Cost of living comparison

compared to

San Jose vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 11.7% more expensive than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 17.4% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 12.9% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 47.8% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 18.3% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 3.1% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.8% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 12.5% more in San Jose

The cost of transportation, restaurants, groceries, clothing, entertainment and sports, and childcare in San Jose are more expensive than in Panama City.

San Jose vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 17.4% more for restaurants

	Panama City	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 PAB10.00	$9.95 CRC4,947.81	-0.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$9.91 CRC4,924.29	+23.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.70 PAB1.70	$2.06 CRC1,022.01	+21.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.33 PAB1.33	$1.67 CRC831.76	+25.3%
Average			+17.4%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.9% more for groceries

	Panama City	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$2.56 PAB2.56	$2.64 CRC1,311.09	+3.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 PAB5.81	$4.95 CRC2,462.15	-14.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.82 PAB6.82	$7.78 CRC3,868.62	+14.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 PAB2.84	$2.88 CRC1,429.67	+1.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.29 PAB3.29	$3.97 CRC1,971.17	+20.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.65 PAB1.65	$1.94 CRC963.65	+17.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 PAB0.70	$0.65 CRC324.89	-7.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.40 PAB1.40	$1.95 CRC967.90	+39.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.46 PAB1.46	$1.58 CRC786.24	+8.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 PAB1.00	$1.55 CRC768.91	+55.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 PAB1.37	$1.43 CRC711.41	+4.8%
Average			+12.9%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 47.8% more for transportation

	Panama City	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.44 PAB3.44	$5.39 CRC2,678.58	+56.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.50 PAB22.50	$41.21 CRC20,485.06	+83.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	$37,640.45 CRC18,712,315.88	+90.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.50 PAB26.50	$16.12 CRC8,011.83	-39.2%
Average			+47.8%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.3% less for housing

	Panama City	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.20 PAB49.20	$58.88 CRC29,268.77	+19.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,164.71 PAB1,164.71	$891.63 CRC443,258.89	-23.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$953.85 PAB953.85	$560.77 CRC278,778.03	-41.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$95.90 PAB95.90	$68.88 CRC34,242.87	-28.2%
Average			-18.3%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1% more for childcare

	Panama City	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$476.00 PAB476.00	$600.27 CRC298,412.20	+26.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,733.33 PAB15,733.33	$12,608.22 CRC6,267,964.49	-19.9%
Average			+3.1%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 PAB3.00	$2.67 CRC1,329.56	-10.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.61 PAB3.61	$3.85 CRC1,915.58	+6.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.92 PAB5.92	$5.15 CRC2,560.63	-13.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.86 PAB43.86	$55.98 CRC27,831.01	+27.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.00 PAB8.00	$9.91 CRC4,924.29	+23.8%
Average			+6.8%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.5% more for clothing

	Panama City	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.00 PAB50.00	$61.74 CRC30,694.76	+23.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.50 PAB47.50	$51.32 CRC25,512.74	+8.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.55 PAB89.55	$120.28 CRC59,794.99	+34.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$126.88 PAB126.88	$106.98 CRC53,182.37	-15.7%
Average			+12.5%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing

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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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