Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 60.7% more expensive than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 37.5% more in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 57.7% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 21.7% more in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 86.8% more in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 2.4 times more in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 60.9% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 15.4% more in San Jose
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in San Jose are more expensive than in Ottawa. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in San Jose.
San Jose vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 37.5% more for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$24.87
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.22
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.77
|
$3.42
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.15
|
$2.44
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 57.7% more for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.77
|
$5.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.09
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$11.97
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.86
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$7.94
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.64
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.83
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.25
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.30
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.53
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.02
|
$2.19
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 21.7% more for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.60
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$134.31
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$33,803.54
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.49
|
$18.41
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 86.8% more for housing
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$69.04
|
$70.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,008.67
|
$2,916.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,699.13
|
$2,700.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$164.46
|
$221.60
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 2.4 times more for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,089.93
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$21,784.48
|
$39,800.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 60.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$7.96
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.18
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$17.91
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$61.68
|
$113.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$14.92
|
$16.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.4% more for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$73.05
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$53.81
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$120.44
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$128.48
|
$125.00
|
|
Ottawa 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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