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

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Livingcost

San Diego San Jose
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3427
$1169
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7903
$3119
🏠 One person rent
$2366
$496
🏘️ Family rent
$4375
$1078
🍽️ Food expenses
$686
$471
🚐 Transport expenses
$192
$71.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5439
$877
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
3 km
7 km
🎓 Higher education
87
60
😀 Quality of life
91
67
🏙️ Population
1.39M
342K

The cost of living in San Diego is 193% more expensive than in San Jose, Costa Rica. Cities ranked 26th and 4518th ($3427 vs $1169) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 23rd and 3rd in the United States and Costa Rica, respectively. Check the United States vs Costa Rica comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in San Diego compared to 0.8 months in San Jose, Costa Rica. San Diego ranked 15th best city to live in the United States vs San Jose, Costa Rica ranked 1st in Costa Rica, while ranked 107th and 4043rd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in San Diego vs San Jose, Costa Rica infographic

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Prices in San Diego vs San Jose, Costa Rica

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

San Diego San Jose
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$20.9
$10.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$85.6
$51.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12.1
$9.47
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.8
$3.31
 Cappuccino
$5.63
$4.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.87
$1.78
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2498
$597
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2064
$368
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$4740
$1266
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3919
$901
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$142
$42.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$218
$64.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$73.6
$40
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.64%
8.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$11408
$1778
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8035
$1310
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.57
$0.88
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$71.4
$40.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$22.2
$13.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.35
$1.45
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.14
$1.96
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.69
$2.32
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.92
$2.15
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.13
$3.59
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.8
$9.52
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.4
$9.16
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.3
$13.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.46
$4.79
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.84
$1.38
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.2
$2.62
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.58
$2.58
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.9
$2.45
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.18
$2.21
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.54
$1.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.64
$3.02
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.7
$15.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.13
$2.25
🚬 Cigarette pack
$10.5
$4.81
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$16.1
$6.97
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.94
$8.01
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.91
$3.06
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.16
$3.18
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$79.3
$57.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$17.2
$7.43
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$129
$62.4
💇 Haircut, simple
$22.2
$13.6
👖 Brand Jeans
$61.8
$84.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$95.2
$113
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1701
$369
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$18429
$9894

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near San Diego

Distance City Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi Coronado
$3051
7.2 km or 4.5 mi National
$2907
13 km or 7.8 mi Lemon Grove
$2844
14 km or 9 mi Chula Vista
$2969
14 km or 9 mi La Mesa
$2868
16 km or 9.8 mi Imperial Beach
$2851
18 km or 11 mi La Jolla
$2867
21 km or 13 mi El Cajon
$2910
24 km or 15 mi Tijuana
$1184
25 km or 15 mi Santee
$2788
30 km or 19 mi Poway
$2784
38 km or 24 mi Encinitas
$2879
40 km or 25 mi Las Delicias
$1032
43 km or 26 mi Rosarito Beach
$1029
46 km or 29 mi Escondido
$2884
47 km or 30 mi San Marcos
$2722
52 km or 33 mi Carlsbad
$3046
54 km or 33 mi Vista
$2732
57 km or 36 mi Oceanside
$3094
73 km or 46 mi Fallbrook
$2709
88 km or 55 mi Temecula
$2597
91 km or 57 mi San Clemente
$3070
95 km or 59 mi Murrieta
$3155
97 km or 61 mi Dana Point
$2751
98 km or 61 mi French Valley
$2684
99 km or 61 mi San Juan Capistrano
$2681
99 km or 61 mi Wildomar
$2803
104 km or 65 mi Laguna Niguel
$2461
107 km or 66 mi Laguna Beach
$2755
107 km or 67 mi Menifee
$2637
109 km or 68 mi Ensenada
$1027
109 km or 68 mi Lake Elsinore
$2730
110 km or 68 mi Mission Viejo
$3513
110 km or 69 mi Laguna Hills
$2957
111 km or 69 mi Rancho Santa Margarita
$2960
114 km or 71 mi Aliso Viejo
$3180
114 km or 71 mi Lake Forest
$2944
115 km or 72 mi Hemet
$2879
119 km or 74 mi Perris
$2609
119 km or 74 mi Temescal Valley
$2606

Cities near San Jose, Costa Rica

Distance City Cost of living
7.9 km or 4.9 mi Heredia
$1040
17 km or 11 mi Alajuela
$1163
20 km or 12 mi Cartago
$1009
82 km or 51 mi Puntarenas
$1024
115 km or 72 mi Limon
$1147
124 km or 77 mi Santa Teresa
$1114
167 km or 104 mi Liberia
$1220
197 km or 122 mi Tamarindo
$1473
244 km or 151 mi San Juan del Sur
$805
246 km or 153 mi David
$789
279 km or 173 mi Juigalpa
$647
302 km or 188 mi Granada
$680
316 km or 196 mi Masaya
$699
343 km or 213 mi Managua
$787
387 km or 241 mi Matagalpa
$548
398 km or 247 mi Santiago de Veraguas
$961
408 km or 253 mi Jinotega
$458
413 km or 257 mi Leon
$614
429 km or 266 mi Esteli
$593
438 km or 272 mi Penonome
$940
447 km or 278 mi Chinandega
$627
457 km or 284 mi Chitre
$980
463 km or 288 mi Colon
$1157
486 km or 302 mi La Chorrera
$917
508 km or 316 mi Balboa
$1189
513 km or 319 mi Panama City
$1316
524 km or 326 mi Tocumen
$1171
535 km or 333 mi Pacora
$1182
574 km or 357 mi Tegucigalpa
$863
596 km or 370 mi San Miguel
$1107
609 km or 378 mi Usulutan
$1031
635 km or 395 mi Comayagua
$702
666 km or 414 mi Yoro
$738
696 km or 432 mi San Salvador
$1147
697 km or 433 mi Soyapango
$1117
701 km or 435 mi Mejicanos
$1112
702 km or 436 mi Apopa
$1093
703 km or 437 mi Santa Tecla
$1153
713 km or 443 mi La Ceiba
$676
729 km or 453 mi El Progreso
$892