Cost of living comparison

Norway

compared to

Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Oslo Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 36.1% cheaper than Oslo.

Restaurants: pay 36.3% less in San Jose
Groceries: pay 10.2% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 39.3% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 55.7% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.8% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 14.2% less in San Jose

Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, clothing, and groceries are lower in San Jose. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in San Jose.

Planning a move to Costa Rica? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

San Jose vs. Oslo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 36.3% less for restaurants

	Oslo	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.88 NOK196.87	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	-41.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.66 NOK147.65	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	-25.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$4.29 NOK40.48	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	-37.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.35 NOK31.56	$1.89 CRC858.35	-43.7%
Average			-36.3%

Oslo vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.2% less for groceries

	Oslo	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$4.16 NOK39.22	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	-25.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.40 NOK69.77	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	-28.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.52 NOK89.71	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	-5.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.92 NOK55.83	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	-41.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.01 NOK66.11	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	-32.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 NOK14.16	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	+54.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.20 NOK11.27	$0.73 CRC330.88	-39.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.57 NOK14.82	$2.15 CRC979.64	+36.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.66 NOK25.12	$1.76 CRC799.36	-34.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 NOK11.51	$1.73 CRC787.71	+41.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.29 NOK12.20	$1.66 CRC755.96	+28.3%
Average			-10.2%

Oslo vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.3% less for transportation

	Oslo	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.05 NOK85.31	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	-36.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$81.23 NOK765.82	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	-19.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$48,017.78 NOK453K	$21,990.00 CRC10M	-54.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.52 NOK250.02	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	-42.9%
Average			-39.3%

Oslo vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 55.7% less for housing

	Oslo	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$55.32 NOK521.50	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	+7.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,027.04 NOK19,110.31	$942.15 CRC429K	-53.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,564.65 NOK14,751.06	$758.77 CRC345K	-51.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$318.93 NOK3,006.77	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	-77.3%
Average			-55.7%

Oslo vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Oslo	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$235.44 NOK2,219.68	$980.95 CRC446K	+316.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,500.12 NOK146K	$17,102.76 CRC8M	+10.3%
Average			+114.4%

Oslo vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Oslo	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.69 NOK110.25	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	-71.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.92 NOK55.85	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	-25.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$18.79 NOK177.18	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	-68.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.98 NOK556.03	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	+23.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.84 NOK187.02	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	-61.4%
Average			-45.8%

Oslo vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.2% less for clothing

	Oslo	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$100.13 NOK943.98	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	-28.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.75 NOK563.26	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	-6.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$132.59 NOK1,250.01	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	-3.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$156.09 NOK1,471.59	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	-15.8%
Average			-14.2%

Oslo vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Oslo vs. San Jose

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in San Jose?

More cost comparisons

Oslo vs.

London

Oslo vs.

Copenhagen

Oslo vs.

Athens

Oslo vs.

Ottawa

Oslo vs.

Washington

Oslo vs.

Beijing

Oslo vs.

Rome

Oslo vs.

Lima

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Norway vs. Costa Rica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Norway and Costa Rica.

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

Add prices for Oslo

Add prices for San Jose

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Jose or Oslo. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.