Cost of living comparison

compared to

San Jose vs. Hong Kong Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 51.1% more expensive than Hong Kong.

Restaurants
pay 2.3 times more in San Jose
Groceries
pay 56.7% more in San Jose
Transportation
pay 0.9% less in San Jose
Housing
pay 81.2% more in San Jose
Childcare
pay 79.3% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports
pay 21.3% more in San Jose
Clothing
pay 7.6% less in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Hong Kong Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Hong Kong, you would:

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

 
Hong Kong
San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $7.91
HK$61.52
$20.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.43
HK$50.01
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.39
HK$10.81
$3.42
 

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pay 56.7% more for groceries

 
Hong Kong
San Jose
Bread
1 loaf
$2.19
HK$17.05
$5.00
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $12.44
HK$96.81
$11.39
 
Milk (1 gallon) $11.75
HK$91.42
$5.64
 

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pay 0.9% less for transportation

 
Hong Kong
San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon) $11.90
HK$92.58
$4.84
 
Monthly public transit pass $67.49
HK$525.15
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $38,564.70
HK$300,085.46
$36,753.89
 

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pay 81.2% more for housing

 
Hong Kong
San Jose
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$22.19
HK$172.67
$70.13
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,349.29
HK$18,280.63
$2,916.67
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,688.04
HK$13,135.21
$2,700.00
 

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pay 79.3% more for childcare

 
Hong Kong
San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,038.61
HK$8,081.78
$1,866.67
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,248.89
HK$173,126.37
$39,800.00
 

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pay 21.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Hong Kong
San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.48
HK$50.45
$9.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.23
HK$40.70
$5.83
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.11
HK$102.03
$11.50
 

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pay 7.6% less for clothing

 
Hong Kong
San Jose
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$74.06
HK$576.31
$56.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.18
HK$328.19
$46.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$91.97
HK$715.69
$88.89
 

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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
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