Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. San Salvador Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 62.6% more expensive than San Salvador.
- Restaurants
-
pay 62.1% more in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 28.0% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 54.3% more in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 1.8% less in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 2.8 times more in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 50.3% more in San Jose
The cost of childcare, restaurants, transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in San Jose are more expensive than in San Salvador. Expenses including housing and clothing are lower in San Jose. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in San Jose.
San Jose vs. San Salvador Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of San Salvador, you would:
pay 62.1% more for restaurants
|
San Salvador
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.00
SVC61.08
|
$9.95
CRC4,947.81
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.00
SVC61.08
|
$9.91
CRC4,924.29
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.14
SVC9.90
|
$2.06
CRC1,022.01
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.91
SVC7.95
|
$1.67
CRC831.76
|
|
San Salvador vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 28.0% more for groceries
|
San Salvador
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.95
SVC17.01
|
$2.64
CRC1,311.09
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.77
SVC32.86
|
$4.95
CRC2,462.15
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.84
SVC59.68
|
$7.78
CRC3,868.62
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.01
SVC26.26
|
$2.88
CRC1,429.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.99
SVC26.05
|
$3.97
CRC1,971.17
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.77
SVC15.46
|
$1.94
CRC963.65
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
SVC6.60
|
$0.65
CRC324.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.17
SVC10.17
|
$1.95
CRC967.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.22
SVC10.61
|
$1.58
CRC786.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.97
SVC8.44
|
$1.55
CRC768.91
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.98
SVC8.51
|
$1.43
CRC711.41
|
|
San Salvador vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 54.3% more for transportation
|
San Salvador
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.82
SVC33.34
|
$5.39
CRC2,678.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$15.00
SVC130.88
|
$41.21
CRC20,485.06
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$25,500.00
SVC222,494.28
|
$37,640.45
CRC18,712,315.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$29.93
SVC261.12
|
$16.12
CRC8,011.83
|
|
San Salvador vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 1.8% less for housing
|
San Salvador
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$43.33
SVC378.09
|
$58.88
CRC29,268.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$900.00
SVC7,852.74
|
$891.63
CRC443,258.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$758.33
SVC6,616.66
|
$560.77
CRC278,778.03
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$82.16
SVC716.84
|
$68.88
CRC34,242.87
|
|
San Salvador vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 2.8 times more for childcare
|
San Salvador
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$162.67
SVC1,419.31
|
$600.27
CRC298,412.20
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,420.00
SVC56,016.21
|
$12,608.22
CRC6,267,964.49
|
|
San Salvador vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 50.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Salvador
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.00
SVC17.45
|
$2.67
CRC1,329.56
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.25
SVC28.35
|
$3.85
CRC1,915.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.00
SVC34.90
|
$5.15
CRC2,560.63
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.80
SVC268.74
|
$55.98
CRC27,831.01
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.25
SVC45.81
|
$9.91
CRC4,924.29
|
|
San Salvador vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
San Salvador
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$62.60
SVC546.20
|
$61.74
CRC30,694.76
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$45.83
SVC399.91
|
$51.32
CRC25,512.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$131.80
SVC1,149.99
|
$120.28
CRC59,794.99
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.17
SVC952.51
|
$106.98
CRC53,182.37
|
San Salvador vs. San Jose - 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: December 2025
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