Cost of living comparison
compared to
Vancouver vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary
Vancouver is 35.7% more expensive than San Jose.
Vancouver vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Vancouver instead of San Jose, you would:
pay 23.4% more for restaurants
San Jose | Vancouver | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $9.95 CRC4,522.80 | $17.93 CA$25.45 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $9.91 CRC4,501.30 | $10.76 CA$15.27 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $2.06 CRC934.22 | $2.10 CA$2.99 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $1.67 CRC760.31 | $1.71 CA$2.43 | |
San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.8% more for groceries
San Jose | Vancouver | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $2.64 CRC1,198.47 | $2.97 CA$4.21 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $4.95 CRC2,250.65 | $6.29 CA$8.93 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $7.78 CRC3,536.31 | $7.93 CA$11.25 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $2.88 CRC1,306.86 | $4.07 CA$5.77 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $3.97 CRC1,801.85 | $6.40 CA$9.08 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $1.94 CRC880.87 | $1.82 CA$2.58 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.65 CRC296.98 | $0.65 CA$0.92 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $1.95 CRC884.76 | $1.90 CA$2.69 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $1.58 CRC718.70 | $2.06 CA$2.92 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $1.55 CRC702.86 | $1.41 CA$2.00 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $1.43 CRC650.30 | $1.37 CA$1.94 | |
San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of groceries
pay 14.9% more for transportation
San Jose | Vancouver | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $5.39 CRC2,448.50 | $4.70 CA$6.67 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $41.21 CRC18,725.41 | $87.86 CA$124.71 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $37,640.45 CRC17M | $24,369.83 CA$34,591.75 | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $16.12 CRC7,323.61 | $15.23 CA$21.62 | |
San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of transportation
pay 70.4% more for housing
San Jose | Vancouver | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $58.88 CRC26,754.60 | $57.51 CA$81.64 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $891.63 CRC405K | $1,931.10 CA$2,741.09 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $560.77 CRC255K | $1,574.05 CA$2,234.29 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $68.88 CRC31,301.43 | $59.58 CA$84.57 | |
San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of housing
pay 75.5% more for childcare
San Jose | Vancouver | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $600.27 CRC273K | $1,164.74 CA$1,653.29 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $12,608.22 CRC6M | $19,795.38 CA$28,098.55 | |
San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of childcare
pay 60.1% more for entertainment and sports
San Jose | Vancouver | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $2.67 CRC1,215.35 | $5.74 CA$8.14 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $3.85 CRC1,751.04 | $3.92 CA$5.56 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $5.15 CRC2,340.68 | $15.06 CA$21.38 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $55.98 CRC25,440.34 | $42.54 CA$60.38 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $9.91 CRC4,501.30 | $11.48 CA$16.29 | |
San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.4% less for clothing
San Jose | Vancouver | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $61.74 CRC28,058.10 | $61.34 CA$87.06 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $51.32 CRC23,321.21 | $42.77 CA$60.71 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $120.28 CRC54,658.64 | $93.01 CA$132.02 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $106.98 CRC48,614.04 | $113.94 CA$161.73 | |
San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of clothing
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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