Cali vs San Jose, Costa Rica - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cali San Jose
🚶 Cost of living one person
$829
$1454
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2097
$3624
🏠 One person rent
$318
$697
🏘️ Family rent
$542
$1213
🍽️ Food expenses
$288
$527
🚐 Transport expenses
$131
$78.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$453
$935
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
19 km
7 km
🎓 Higher education
47
60
😀 Quality of life
60
72
🏙️ Population
2.47M
335K

The cost of living in Cali is 43% less expensive than in San Jose, Costa Rica. Cities ranked 6645th and 4213th ($829 vs $1454) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 14th and 2nd in Colombia and Costa Rica, respectively. Check Colombia vs Costa Rica comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.5 months in Cali compared to 0.6 months in San Jose, Costa Rica. Cali ranked 4th best city to live in Colombia vs San Jose, Costa Rica ranked 1st in Costa Rica, while ranked 5917th and 3173rd among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Cali vs San Jose, Costa Rica

Prices for goods and services in Cali and San Jose are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Cali San Jose
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$4.79
$11.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$26.7
$51
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$8.04
$10.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.59
$2.9
☕ Cappuccino
$2.63
$4.68
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.23
$2.14
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$300
$821
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$220
$531
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$555
$1484
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$396
$973
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$57.7
$54.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$89.1
$83.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$24.5
$53.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.68%
9.69%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1099
$2465
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$890
$1757
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.86
$1
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$31.5
$48.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$14.9
$15.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.13
$1.41
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.46
$2.26
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.53
$2.62
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.33
$2.38
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.75
$3.03
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.7
$11.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.9
$8.94
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.97
$13.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.89
$4.34
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.09
$1.57
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$4.35
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$3.48
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.97
$3.75
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.18
$3.18
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.56
$1.93
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.09
$3.28
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.3
$20.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.24
$2.64
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.92
$5.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.52
$8.15
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.89
$9.92
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.27
$3.47
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.8
$4.31
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$25.2
$59.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.06
$7.93
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$35.2
$96.4
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.39
$15.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$66.1
$67.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$101
$129
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$256
$704
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$6650
$14663

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Cities near Cali

Distance City Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi Palmira
$746
74 km or 46 mi Buenaventura
$825
80 km or 50 mi Tulua
$537
111 km or 69 mi Popayan
$606
148 km or 92 mi Neiva
$592
154 km or 96 mi Armenia
$719
160 km or 100 mi Cartago
$738
170 km or 105 mi Salento
$709
178 km or 111 mi Pereira
$789
184 km or 114 mi Ibague
$529
213 km or 132 mi Girardot
$547
214 km or 133 mi Manizales
$717
227 km or 141 mi Florencia
$514
251 km or 156 mi Quibdo
$757
262 km or 163 mi Pasto
$637
285 km or 177 mi Facatativa
$777
285 km or 177 mi Soacha
$919
301 km or 187 mi Bogota
$1062
308 km or 192 mi Tumaco
$663
316 km or 196 mi Ipiales
$640
321 km or 200 mi Envigado
$992
329 km or 204 mi Medellin
$1071
330 km or 205 mi Villavicencio
$575
330 km or 205 mi Zipaquira
$813
339 km or 210 mi Bello
$915
386 km or 240 mi Ibarra
$569
421 km or 261 mi Tunja
$667
446 km or 277 mi Esmeraldas
$613
463 km or 288 mi Quito
$902
469 km or 291 mi Duitama
$1019
471 km or 293 mi Sogamoso
$614
500 km or 311 mi Barrancabermeja
$1040
504 km or 313 mi Yopal
$750
506 km or 314 mi Santo Domingo
$598
518 km or 322 mi Turbo
$764
554 km or 344 mi Floridablanca
$744
556 km or 346 mi Bucaramanga
$754
571 km or 354 mi Ambato
$538
595 km or 369 mi Quevedo
$656
596 km or 370 mi Monteria
$703

Cities near San Jose, Costa Rica

Distance City Cost of living
7.9 km or 4.9 mi Heredia
$1378
17 km or 11 mi Alajuela
$1323
20 km or 12 mi Cartago
$1290
82 km or 51 mi Puntarenas
$825
115 km or 72 mi Limon
$1332
124 km or 77 mi Santa Teresa
$1273
167 km or 104 mi Liberia
$957
197 km or 122 mi Tamarindo
$1832
244 km or 151 mi San Juan del Sur
$840
246 km or 153 mi David
$922
279 km or 173 mi Juigalpa
$782
302 km or 188 mi Granada
$699
316 km or 196 mi Masaya
$812
343 km or 213 mi Managua
$796
387 km or 241 mi Matagalpa
$679
398 km or 247 mi Santiago de Veraguas
$1122
408 km or 253 mi Jinotega
$470
413 km or 257 mi Leon
$754
429 km or 266 mi Esteli
$687
438 km or 272 mi Penonome
$1153
447 km or 278 mi Chinandega
$787
457 km or 284 mi Chitre
$1154
463 km or 288 mi Colon
$1179
486 km or 302 mi La Chorrera
$977
508 km or 316 mi Balboa
$1425
513 km or 319 mi Panama City
$1583
524 km or 326 mi Tocumen
$1403
535 km or 333 mi Pacora
$1395
574 km or 357 mi Tegucigalpa
$863
596 km or 370 mi San Miguel
$1120
609 km or 378 mi Usulutan
$1109
635 km or 395 mi Comayagua
$705
666 km or 414 mi Yoro
$737
696 km or 432 mi San Salvador
$1274
697 km or 433 mi Soyapango
$1246
701 km or 435 mi Mejicanos
$1237
702 km or 436 mi Apopa
$1221
703 km or 437 mi Santa Tecla
$1178
713 km or 443 mi La Ceiba
$626
729 km or 453 mi El Progreso
$804