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

Updated:

Livingcost

San Jose Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1454
$1126
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3624
$3097
🏠 One person rent
$697
$600
🏘️ Family rent
$1213
$1068
🍽️ Food expenses
$527
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$78.6
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$935
$879
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
60
99
😀 Quality of life
72
75
🏙️ Population
335K
24.9M

The cost of living in San Jose, Costa Rica is 29% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 4213th and 4971st ($1454 vs $1126) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 5th in Costa Rica and China, respectively. Check Costa Rica vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in San Jose, Costa Rica compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. San Jose, Costa Rica ranked 1st best city to live in Costa Rica vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 3173rd and 1655th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in San Jose, Costa Rica vs Shanghai

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

San Jose Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$11.2
$5.01
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$51
$36.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.4
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.9
$1.69
☕ Cappuccino
$4.68
$3.77
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.14
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$821
$803
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$531
$486
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1484
$1462
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$973
$880
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$54.9
$37.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$83.8
$58.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$53.3
$13
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
9.69%
3.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2465
$14215
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1757
$7113
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1
$0.47
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$48.8
$30.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$15.1
$6.45
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.41
$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.26
$1.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.62
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.38
$1.3
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.03
$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.5
$16.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.94
$3.91
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.4
$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.34
$2.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.57
$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.35
$1.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.48
$1.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.75
$0.89
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.18
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.93
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.28
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$20.3
$12.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.64
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$5.46
$3.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.15
$6.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$9.92
$6.91
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.47
$2.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$4.31
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$59.8
$61.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.93
$7.84
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$96.4
$94.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$15.9
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$67.6
$50.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$129
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$704
$1114
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$14663
$27781

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1002
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$669
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$782
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$594
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$620
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$644
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$557
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$667
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$683
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$643
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$650
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$584
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$671
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$636
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$680
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$684
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$623
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$646
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$860
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$647
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$652
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$611
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$652
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$604
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$675
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$678
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$525
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$618
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$626
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$644
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$667
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$677
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$601
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$665
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$632
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$765