|
$1.94
CRC946.86
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.62
CRC300.41
|
$0.65
CRC319.23
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.65
CRC804.74
|
$1.95
CRC951.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
CRC606.70
|
$1.58
CRC772.54
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.28
CRC624.18
|
$1.55
CRC755.52
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.10
CRC537.59
|
$1.43
CRC699.02
|
|
Costa Rica vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 5.0% less for transportation
|
Costa Rica
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.47
CRC2,671.86
|
$5.39
CRC2,631.92
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$54.59
CRC26,665.03
|
$41.21
CRC20,128.19
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,444.91
CRC17,802,336.11
|
$37,640.45
CRC18,386,324.93
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.68
CRC7,658.69
|
$16.12
CRC7,872.25
|
|
Costa Rica vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 9.9% more for housing
|
Costa Rica
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.17
CRC24,020.20
|
$58.88
CRC28,758.87
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$805.28
CRC393,355.72
|
$891.63
CRC435,536.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$555.89
CRC271,535.63
|
$560.77
CRC273,921.38
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$63.57
CRC31,052.11
|
$68.88
CRC33,646.32
|
|
Costa Rica vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 24.1% more for childcare
|
Costa Rica
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$517.09
CRC252,582.05
|
$600.27
CRC293,213.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,552.94
CRC4,666,349.20
|
$12,608.22
CRC6,158,769.04
|
|
Costa Rica vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 3.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Costa Rica
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.59
CRC1,263.41
|
$2.67
CRC1,306.40
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.84
CRC1,875.13
|
$3.85
CRC1,882.21
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.70
CRC2,295.55
|
$5.15
CRC2,516.02
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.68
CRC28,663.36
|
$55.98
CRC27,346.16
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.11
CRC4,448.49
|
$9.91
CRC4,838.51
|
|
Costa Rica vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.5% more for clothing
|
Costa Rica
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.22
CRC28,437.03
|
$61.74
CRC30,160.02
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.70
CRC21,835.84
|
$51.32
CRC25,068.28
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$112.79
CRC55,095.43
|
$120.28
CRC58,753.29
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$93.41
CRC45,626.70
|
$106.98
CRC52,255.87
|
|
Costa Rica vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Change currency:
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
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Jose or Costa Rica. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.