George Town vs San Jose, Costa Rica - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	George Town	San Jose
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3754	$1324
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$8993	$3344
🏠 One person rent	$2648	$606
🏘️ Family rent	$5345	$1094
🍽️ Food expenses	$845	$499
🚐 Transport expenses	$54.7	$78
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$6732	$990
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	2 km	7 km
🎓 Higher education	20	60
😀 Quality of life	78	66
🏙️ Population	41K	342K

The cost of living in George Town is 184% more expensive than in San Jose, Costa Rica. Cities ranked 11th and 4143rd ($3754 vs $1324) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in the Cayman Islands and Costa Rica, respectively. Check the Cayman Islands vs Costa Rica comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in George Town compared to 0.7 months in San Jose, Costa Rica. George Town ranked 1st best city to live in the Cayman Islands vs San Jose, Costa Rica ranked 1st in Costa Rica, while ranked 685th and 4085th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in George Town vs San Jose, Costa Rica infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/george-town/san-jose-cr.jpg" alt="Cost of living in George Town vs San Jose, Costa Rica infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/george-town/san-jose-cr" target="_blank">George Town vs San Jose, Costa Rica - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in George Town vs San Jose, Costa Rica

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

	George Town	San Jose
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$30.2	$11.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$83.8	$51.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$15.5	$9.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.86	$2.9
☕ Cappuccino	$6.78	$4.5
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.77	$1.97
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2615	$738
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2356	$444
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$5826	$1315
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4835	$874
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$128	$53.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$200	$82.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$112	$49.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	7.17%	10.31%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$10761	$2883
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4170	$1718
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.39	$0.98
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$29.9	$41.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$20.5	$16.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.75	$1.42
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.73	$2.07
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$5.28	$2.32
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.79	$1.94
🥚 Eggs, x12	$8.92	$3.34
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.8	$11.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16	$8.97
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.4	$14.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.25	$3.92
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.58	$1.46
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.73	$3.91
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.85	$2.99
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.97	$2.99
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.86	$2.81
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.98	$1.85
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.69	$3.17
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$24.1	$18.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.02	$2.43
🚬 Cigarette pack	$14.3	$5.13
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.8	$8.09
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.4	$7.94
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.01	$3.22
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.36	$3.77
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$108	$65
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$18.1	$9.08
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$111	$72.3
💇 Haircut, simple	$23.3	$15.2
👖 Brand Jeans	$90.6	$68.8
👟 Brand Sneakers	$140	$125
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1705	$601
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$24513	$12527

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near George Town

Distance	City	Cost of living
333 km or 207 mi	Cienfuegos	$865
356 km or 221 mi	Sancti Spiritus	$1211
361 km or 225 mi	Savanna-la-Mar	$1124
375 km or 233 mi	Montego Bay	$1014
377 km or 234 mi	Santa Clara	$1058
381 km or 237 mi	Placetas	$1101
385 km or 239 mi	Colon	$1122
394 km or 245 mi	Ciego de Avila	$1258
402 km or 250 mi	Guines	$1094
412 km or 256 mi	Florida	$1395
414 km or 257 mi	Sagua La Grande	$1107
418 km or 260 mi	Artemisa	$1017
418 km or 260 mi	Cardenas	$1214
419 km or 260 mi	Matanzas	$1273
422 km or 262 mi	Pinar del Rio	$1071
425 km or 264 mi	Moron	$1259
429 km or 266 mi	Camaguey	$1531
430 km or 267 mi	Mandeville	$1000
440 km or 273 mi	Havana	$926
459 km or 285 mi	May Pen	$877
461 km or 287 mi	Manzanillo	$2763
473 km or 294 mi	Old Harbour	$870
476 km or 296 mi	Linstead	$1063
476 km or 296 mi	Yara	$2123
487 km or 303 mi	Spanish Town	$787
498 km or 310 mi	Las Tunas	$1561
503 km or 312 mi	Half Way Tree	$1197
504 km or 313 mi	Kingston	$1378
510 km or 317 mi	Bayamo	$1166
533 km or 331 mi	Port Antonio	$1170
563 km or 350 mi	Holguin	$1266
573 km or 356 mi	Palma Soriano	$1272
587 km or 365 mi	Santiago de Cuba	$1415
588 km or 365 mi	Key West	$2897
593 km or 369 mi	Cozumel	$938
599 km or 372 mi	Isla Mujeres	$996
608 km or 378 mi	Cancun	$1132
615 km or 382 mi	Playa del Carmen	$998
646 km or 401 mi	Tulum	$1051
653 km or 405 mi	Guantanamo	$1561

Cities near San Jose, Costa Rica

Distance	City	Cost of living
7.9 km or 4.9 mi	Heredia	$1296
17 km or 11 mi	Alajuela	$1269
20 km or 12 mi	Cartago	$1024
82 km or 51 mi	Puntarenas	$801
115 km or 72 mi	Limon	$1225
124 km or 77 mi	Santa Teresa	$1213
167 km or 104 mi	Liberia	$932
197 km or 122 mi	Tamarindo	$1710
244 km or 151 mi	San Juan del Sur	$839
246 km or 153 mi	David	$890
279 km or 173 mi	Juigalpa	$666
302 km or 188 mi	Granada	$701
316 km or 196 mi	Masaya	$710
343 km or 213 mi	Managua	$738
387 km or 241 mi	Matagalpa	$624
398 km or 247 mi	Santiago de Veraguas	$1089
408 km or 253 mi	Jinotega	$455
413 km or 257 mi	Leon	$632
429 km or 266 mi	Esteli	$598
438 km or 272 mi	Penonome	$1116
447 km or 278 mi	Chinandega	$638
457 km or 284 mi	Chitre	$1117
463 km or 288 mi	Colon	$1172
486 km or 302 mi	La Chorrera	$957
508 km or 316 mi	Balboa	$1328
513 km or 319 mi	Panama City	$1479
524 km or 326 mi	Tocumen	$1310
535 km or 333 mi	Pacora	$1304
574 km or 357 mi	Tegucigalpa	$863
596 km or 370 mi	San Miguel	$1088
609 km or 378 mi	Usulutan	$1083
635 km or 395 mi	Comayagua	$753
666 km or 414 mi	Yoro	$755
696 km or 432 mi	San Salvador	$1204
697 km or 433 mi	Soyapango	$1182
701 km or 435 mi	Mejicanos	$1175
702 km or 436 mi	Apopa	$1160
703 km or 437 mi	Santa Tecla	$1194
713 km or 443 mi	La Ceiba	$626
729 km or 453 mi	El Progreso	$903