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

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Livingcost

San Jose Tijuana
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1169
$1184
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3119
$2873
🏠 One person rent
$496
$508
🏘️ Family rent
$1078
$929
🍽️ Food expenses
$471
$409
🚐 Transport expenses
$71.8
$167
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$877
$944
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
4 km
🎓 Higher education
60
22
😀 Quality of life
67
57
🏙️ Population
342K
1.96M

The cost of living in San Jose, Costa Rica is 1% less expensive than in Tijuana. Cities ranked 4518th and 4480th ($1169 vs $1184) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 12th in Costa Rica and Mexico, respectively. Check Costa Rica vs Mexico comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.8 months in San Jose, Costa Rica compared to 0.8 months in Tijuana. San Jose, Costa Rica ranked 1st best city to live in Costa Rica vs Tijuana ranked 8th in Mexico, while ranked 4043rd and 5782nd among best cities to live in the world.

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

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Prices in San Jose, Costa Rica vs Tijuana

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

San Jose Tijuana
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$10.8
$14.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$51.7
$38.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.47
$9.52
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.31
$3.96
 Cappuccino
$4.21
$4.46
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.78
$1.25
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$597
$649
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$368
$376
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1266
$1219
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$901
$729
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$42.3
$47.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$64.2
$72.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$40
$29.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
8.83%
11.86%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1778
$3013
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1310
$1701
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.88
$1
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$40.7
$40.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$13.9
$21.7
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.45
$1.35
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.96
$1.58
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.32
$2.15
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.15
$1.56
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.59
$3.05
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.52
$7.59
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.16
$7.11
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.2
$11.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.79
$2.63
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.38
$1.41
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.62
$1.94
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.58
$1.68
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.45
$2.12
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.21
$1.51
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.45
$0.68
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.02
$2.08
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$15.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.25
$1.81
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.81
$4.33
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.97
$8.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$8.01
$3.8
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.06
$1.87
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.18
$2.35
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$57.8
$46.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.43
$4.66
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$62.4
$49.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$13.6
$14.3
👖 Brand Jeans
$84.2
$46.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$113
$96.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$369
$168
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$9894
$4103

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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 Tijuana

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.5 mi Imperial Beach
$2851
11 km or 6.9 mi Chula Vista
$2969
15 km or 9.5 mi Las Delicias
$1032
18 km or 11 mi National
$2907
21 km or 13 mi Rosarito Beach
$1029
22 km or 14 mi Coronado
$3051
23 km or 15 mi Lemon Grove
$2844
24 km or 15 mi San Diego
$3427
27 km or 17 mi La Mesa
$2868
30 km or 19 mi El Cajon
$2910
38 km or 24 mi Santee
$2788
42 km or 26 mi La Jolla
$2867
48 km or 30 mi Poway
$2784
62 km or 38 mi Encinitas
$2879
66 km or 41 mi Escondido
$2884
69 km or 43 mi San Marcos
$2722
76 km or 47 mi Carlsbad
$3046
77 km or 48 mi Vista
$2732
81 km or 50 mi Oceanside
$3094
84 km or 52 mi Ensenada
$1027
96 km or 59 mi Fallbrook
$2709
109 km or 67 mi Temecula
$2597
115 km or 72 mi San Clemente
$3070
117 km or 73 mi Murrieta
$3155
119 km or 74 mi French Valley
$2684
121 km or 75 mi Wildomar
$2803
122 km or 76 mi Dana Point
$2751
123 km or 77 mi San Juan Capistrano
$2681
128 km or 80 mi Laguna Niguel
$2461
128 km or 80 mi Menifee
$2637
131 km or 82 mi Laguna Beach
$2755
131 km or 82 mi Lake Elsinore
$2730
134 km or 83 mi Mission Viejo
$3513
135 km or 84 mi Rancho Santa Margarita
$2960
135 km or 84 mi Laguna Hills
$2957
135 km or 84 mi Hemet
$2879
138 km or 86 mi Aliso Viejo
$3180
138 km or 86 mi Lake Forest
$2944
139 km or 87 mi El Centro
$2687
140 km or 87 mi San Jacinto
$2684