Cost of living comparison

Costa Rica

compared to

New Caledonia

Noumea vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Noumea is 60.7% more expensive than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 35.0% more in Noumea
Groceries: pay 2.0 times more in Noumea
Transportation: pay 25.4% more in Noumea
Housing: pay 38.7% more in Noumea
Childcare: pay 32.6% more in Noumea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3 times more in Noumea
Clothing: pay 55.6% more in Noumea

The cost of entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, housing, restaurants, and childcare in Noumea are more expensive than in San Jose. Notably, entertainment and sports and groceries are significantly more expensive in Noumea.

Noumea vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.0% more for restaurants

	San Jose	Noumea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.95 CRC4,499.25	$19.58 CFPF2,003	+96.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 CRC4,477.86	$14.68 CFPF1,502	+48.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 CRC929.36	$2.57 CFPF263	+25.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 CRC756.35	$1.17 CFPF120	-29.8%
Average			+35.0%

San Jose vs. Noumea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.0 times more for groceries

	San Jose	Noumea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.64 CRC1,192.23	$2.90 CFPF296	+9.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.95 CRC2,238.93	$15.50 CFPF1,586	+212.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 CRC3,517.89	$4.63 CFPF474	-40.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.88 CRC1,300.06	$6.47 CFPF662	+125.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.97 CRC1,792.47	$11.32 CFPF1,158	+185.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.94 CRC876.29	$1.92 CFPF197	-0.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 CRC295.44	$3.39 CFPF346	+418.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC880.16	$3.00 CFPF307	+53.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.58 CRC714.96	$3.77 CFPF386	+138.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 CRC699.20	$1.83 CFPF187	+18.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.43 CRC646.91	$1.63 CFPF167	+13.8%
Average			+103.1%

San Jose vs. Noumea - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.4% more for transportation

	San Jose	Noumea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.39 CRC2,435.75	$6.29 CFPF644	+16.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.21 CRC18,627.92	$87.11 CFPF8,913	+111.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,640.45 CRC17M	$31,076.13 CFPF3M	-17.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.12 CRC7,285.49	$14.59 CFPF1,493	-9.4%
Average			+25.4%

San Jose vs. Noumea - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.7% more for housing

	San Jose	Noumea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$58.88 CRC26,615.31	$51.39 CFPF5,257	-12.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$891.63 CRC403K	$856.43 CFPF87,624	-3.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$560.77 CRC254K	$783.02 CFPF80,114	+39.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.88 CRC31,138.47	$159.67 CFPF16,337	+131.8%
Average			+38.7%

San Jose vs. Noumea - Cost of housing

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pay 32.6% more for childcare

	San Jose	Noumea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$600.27 CRC271K	$796.07 CFPF81,449	+32.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,608.22 CRC6M	??
Average			+32.6%

San Jose vs. Noumea - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Noumea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.67 CRC1,209.02	$10.52 CFPF1,077	+293.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.85 CRC1,741.92	$4.91 CFPF503	+27.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.15 CRC2,328.49	$20.36 CFPF2,083	+295.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.98 CRC25,307.89	$61.17 CFPF6,259	+9.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.91 CRC4,477.86	$14.68 CFPF1,502	+48.2%
Average			+134.7%

San Jose vs. Noumea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.6% more for clothing

	San Jose	Noumea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.74 CRC27,912.02	$115.01 CFPF11,767	+86.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$51.32 CRC23,199.80	$61.99 CFPF6,342	+20.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$120.28 CRC54,374.07	$103.99 CFPF10,640	-13.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.98 CRC48,360.94	$244.69 CFPF25,035	+128.7%
Average			+55.6%

San Jose vs. Noumea - 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: June 2026

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