Cape Town vs San Jose, United States - Cost of Living Comparison

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Livingcost

Cape Town San Jose
🚶 Cost of living one person
$881
$3502
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2144
$7476
🏠 One person rent
$484
$2428
🏘️ Family rent
$966
$4021
🍽️ Food expenses
$259
$717
🚐 Transport expenses
$56.2
$195
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1518
$6928
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
8 km
🎓 Higher education
55
87
😀 Quality of life
60
92
🏙️ Population
434K
1.01M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 75% less expensive than in San Jose, United States. Cities ranked 6078th and 22nd ($881 vs $3502) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 20th in South Africa and the United States, respectively. Check South Africa vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Cape Town compared to 2 months in San Jose, United States. Cape Town ranked 3rd best city to live in South Africa vs San Jose, United States ranked 9th in the United States, while ranked 5406th and 69th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Cape Town vs San Jose, United States infographic

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Prices in Cape Town vs San Jose, United States

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

Cape Town San Jose
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$7.47
$18.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$31.2
$87.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.87
$12.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.04
$7.93
☕ Cappuccino
$1.94
$5.86
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.86
$3
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$536
$2372
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$353
$2164
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1202
$4451
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$749
$3536
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$56.2
$137
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$87
$217
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.2
$84.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.61%
6.46%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1890
$13837
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1307
$9980
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.04
$2.75
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$34.8
$108
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$7.17
$19.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.22
$1.32
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1
$1.39
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.92
$4.46
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.38
$4.86
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.39
$4.92
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.96
$15.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.26
$14.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.2
$19.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.4
$5.96
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.46
$2.22
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$4.77
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$6.31
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$3.85
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.31
$3.01
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.58
$1.69
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.3
$2.4
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$4.51
$17.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.14
$2.17
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.62
$11
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.8
$9.22
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.76
$6.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.22
$4.93
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.36
$2.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$31.3
$88.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.42
$14.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$32.9
$101
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.3
$19.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$42.7
$56.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$81.4
$94
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$172
$1687
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4013
$15889

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance City Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi Paarl
$773
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$632
371 km or 231 mi George
$684
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$805
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$866
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$643
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$704
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$703
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$753
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$710
882 km or 548 mi East London
$683
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$601
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$511
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$535
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$689
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$511
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$682
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$765
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$511
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$701
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$621
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$719
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$625
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$738
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$631
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$633
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$698
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$637
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$609
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$875
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$845
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$656
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$603
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$908
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$776
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$807
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$889
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$780
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$751
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$718

Cities near San Jose, United States

Distance City Cost of living
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Campbell
$3272
9.7 km or 6.1 mi Santa Clara
$3301
11 km or 6.8 mi Los Gatos
$4204
13 km or 8.4 mi Saratoga
$3222
15 km or 9.1 mi Milpitas
$3057
15 km or 9.3 mi Cupertino
$2974
16 km or 10 mi Sunnyvale
$3184
18 km or 11 mi Mountain View
$3171
21 km or 13 mi Los Altos
$3064
27 km or 17 mi Palo Alto
$3733
27 km or 17 mi Morgan Hill
$3012
28 km or 18 mi Fremont
$3186
29 km or 18 mi Newark
$3003
29 km or 18 mi East Palo Alto
$3245
32 km or 20 mi Menlo Park
$3313
36 km or 22 mi Union
$2922
38 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3389
39 km or 24 mi Santa Cruz
$3422
41 km or 25 mi San Carlos
$3300
41 km or 25 mi Pleasanton
$3644
42 km or 26 mi Gilroy
$2952
43 km or 27 mi Livermore
$3047
44 km or 27 mi Watsonville
$2908
44 km or 27 mi Belmont
$3567
44 km or 28 mi Foster
$3518
45 km or 28 mi Hayward
$2660
46 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3109
47 km or 29 mi San Lorenzo
$2650
48 km or 30 mi San Mateo
$3583
48 km or 30 mi Castro Valley
$2881
53 km or 33 mi San Leandro
$2969
53 km or 33 mi Burlingame
$3219
54 km or 33 mi San Ramon
$2860
57 km or 36 mi Millbrae
$3163
59 km or 36 mi Danville
$2929
60 km or 38 mi San Bruno
$3147
61 km or 38 mi Alameda
$3358
62 km or 38 mi Tracy
$2141
63 km or 39 mi South San Francisco
$3130
64 km or 40 mi Oakland
$3123