Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 49.9% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 98.1% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 47.4% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 25.1% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 34.5% less in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.0% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 42.9% more in San Jose

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

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San Jose vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	+172.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	+122.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	+347.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.89 CRC858.35	+409.9%
Average			+184.0%

Shanghai vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 98.1% more for groceries

	Shanghai	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	+56.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	-38.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	+30.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	+105.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	+218.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	+133.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.73 CRC330.88	-5.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$2.15 CRC979.64	+138.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.76 CRC799.36	+128.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.73 CRC787.71	+383.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.66 CRC755.96	+283.4%
Average			+98.1%

Shanghai vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 47.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	+16.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	+120.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$21,990.00 CRC10M	+13.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	+167.0%
Average			+47.4%

Shanghai vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.1% more for housing

	Shanghai	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	+460.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$942.15 CRC429K	-9.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$758.77 CRC345K	+28.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	+64.2%
Average			+25.1%

Shanghai vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 34.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$980.95 CRC446K	-30.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$17,102.76 CRC8M	-38.2%
Average			-34.5%

Shanghai vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	+175.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	+32.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	+58.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	+11.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	-14.3%
Average			+34.0%

Shanghai vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 42.9% more for clothing

	Shanghai	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	+31.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	+50.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	+70.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	+24.3%
Average			+42.9%

Shanghai vs. San Jose - 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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