Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Vancouver Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 16.1% cheaper than Vancouver.
San Jose vs. Vancouver Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Vancouver, you would:
pay 8.7% less for restaurants
|
Vancouver
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.53
CA$24.55
|
$12.18
CRC5,555.13
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.52
CA$14.73
|
$11.62
CRC5,299.82
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.11
CA$2.95
|
$2.69
CRC1,224.50
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.63
CA$2.29
|
$1.89
CRC860.09
|
|
Vancouver vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.9% more for groceries
|
Vancouver
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.55
CA$3.57
|
$3.09
CRC1,410.24
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.94
CA$8.32
|
$5.33
CRC2,430.72
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.30
CA$11.62
|
$8.95
CRC4,083.37
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.05
CA$5.67
|
$3.49
CRC1,593.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.04
CA$8.46
|
$4.71
CRC2,149.40
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.84
CA$2.57
|
$2.32
CRC1,057.12
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.62
CA$0.87
|
$0.73
CRC331.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
CA$2.45
|
$2.15
CRC981.61
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.83
CA$2.56
|
$1.76
CRC800.97
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.21
CA$1.70
|
$1.73
CRC789.30
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.29
CA$1.81
|
$1.66
CRC757.49
|
|
Vancouver vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 9.2% less for transportation
|
Vancouver
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.30
CA$7.42
|
$5.80
CRC2,642.85
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$82.13
CA$115.00
|
$65.71
CRC29,964.25
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,760.48
CA$38,871.61
|
$21,990.00
CRC10M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.46
CA$21.65
|
$15.13
CRC6,901.77
|
|
Vancouver vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 39.1% less for housing
|
Vancouver
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.61
CA$72.27
|
$59.17
CRC26,983.36
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,758.64
CA$2,462.53
|
$942.15
CRC430K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,510.76
CA$2,115.45
|
$758.77
CRC346K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$62.39
CA$87.36
|
$72.33
CRC32,982.58
|
|
Vancouver vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 12.5% less for childcare
|
Vancouver
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,089.37
CA$1,525.40
|
$980.95
CRC447K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,096.19
CA$28,139.69
|
$17,102.76
CRC8M
|
|
Vancouver vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 15.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Vancouver
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.61
CA$7.86
|
$3.29
CRC1,498.21
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.95
CA$5.53
|
$4.44
CRC2,024.80
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$15.43
CA$21.61
|
$5.91
CRC2,696.78
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.29
CA$60.61
|
$72.94
CRC33,261.62
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.39
CA$17.34
|
$7.67
CRC3,495.83
|
|
Vancouver vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 41.6% more for clothing
|
Vancouver
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.28
CA$80.20
|
$71.32
CRC32,524.28
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.87
CA$46.03
|
$55.79
CRC25,441.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.98
CA$131.60
|
$128.46
CRC58,578.17
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.44
CA$132.24
|
$131.42
CRC59,928.51
|
|
Vancouver vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing
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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