Cost of living comparison

compared to

Monrovia vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Monrovia is 11.1% cheaper than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 0.8% more in Monrovia
Groceries: pay 94.2% more in Monrovia
Transportation: pay 38.1% less in Monrovia
Housing: pay 6.5% less in Monrovia
Childcare: pay 85.7% less in Monrovia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.1% more in Monrovia
Clothing: pay 48.3% less in Monrovia

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

Monrovia vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 0.8% more for restaurants

	San Jose	Monrovia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.95 CRC4,947.81	$7.50 LRD1,332.19	-24.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 CRC4,924.29	$11.00 LRD1,953.88	+11.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 CRC1,022.01	$2.00 LRD355.25	-2.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 CRC831.76	$2.00 LRD355.25	+19.5%
Average			+0.8%

San Jose vs. Monrovia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 94.2% more for groceries

	San Jose	Monrovia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.64 CRC1,311.09	$1.79 LRD318.17	-32.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.95 CRC2,462.15	$5.91 LRD1,048.95	+19.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 CRC3,868.62	$8.01 LRD1,423.03	+3.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.88 CRC1,429.67	$3.60 LRD639.45	+25.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.97 CRC1,971.17	$5.38 LRD954.74	+35.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.94 CRC963.65	$0.74 LRD131.87	-61.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 CRC324.89	$3.83 LRD680.90	+486.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC967.90	$4.67 LRD828.92	+139.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.58 CRC786.24	$5.00 LRD888.13	+216.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 CRC768.91	$1.03 LRD182.93	-33.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.43 CRC711.41	$4.83 LRD858.52	+237.8%
Average			+94.2%

San Jose vs. Monrovia - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.1% less for transportation

	San Jose	Monrovia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.39 CRC2,678.58	$4.69 LRD833.65	-12.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.21 CRC20,485.06	$20.00 LRD3,552.50	-51.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,640.45 CRC18,712,315.88	$12,534.94 LRD2,226,518.22	-66.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.12 CRC8,011.83	$12.69 LRD2,254.41	-21.2%
Average			-38.1%

San Jose vs. Monrovia - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.5% less for housing

	San Jose	Monrovia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$58.88 CRC29,268.77	$93.25 LRD16,563.52	+58.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$891.63 CRC443,258.89	$666.67 LRD118,416.67	-25.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$560.77 CRC278,778.03	$95.00 LRD16,874.38	-83.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.88 CRC34,242.87	$85.26 LRD15,145.11	+23.8%
Average			-6.5%

San Jose vs. Monrovia - Cost of housing

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pay 85.7% less for childcare

	San Jose	Monrovia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$600.27 CRC298,412.20	$129.33 LRD22,972.82	-78.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,608.22 CRC6,267,964.49	$894.00 LRD158,796.49	-92.9%
Average			-85.7%

San Jose vs. Monrovia - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.1% more for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Monrovia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.67 CRC1,329.56	$3.00 LRD532.88	+12.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.85 CRC1,915.58	$3.33 LRD592.08	-13.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.15 CRC2,560.63	$5.00 LRD888.13	-2.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.98 CRC27,831.01	$76.25 LRD13,543.91	+36.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.91 CRC4,924.29	$9.75 LRD1,731.80	-1.6%
Average			+6.1%

San Jose vs. Monrovia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 48.3% less for clothing

	San Jose	Monrovia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.74 CRC30,694.76	$18.41 LRD3,270.51	-70.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$51.32 CRC25,512.74	$33.75 LRD5,994.84	-34.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$120.28 CRC59,794.99	$56.25 LRD9,991.41	-53.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.98 CRC53,182.37	$68.75 LRD12,211.72	-35.7%
Average			-48.3%

San Jose vs. Monrovia - 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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