Amsterdam vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Amsterdam is 9.5% more expensive than San Jose.

Restaurants
pay 23.5% more in Amsterdam
Groceries
pay 30.2% less in Amsterdam
Transportation
pay 52.4% more in Amsterdam
Housing
pay 13.9% less in Amsterdam
Childcare
pay 3.5% more in Amsterdam
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.2% less in Amsterdam
Clothing
pay 39.6% more in Amsterdam

The cost of transportation, clothing, restaurants, and childcare in Amsterdam are more expensive than in San Jose. Expenses including groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

pay 23.5% more for restaurants

 
San Jose
Amsterdam
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.50
 
$23.36
€20.36
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$16.35
€14.25
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.42
 
$3.72
€3.25

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pay 30.2% less for groceries

 
San Jose
Amsterdam
Bread
1 loaf
$5.00
 
$2.71
€2.36
Local cheese (8 oz) $11.39
 
$7.72
€6.73
Milk (1 gallon) $5.64
 
$6.24
€5.44

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pay 52.4% more for transportation

 
San Jose
Amsterdam
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.84
 
$8.77
€7.65
Monthly public transit pass $90.00
 
$116.79
€101.80
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,753.89
 
$44,381.38
€38,685.03

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pay 13.9% less for housing

 
San Jose
Amsterdam
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$70.13
 
$52.20
€45.50
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,916.67
 
$2,488.65
€2,169.23
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $2,700.00
 
$2,040.62
€1,778.70

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pay 3.5% more for childcare

 
San Jose
Amsterdam
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,866.67
 
$2,924.24
€2,548.92
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $39,800.00
 
$20,029.43
€17,458.65

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pay 8.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
San Jose
Amsterdam
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $9.00
 
$7.59
€6.62
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.83
 
$5.05
€4.40
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.50
 
$14.60
€12.73

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pay 39.6% more for clothing

 
San Jose
Amsterdam
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$56.50
 
$98.80
€86.12
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$46.00
 
$53.66
€46.77
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$88.89
 
$127.18
€110.86

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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: June 2026
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