Cost of living comparison

Costa Rica

compared to

South Korea

Seoul vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 4.1% cheaper than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 35.2% less in Seoul
Groceries: pay 18.1% more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 7.2% less in Seoul
Housing: pay 3.5% less in Seoul
Childcare: pay 61.1% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.9% less in Seoul
Clothing: pay 36.5% less in Seoul

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

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Seoul vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.2% less for restaurants

	San Jose	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	$8.96 ₩11,955	-26.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	$7.46 ₩9,962	-35.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	$1.58 ₩2,112	-41.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.89 CRC858.35	$0.79 ₩1,049	-58.3%
Average			-35.2%

San Jose vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.1% more for groceries

	San Jose	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	$3.10 ₩4,134	+0.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	$8.84 ₩11,798	+65.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	$7.79 ₩10,403	-13.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	$3.61 ₩4,813	+3.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	$4.74 ₩6,328	+0.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	$3.46 ₩4,624	+49.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 CRC330.88	$1.57 ₩2,091	+115.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.15 CRC979.64	$2.59 ₩3,462	+20.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.76 CRC799.36	$2.83 ₩3,782	+61.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 CRC787.71	$1.66 ₩2,211	-4.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.66 CRC755.96	$1.16 ₩1,542	-30.5%
Average			+18.1%

San Jose vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.2% less for transportation

	San Jose	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	$5.53 ₩7,384	-4.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	$46.28 ₩61,767	-29.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,990.00 CRC10M	$29,385.60 ₩39M	+33.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	$8.51 ₩11,357	-43.8%
Average			-7.2%

San Jose vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.5% less for housing

	San Jose	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	$20.82 ₩27,787	-64.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$942.15 CRC429K	$886.39 ₩1M	-5.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.77 CRC345K	$620.25 ₩828K	-18.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	$162.69 ₩217K	+124.9%
Average			-3.5%

San Jose vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 61.1% more for childcare

	San Jose	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$980.95 CRC446K	$1,927.59 ₩3M	+96.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,102.76 CRC8M	$22,602.27 ₩30M	+32.2%
Average			+61.1%

San Jose vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.9% less for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	$3.73 ₩4,981	+13.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	$4.10 ₩5,473	-7.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	$3.36 ₩4,483	-43.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	$58.22 ₩77,707	-20.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	$11.20 ₩14,944	+46.0%
Average			-0.9%

San Jose vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.5% less for clothing

	San Jose	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	$57.88 ₩77,255	-18.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	$32.77 ₩43,743	-41.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	$69.99 ₩93,417	-45.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	$82.45 ₩110K	-37.3%
Average			-36.5%

San Jose vs. Seoul - 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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