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

Updated:

Livingcost

San Jose Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1574
$1147
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3920
$3146
🏠 One person rent
$747
$636
🏘️ Family rent
$1276
$1119
🍽️ Food expenses
$579
$279
🚐 Transport expenses
$85.8
$105
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1063
$1068
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
60
99
😀 Quality of life
73
76
🏙️ Population
335K
24.9M

The cost of living in San Jose, Costa Rica is 37% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 3714th and 4880th ($1574 vs $1147) 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 0.7 months in San Jose, Costa Rica compared to 0.9 months in Shanghai. San Jose, Costa Rica ranked 1st best city to live in Costa Rica vs Shanghai ranked 5th in China, while ranked 2425th and 1178th 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
$12.8
$4.42
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$49.5
$30.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.8
$5.19
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.36
$1.44
☕ Cappuccino
$5.2
$3.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.34
$0.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$821
$849
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$585
$520
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1456
$1495
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1048
$937
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$58.3
$38.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$89.7
$59.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$56.7
$11.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
9.32%
3.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2299
$14068
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1800
$6729
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.09
$0.54
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$56.4
$29.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$16
$5.76
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.45
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.43
$2.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.01
$1.81
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.56
$1.1
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.5
$1.87
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.8
$16.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.83
$3.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.9
$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.01
$2.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.73
$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.77
$1.84
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.76
$1.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.11
$0.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.66
$0.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.1
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.6
$1.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$23.3
$11.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.92
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$5.9
$2.95
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.27
$6.37
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$9.95
$7.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.95
$2.11
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$4.6
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$68.5
$70.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.55
$8.79
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$104
$98.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$16
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$70.9
$46.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$140
$71.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$814
$1268
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$16872
$27610

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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
$1471
17 km or 11 mi Alajuela
$1362
20 km or 12 mi Cartago
$1361
82 km or 51 mi Puntarenas
$872
115 km or 72 mi Limon
$1228
124 km or 77 mi Santa Teresa
$1325
167 km or 104 mi Liberia
$1024
197 km or 122 mi Tamarindo
$1929
244 km or 151 mi San Juan del Sur
$844
246 km or 153 mi David
$909
279 km or 173 mi Juigalpa
$796
302 km or 188 mi Granada
$706
316 km or 196 mi Masaya
$817
343 km or 213 mi Managua
$788
387 km or 241 mi Matagalpa
$665
398 km or 247 mi Santiago de Veraguas
$1112
408 km or 253 mi Jinotega
$503
413 km or 257 mi Leon
$759
429 km or 266 mi Esteli
$716
438 km or 272 mi Penonome
$1147
447 km or 278 mi Chinandega
$791
457 km or 284 mi Chitre
$1144
463 km or 288 mi Colon
$1185
486 km or 302 mi La Chorrera
$982
508 km or 316 mi Balboa
$1396
513 km or 319 mi Panama City
$1590
524 km or 326 mi Tocumen
$1373
535 km or 333 mi Pacora
$1361
574 km or 357 mi Tegucigalpa
$909
596 km or 370 mi San Miguel
$1132
609 km or 378 mi Usulutan
$1123
635 km or 395 mi Comayagua
$678
666 km or 414 mi Yoro
$756
696 km or 432 mi San Salvador
$1291
697 km or 433 mi Soyapango
$1261
701 km or 435 mi Mejicanos
$1254
702 km or 436 mi Apopa
$1231
703 km or 437 mi Santa Tecla
$1183
713 km or 443 mi La Ceiba
$619
729 km or 453 mi El Progreso
$832

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1030
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$708
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$726
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$725
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$798
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$643
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$678
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$581
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$652
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$680
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$658
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$571
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$660
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$645
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$670
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$663
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$636
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$659
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$899
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$651
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$664
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$657
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$627
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$667
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$623
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$693
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$691
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$623
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$644
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$661
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$696
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$693
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$620
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$677
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$684
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$644
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$789