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

Updated:

Livingcost

San Jose Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1169
$1190
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3119
$3757
🏠 One person rent
$496
$635
🏘️ Family rent
$1078
$1613
🍽️ Food expenses
$471
$308
🚐 Transport expenses
$71.8
$117
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$877
$1455
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
60
100
😀 Quality of life
67
78
🏙️ Population
342K
24.9M

The cost of living in San Jose, Costa Rica is 2% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 4518th and 4461st ($1169 vs $1190) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 6th in Costa Rica and China, respectively. Check Costa Rica vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.8 months in San Jose, Costa Rica compared to 1.2 months in Shanghai. San Jose, Costa Rica ranked 1st best city to live in Costa Rica vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 4043rd and 558th among best cities to live in the world.

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

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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
$10.8
$4.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$51.7
$40.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.47
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.31
$1.7
☕ Cappuccino
$4.21
$3.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.78
$0.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$597
$901
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$368
$497
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1266
$2595
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$901
$1269
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$42.3
$39.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$64.2
$60.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$40
$17.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
8.83%
4.77%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1778
$17366
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1310
$9346
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.88
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$40.7
$37.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$13.9
$6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.45
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.96
$2.55
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.32
$2.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.15
$1.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.59
$2.21
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.52
$18.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.16
$4.12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.2
$12.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.79
$2.27
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.38
$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.62
$1.97
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.58
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.45
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.21
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.45
$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.02
$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$14.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.25
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.81
$3.45
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.97
$6.43
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$8.01
$7.06
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.06
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.18
$2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$57.8
$69.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.43
$8.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$62.4
$89.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$13.6
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$84.2
$66.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$113
$78.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$369
$1283
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$9894
$28143

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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

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1074
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$731
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$771
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$763
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$682
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$731
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$651
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$678
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$687
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$699
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$688
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$690
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$677
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$675
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$755
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$707
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$713
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$682
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$831
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$679
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$694
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$625
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$707
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$625
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$703
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$524
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$631
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$645
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$720
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$725
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$696
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$719
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$789
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$652
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$740