Cost of living comparison

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

compared to

Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Kingstown Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 50.5% more expensive than Kingstown.

Restaurants: pay 39.6% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 16.6% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 33.0% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 9.4 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 68.2% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 25.0% more in San Jose

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

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San Jose vs. Kingstown Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 39.6% more for restaurants

	Kingstown	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.48 EC$17.50	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	+88.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.55 EC$28.50	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	+10.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.34 EC$6.33	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	+14.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.85 EC$5.00	$1.89 CRC858.35	+1.9%
Average			+39.6%

Kingstown vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.6% less for groceries

	Kingstown	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$2.13 EC$5.76	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	+45.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.47 EC$17.49	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	-17.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$12.14 EC$32.81	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	-26.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.49 EC$12.13	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	-22.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 EC$4.86	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	+162.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.32 EC$11.67	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	-46.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.60 EC$4.31	$0.73 CRC330.88	-54.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$4.37 EC$11.80	$2.15 CRC979.64	-50.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.65 EC$7.18	$1.76 CRC799.36	-33.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.75 EC$4.72	$1.73 CRC787.71	-0.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.75 EC$4.72	$1.66 CRC755.96	-4.9%
Average			-16.6%

Kingstown vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.0% less for transportation

	Kingstown	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$11.87 EC$32.09	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	-51.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.95 EC$135.00	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	+31.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,927.14 EC$102K	$21,990.00 CRC10M	-42.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.90 EC$70.00	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	-41.6%
Average			-33.0%

Kingstown vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Kingstown	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.80 EC$140.00	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	+14.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$283.68 EC$766.67	$942.15 CRC429K	+232.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$323.77 EC$875.00	$758.77 CRC345K	+134.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$56.59 EC$152.94	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	+27.8%
Average			+137.3%

Kingstown vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 9.4 times more for childcare

	Kingstown	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$104.84 EC$283.33	$980.95 CRC446K	+835.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$17,102.76 CRC8M
Average			+835.7%

Kingstown vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 68.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Kingstown	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.67 EC$4.50	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	+97.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.07 EC$11.00	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	+9.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.07 EC$11.00	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	+45.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.38 EC$87.50	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	+125.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.63 EC$12.50	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	+65.7%
Average			+68.2%

Kingstown vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.0% more for clothing

	Kingstown	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$64.75 EC$175.00	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	+10.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.98 EC$167.50	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	-10.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.00 EC$200.00	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	+73.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.51 EC$250.00	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	+42.1%
Average			+25.0%

Kingstown 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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