Cost of Living in San Jose

Summary about cost of living in San Jose, Costa Rica:

Restaurants
Edit Range
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 5,402.13 ₡ 3,500.00-10,000.00
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 30,000.00 ₡ 20,000.00-45,000.00
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 4,500.00 ₡ 4,450.00-5,402.13
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 1,350.00 ₡ 800.00-3,000.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 2,300.00 ₡ 1,620.64-3,500.00
Cappuccino (regular) 1,643.10 ₡ 1,000.00-2,500.00
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 959.80 ₡ 750.00-1,500.00
Water (12 oz small bottle) 856.37 ₡ 600.00-1,500.00
Markets
Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 3,748.56 ₡ 2,460.52-4,542.50
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 1,060.15 ₡ 635.03-1,723.65
Rice (white), (1 lb) 536.79 ₡ 362.87-759.77
Eggs (regular) (12) 1,602.52 ₡ 1,000.00-2,400.00
Local Cheese (1 lb) 1,815.69 ₡ 1,225.18-3,628.74
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 2,078.63 ₡ 907.19-2,721.56
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 3,069.15 ₡ 1,814.37-3,675.55
Apples (1 lb) 1,102.81 ₡ 453.59-2,041.17
Banana (1 lb) 310.27 ₡ 226.80-490.07
Oranges (1 lb) 471.78 ₡ 226.80-1,587.58
Tomato (1 lb) 604.56 ₡ 317.52-1,133.98
Potato (1 lb) 539.35 ₡ 272.16-735.11
Onion (1 lb) 633.00 ₡ 317.52-1,360.78
Lettuce (1 head) 620.00 ₡ 400.00-1,080.43
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 1,097.83 ₡ 540.21-1,500.00
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 7,500.00 ₡ 5,000.00-10,000.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 1,204.15 ₡ 800.00-1,818.18
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 1,581.09 ₡ 900.00-2,701.07
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 2,350.00 ₡ 2,000.00-3,000.00
Transportation
Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 400.00 ₡ 300.00-540.21
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 19,177.62 ₡ 10,000.00-20,800.00
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 650.00 ₡ 540.21-910.00
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 1,304.08 ₡ 965.61-1,609.34
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 3,535.00 ₡ 3,460.00-3,800.00
Gasoline (1 gallon) 3,260.76 ₡ 2,702.78-4,088.25
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 17,500,000.00 ₡ 16,000,000.00-19,000,000.00
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 16,279,485.91 ₡ 15,600,000.00-17,000,000.00
Utilities (Monthly)
Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 33,192.75 ₡ 20,000.00-50,000.00
1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) 34.03 ₡ 15.00-40.00
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 28,168.80 ₡ 21,608.54-40,000.00
Sports And Leisure
Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 32,602.13 ₡ 16,206.40-54,021.34
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 15,063.17 ₡ 10,000.00-15,000.00
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 4,000.00 ₡ 3,000.00-5,402.13
Childcare
Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 192,508.89 ₡ 130,000.00-250,000.00
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 4,690,480.11 ₡ 3,241,280.28-9,600,000.00
Clothing And Shoes
Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 42,444.44 ₡ 27,010.67-54,021.34
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 26,210.80 ₡ 15,000.00-36,000.00
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 61,746.44 ₡ 45,000.00-75,000.00
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 61,185.94 ₡ 40,000.00-81,032.01
Rent Per Month
Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 364,314.90 ₡ 250,000.00-540,213.38
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 225,496.83 ₡ 189,074.68-270,106.69
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 775,729.09 ₡ 600,000.00-1,323,425.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 489,871.43 ₡ 350,000.00-1,080,426.76
Buy Apartment Price
Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 107,642.64 ₡ 60,224.46-158,862.88
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 67,175.61 ₡ 50,187.05-88,257.15
Salaries And Financing
Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 448,022.67 ₡
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 8.21 7.00-9.00

Prices in San Jose

This city had 446 entries in the past 12 months by 65 different contributors.
Last update: March 2023
Sources and References
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
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6 Comments so far
Lorenc on Feb 22, 2023:
Besides the capital San Jose all/most other cities/towns look like townships in U.S.A. (,as of up to now at least.)
It's not even too safe or low cost enough, yet some fools love it there or at least until after some months,
probably bcoz they used to live in worse places. enjoy.
Samuel gillard on Jan 23, 2021:
prices absoultly not right
In 5 years never seen orange for less thab 5$ for one kilo could reach 10$ sometimes
Food are extremly expensive here
Milk , cheese , vegetablea and fruits ,
unless you eat like local " rice and beans for breakfast lunch and dinner" it will cost you 3 times from what will costs in the US
Anonymous on Dec 31, 2020:
Costa Ricais nothing more than an expensive country full of corruption.Several friends from Europe retired in Costa Rica.They were telling me I need to retire in Costa Rica too but I never listened to them. I visited Costa Rica twice but I didn't see anything impressive about the country.Anyone planning on moving to Costa Rica shouldn't do it.
Anonymous on Dec 11, 2020:
The post on April 30

Costa Rica government allowed many in from Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador. The idiot is obviously not from Costa Rica or they would know all central American countries are in close proximity plus Nicaragua is infected with MS13 always have been. I lived in Costa Rica as a foreigner until August 2020 in a nice house I personally owned.Oh the Costa Rica government insists all currencies be converted into colon so they can manipulate ie skim to their advantage.DONT EVEN TELL ME COSTA RICA ISN'T FLOODED WITH MS13 the door was wide open for anyone to walk through minus correct vetting.Two foreigners were hacked to death by machetes in their house across the street from me. Shut up you piece of garbage.
Anonymous on Apr 30, 2020:
Please ignore what Anonymous posted on March 01, 2019. They are probably the most arrogant person ever.

Firstly, just because someone is an immigrant to another country, that does not mean they are a gang member. I can't believe this person just claimed that immigrants from Nicaragua are members of gang. I'm honestly ever surprised they're knowledgable enough to know that Nicaragua borders Costa Rica.

And second, the currency of Costa Rica is the Costa Rican colón, not the peso. How arrogant and uninformed do you have to be to get that wrong?

People like them make me sick and lose faith in humanity. Stay in the US, no other country should have you. They're way too good for you.
Anonymous on Mar 01, 2019:
Costa Rica has always had an arrogant attitude towards people from the U S.Friends have retired in Costa Rica over the years.One told me the retirement requirement is to put American dollars into a Costa Rican bank and use their pesos instead exclusively.Ofcourse losing money on the exchange rate peso verses the dollar.My friends begged me to retire in Costa Rica over the years but I said no way.I wonder how expats are feeling now since Costa Rica is taking in over 1,500 immigrants weekly unvetted from Nicaragua.I'm sure many are MS13 also.Kinda makes one think how secure expats living in Costa Rica feel about their security,hum?