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
$1120
$3674
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2628
$8354
🏠 One person rent
$603
$2553
🏘️ Family rent
$1117
$4614
🍽️ Food expenses
$284
$756
🚐 Transport expenses
$137
$175
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1545
$6972
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
8 km
🎓 Higher education
55
87
😀 Quality of life
59
93
🏙️ Population
3.78M
1.01M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 70% less expensive than in San Jose, United States. Cities ranked 4849th and 13th ($1120 vs $3674) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 11th 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 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 1.9 months in San Jose, United States. Cape Town ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs San Jose, United States ranked 9th in the United States, while ranked 5407th and 57th 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
$7.8
$25.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$34
$99.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.15
$12.1
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.53
$9.02
☕ Cappuccino
$2.32
$6.07
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.04
$3.37
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$705
$2518
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$452
$2244
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1367
$4974
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$889
$4085
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$59
$178
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$91.3
$275
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$41.1
$76.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.61%
6.65%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1902
$11099
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1292
$11117
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.14
$2.48
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$45.3
$90.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.91
$18.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.36
$1.28
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.1
$1.34
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.07
$4.64
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$3.84
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.67
$4.98
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.88
$15.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.96
$14.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.13
$21.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.58
$5.87
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.61
$1.76
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.51
$3.56
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$6.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$3.84
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$3.28
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.66
$1.73
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.44
$2.55
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.57
$15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.42
$2.11
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.99
$11.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.24
$9.28
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.42
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.24
$4.62
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.59
$2.28
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$36.2
$113
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.5
$15.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$38.2
$151
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.4
$20.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$52.1
$48.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$103
$83.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$201
$1894
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4270
$23974

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
$850
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$649
371 km or 231 mi George
$790
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$901
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$970
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$741
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$792
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$953
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$859
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1286
882 km or 548 mi East London
$703
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$696
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$581
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$627
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$862
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$774
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$832
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$559
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$788
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$689
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$809
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$717
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$779
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$692
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$690
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$768
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$717
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$674
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$971
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$943
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$718
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$654
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$1079
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$874
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$840
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$997
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$834
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$818
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$790

Cities near San Jose, United States

Distance City Cost of living
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Campbell
$3322
9.7 km or 6.1 mi Santa Clara
$3417
11 km or 6.8 mi Los Gatos
$4181
13 km or 8.4 mi Saratoga
$3147
15 km or 9.1 mi Milpitas
$3083
15 km or 9.3 mi Cupertino
$2799
16 km or 10 mi Sunnyvale
$3305
18 km or 11 mi Mountain View
$3220
21 km or 13 mi Los Altos
$3085
27 km or 17 mi Palo Alto
$3610
27 km or 17 mi Morgan Hill
$3094
28 km or 18 mi Fremont
$3159
29 km or 18 mi Newark
$3010
29 km or 18 mi East Palo Alto
$3228
32 km or 20 mi Menlo Park
$3288
36 km or 22 mi Union
$2986
38 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3584
39 km or 24 mi Santa Cruz
$3433
41 km or 25 mi San Carlos
$3442
41 km or 25 mi Pleasanton
$3578
42 km or 26 mi Gilroy
$3118
43 km or 27 mi Livermore
$3085
44 km or 27 mi Watsonville
$3527
44 km or 27 mi Belmont
$3804
44 km or 28 mi Foster
$3473
45 km or 28 mi Hayward
$2981
46 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3091
47 km or 29 mi San Lorenzo
$2802
48 km or 30 mi San Mateo
$3672
48 km or 30 mi Castro Valley
$2931
53 km or 33 mi San Leandro
$3023
53 km or 33 mi Burlingame
$3293
54 km or 33 mi San Ramon
$2851
57 km or 36 mi Millbrae
$3224
59 km or 36 mi Danville
$2922
60 km or 38 mi San Bruno
$3196
61 km or 38 mi Alameda
$3274
62 km or 38 mi Tracy
$2250
63 km or 39 mi South San Francisco
$3170
64 km or 40 mi Oakland
$3146