Cost of living comparison

Costa Rica

compared to

Saint Lucia

Castries vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Castries is 26.0% cheaper than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 28.8% less in Castries
Groceries: pay 12.1% more in Castries
Transportation: pay 8.2% more in Castries
Housing: pay 43.7% less in Castries
Childcare: pay 78.3% less in Castries
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.8% less in Castries
Clothing: pay 6.1% less in Castries

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

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Castries vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.8% less for restaurants

	San Jose	Castries
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	$9.25 EC$25.00	-24.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	$8.33 EC$22.50	-28.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	$1.94 EC$5.25	-27.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.89 CRC858.35	$0.97 EC$2.62	-48.5%
Average			-28.8%

San Jose vs. Castries - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.1% more for groceries

	San Jose	Castries
Bread 1 loaf	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	$1.86 EC$5.02	-39.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	$5.61 EC$15.17	+5.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	$7.75 EC$20.95	-13.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	$4.61 EC$12.47	+32.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	$4.10 EC$11.09	-13.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	$3.89 EC$10.50	+67.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 CRC330.88	$0.75 EC$2.02	+2.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.15 CRC979.64	$3.70 EC$10.00	+71.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.76 CRC799.36	$6.66 EC$18.00	+279.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 CRC787.71	$1.54 EC$4.17	-10.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.66 CRC755.96	$0.93 EC$2.50	-44.3%
Average			+12.1%

San Jose vs. Castries - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.2% more for transportation

	San Jose	Castries
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	$5.83 EC$15.75	+0.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,990.00 CRC10M	$25,901.46 EC$70,000.00	+17.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	??
Average			+8.2%

San Jose vs. Castries - Cost of transportation

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pay 43.7% less for housing

	San Jose	Castries
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	$48.60 EC$131.33	-17.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$942.15 CRC429K	$456.36 EC$1,233.33	-51.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.77 CRC345K	$345.35 EC$933.33	-54.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	$94.32 EC$254.90	+30.4%
Average			-43.7%

San Jose vs. Castries - Cost of housing

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pay 78.3% less for childcare

	San Jose	Castries
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$980.95 CRC446K	$212.76 EC$575.00	-78.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,102.76 CRC8M	??
Average			-78.3%

San Jose vs. Castries - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.8% less for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Castries
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	$2.78 EC$7.50	-15.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	$3.70 EC$10.00	-16.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	$9.25 EC$25.00	+56.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	$41.63 EC$112.50	-42.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	$5.55 EC$15.00	-27.6%
Average			-21.8%

San Jose vs. Castries - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.1% less for clothing

	San Jose	Castries
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	$83.25 EC$225.00	+16.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	$50.88 EC$137.50	-8.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	$111.01 EC$300.00	-13.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	$111.01 EC$300.00	-15.5%
Average			-6.1%

San Jose vs. Castries - Cost of clothing

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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

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