Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 7.5% cheaper than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.5% less in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 27.1% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 9.2% less in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 19.2% less in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 7.4% less in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.5% less in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 4.0% less in San Jose
Expenses including restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, childcare, and clothing are lower in San Jose.
San Jose vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 29.5% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.61
|
$9.95
CRC4,947.81
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
$9.91
CRC4,924.29
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.70
|
$2.06
CRC1,022.01
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.89
|
$1.67
CRC831.76
|
|
Madrid vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.1% more for groceries
|
Madrid
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.48
|
$2.64
CRC1,311.09
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.25
|
$4.95
CRC2,462.15
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.97
|
$7.78
CRC3,868.62
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.89
|
$2.88
CRC1,429.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.50
|
$3.97
CRC1,971.17
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.02
|
$1.94
CRC963.65
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.65
CRC324.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$1.95
CRC967.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.09
|
$1.58
CRC786.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$1.55
CRC768.91
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$1.43
CRC711.41
|
|
Madrid vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 9.2% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.10
|
$5.39
CRC2,678.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.53
|
$41.21
CRC20,485.06
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,235.57
|
$37,640.45
CRC18,712,315.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€14.00
|
$16.12
CRC8,011.83
|
|
Madrid vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 19.2% less for housing
|
Madrid
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.78
|
$58.88
CRC29,268.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,328.83
|
$891.63
CRC443,258.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€964.79
|
$560.77
CRC278,778.03
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.61
|
$68.88
CRC34,242.87
|
|
Madrid vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 7.4% less for childcare
|
Madrid
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€580.51
|
$600.27
CRC298,412.20
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,313.52
|
$12,608.22
CRC6,267,964.49
|
|
Madrid vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 10.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.88
|
$2.67
CRC1,329.56
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.76
|
$3.85
CRC1,915.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.04
|
$5.15
CRC2,560.63
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€44.03
|
$55.98
CRC27,831.01
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.07
|
$9.91
CRC4,924.29
|
|
Madrid vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.0% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€85.27
|
$61.74
CRC30,694.76
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.59
|
$51.32
CRC25,512.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.69
|
$120.28
CRC59,794.99
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€108.17
|
$106.98
CRC53,182.37
|
|
Madrid 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
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