Cost of living comparison

Hong Kong

compared to

Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Hong Kong Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 29.7% cheaper than Hong Kong.

Restaurants: pay 66.6% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 5.4% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 46.6% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 53.0% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 19.9% less in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.2% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 25.8% more in San Jose

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

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San Jose vs. Hong Kong Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 66.6% more for restaurants

	Hong Kong	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.28 HK$64.95	$12.18 CRC5,555.13	+47.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.37 HK$49.96	$11.62 CRC5,299.82	+82.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 HK$10.23	$2.69 CRC1,224.50	+105.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.09 HK$8.58	$1.89 CRC860.09	+72.4%
Average			+66.6%

Hong Kong vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.4% less for groceries

	Hong Kong	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$2.37 HK$18.57	$3.09 CRC1,410.24	+30.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.52 HK$98.16	$5.33 CRC2,430.72	-57.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.07 HK$86.85	$8.95 CRC4,083.37	-19.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.47 HK$27.18	$3.49 CRC1,593.30	+0.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.96 HK$31.04	$4.71 CRC2,149.40	+19.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.87 HK$14.68	$2.32 CRC1,057.12	+23.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.25 HK$9.77	$0.73 CRC331.55	-41.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.09 HK$16.40	$2.15 CRC981.61	+2.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.80 HK$14.10	$1.76 CRC800.97	-2.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 HK$11.24	$1.73 CRC789.30	+20.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.44 HK$11.31	$1.66 CRC757.49	+15.2%
Average			-5.4%

Hong Kong vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.6% less for transportation

	Hong Kong	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$15.51 HK$121.64	$5.80 CRC2,642.85	-62.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$89.19 HK$699.49	$65.71 CRC29,964.25	-26.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,597.12 HK$350K	$21,990.00 CRC10M	-50.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.40 HK$112.92	$15.13 CRC6,901.77	+5.1%
Average			-46.6%

Hong Kong vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 53.0% less for housing

	Hong Kong	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.52 HK$168.77	$59.17 CRC26,983.36	+175.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,207.41 HK$17,311.25	$942.15 CRC430K	-57.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,690.00 HK$13,253.54	$758.77 CRC346K	-55.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$190.59 HK$1,494.71	$72.33 CRC32,982.58	-62.1%
Average			-53.0%

Hong Kong vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 19.9% less for childcare

	Hong Kong	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,171.99 HK$9,191.18	$980.95 CRC447K	-16.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,295.74 HK$175K	$17,102.76 CRC8M	-23.3%
Average			-19.9%

Hong Kong vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Hong Kong	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.65 HK$59.96	$3.29 CRC1,498.21	-57.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.04 HK$39.53	$4.44 CRC2,024.80	-11.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.38 HK$104.92	$5.91 CRC2,696.78	-55.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$93.07 HK$729.90	$72.94 CRC33,261.62	-21.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.70 HK$107.42	$7.67 CRC3,495.83	-44.0%
Average			-38.2%

Hong Kong vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.8% more for clothing

	Hong Kong	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.63 HK$530.38	$71.32 CRC32,524.28	+5.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.11 HK$322.38	$55.79 CRC25,441.00	+35.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.54 HK$631.61	$128.46 CRC58,578.17	+59.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.85 HK$939.94	$131.42 CRC59,928.51	+9.6%
Average			+25.8%

Hong Kong 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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