Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 12.3% cheaper than Ottawa.
San Jose vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 10.6% less for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.24
CA$25.74
|
$12.18
CRC5,535.65
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.52
CA$14.85
|
$11.62
CRC5,281.24
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.06
CA$2.91
|
$2.69
CRC1,220.21
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.74
CA$2.45
|
$1.89
CRC857.07
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.4% more for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.07
CA$4.34
|
$3.09
CRC1,405.30
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.27
CA$7.44
|
$5.33
CRC2,422.20
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$12.21
|
$8.95
CRC4,069.05
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.38
CA$4.76
|
$3.49
CRC1,587.71
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.07
CA$7.16
|
$4.71
CRC2,141.86
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.72
CA$2.42
|
$2.32
CRC1,053.42
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.62
CA$0.87
|
$0.73
CRC330.38
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
CA$2.47
|
$2.15
CRC978.17
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.64
CA$2.32
|
$1.76
CRC798.16
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.17
CA$1.65
|
$1.73
CRC786.53
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
CA$1.53
|
$1.66
CRC754.83
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 6.5% less for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.48
CA$6.33
|
$5.80
CRC2,633.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$94.69
CA$133.66
|
$65.71
CRC29,859.18
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,760.48
CA$39,188.08
|
$21,990.00
CRC10M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.45
CA$20.40
|
$15.13
CRC6,877.56
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 34.0% less for housing
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.74
CA$70.21
|
$59.17
CRC26,888.73
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,478.74
CA$2,087.46
|
$942.15
CRC428K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,220.86
CA$1,723.43
|
$758.77
CRC345K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$103.40
CA$145.96
|
$72.33
CRC32,866.92
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 6.5% more for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$927.38
CA$1,309.13
|
$980.95
CRC446K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,956.31
CA$22,524.73
|
$17,102.76
CRC8M
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 16.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.61
CA$7.92
|
$3.29
CRC1,492.96
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.04
CA$5.71
|
$4.44
CRC2,017.70
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.31
CA$20.20
|
$5.91
CRC2,687.33
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$45.45
CA$64.16
|
$72.94
CRC33,144.98
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.65
CA$17.86
|
$7.67
CRC3,483.57
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 30.3% more for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.13
CA$84.88
|
$71.32
CRC32,410.23
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.89
CA$53.48
|
$55.79
CRC25,351.79
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.98
CA$149.60
|
$128.46
CRC58,372.75
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.50
CA$136.22
|
$131.42
CRC59,718.35
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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