Cost of living comparison

Costa Rica

compared to

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Kingstown vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Kingstown is 33.5% cheaper than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 28.4% less in Kingstown
Groceries: pay 19.9% more in Kingstown
Transportation: pay 49.2% more in Kingstown
Housing: pay 57.9% less in Kingstown
Childcare: pay 89.3% less in Kingstown
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.6% less in Kingstown
Clothing: pay 20.0% less in Kingstown

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

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Kingstown vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.4% less for restaurants

	San Jose	Kingstown
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	$6.48 EC$17.50	-46.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	$10.55 EC$28.50	-9.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	$2.34 EC$6.33	-12.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.89 CRC858.35	$1.85 EC$5.00	-1.9%
Average			-28.4%

San Jose vs. Kingstown - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.9% more for groceries

	San Jose	Kingstown
Bread 1 loaf	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	$2.13 EC$5.76	-31.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	$6.47 EC$17.49	+21.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	$12.14 EC$32.81	+35.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	$4.49 EC$12.13	+28.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	$1.80 EC$4.86	-61.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	$4.32 EC$11.67	+86.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 CRC330.88	$1.60 EC$4.31	+119.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.15 CRC979.64	$4.37 EC$11.80	+102.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.76 CRC799.36	$2.65 EC$7.18	+51.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 CRC787.71	$1.75 EC$4.72	+0.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.66 CRC755.96	$1.75 EC$4.72	+5.2%
Average			+19.9%

San Jose vs. Kingstown - Cost of groceries

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pay 49.2% more for transportation

	San Jose	Kingstown
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	$11.87 EC$32.09	+104.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	$49.95 EC$135.00	-24.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,990.00 CRC10M	$37,927.14 EC$102K	+72.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	$25.90 EC$70.00	+71.1%
Average			+49.2%

San Jose vs. Kingstown - Cost of transportation

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pay 57.9% less for housing

	San Jose	Kingstown
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	$51.80 EC$140.00	-12.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$942.15 CRC429K	$283.68 EC$766.67	-69.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.77 CRC345K	$323.77 EC$875.00	-57.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	$56.59 EC$152.94	-21.8%
Average			-57.9%

San Jose vs. Kingstown - Cost of housing

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pay 89.3% less for childcare

	San Jose	Kingstown
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$980.95 CRC446K	$104.84 EC$283.33	-89.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,102.76 CRC8M	??
Average			-89.3%

San Jose vs. Kingstown - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.6% less for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Kingstown
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	$1.67 EC$4.50	-49.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	$4.07 EC$11.00	-8.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	$4.07 EC$11.00	-31.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	$32.38 EC$87.50	-55.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	$4.63 EC$12.50	-39.7%
Average			-40.6%

San Jose vs. Kingstown - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.0% less for clothing

	San Jose	Kingstown
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	$64.75 EC$175.00	-9.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	$61.98 EC$167.50	+11.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	$74.00 EC$200.00	-42.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	$92.51 EC$250.00	-29.6%
Average			-20.0%

San Jose vs. Kingstown - 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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See the cost of living in Costa Rica vs. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Costa Rica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

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