Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alexandria and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in Alexandria: $1,044 a month against $1,949 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Alexandria
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Alexandria Living Index
93

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Alexandria

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,044

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,949

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Alexandria and in San Jose

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Alexandria and in San Jose actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,044 in Alexandria versus $1,949 in San Jose.

Alexandria $1,044
San Jose $1,949

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,704 in Alexandria versus $2,903 in San Jose.

Alexandria $1,704
San Jose $2,903

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,364 in Alexandria versus $3,857 in San Jose.

Alexandria $2,364
San Jose $3,857

Living in Alexandria costs roughly 46% less than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Alexandria is 22% below, San Jose is 45% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.61 JMD 2,474

$12.22 ₡5,510

27.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.6 JMD 12.1K

$60.1 ₡27.1K

27.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.75 JMD 1,386

$11.77 ₡5,305

-25.66%

Cappuccino

$5.28 JMD 837

$4.30 ₡1,939

22.79%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 JMD 185

$2.72 ₡1,226

-57.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 JMD 107

$1.84 ₡830

-63.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 JMD 360

$3.28 ₡1,480

-30.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 JMD 509

$4.36 ₡1,966

-26.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.09 JMD 648

$2.38 ₡1,074

71.85%

White Bread (500g)

$3.86 JMD 612

$3.12 ₡1,408

23.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 JMD 251

$2.41 ₡1,086

-34.02%

Eggs

$3.53 JMD 559

$3.47 ₡1,564

1.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.57 JMD 1,833

$10.57 ₡4,767

9.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.39 JMD 1,013

$10.56 ₡4,758

-39.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.30 JMD 1,632

$13.75 ₡6,196

-25.09%

Apples (1kg)

$6.22 JMD 986

$5.04 ₡2,274

23.41%

Banana (1kg)

$3.93 JMD 623

$1.61 ₡727

144.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.47 JMD 1,184

$4.59 ₡2,069

62.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.01 JMD 477

$3.84 ₡1,731

-21.61%

Potato (1kg)

$3.33 JMD 527

$3.77 ₡1,700

-11.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.59 JMD 410

$3.76 ₡1,693

-31.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.12 JMD 494

$1.12 ₡506

178.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 JMD 232

$3.20 ₡1,441

-54.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.74 JMD 1,544

$5.84 ₡2,632

66.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.57 JMD 1,834

$19.73 ₡8,897

-41.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 JMD 460

$2.75 ₡1,240

5.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 JMD 645

$3.66 ₡1,650

11.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡503

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.1 ₡29.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 JMD 186

$2.46 ₡1,110

-52.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.13 JMD 496

$1.54 ₡692

103.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.42 JMD 1,017

$8.46 ₡3,815

-24.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 JMD 224

$1.55 ₡699

-8.39%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$44.9K JMD 7.1M

$21.7K ₡9.8M

106.90%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.9K JMD 5.2M

$34.9K ₡15.7M

-5.58%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$174 JMD 27.6K

$94.7 ₡42.7K

84.01%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$30.04 JMD 4,761

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-14.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 JMD 8,395

$58.6 ₡26.4K

-9.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.2 ₡32.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.19 ₡11.4K

Cinema Ticket

$13.14 JMD 2,082

$7.83 ₡3,532

67.82%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$359 JMD 56.9K

$971 ₡437.9K

-63.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,225 JMD 1.3M

$17.0K ₡7.7M

-51.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.28 JMD 3,690

$71.6 ₡32.3K

-67.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 JMD 4,991

$54.9 ₡24.7K

-42.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.3 JMD 12.3K

$129 ₡58.2K

-40.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 JMD 16.2K

$133 ₡60.0K

-23.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$934 ₡420.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 ₡347.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,945 ₡876.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,316 ₡593.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,277 ₡1.0M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,795 ₡809.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,006 ₡453.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

8.62

9.63%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Alexandria: October 5, 2026

Last update for San Jose: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Alexandria

$388 37.6%

San Jose

$399 20.7% 2.8% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alexandria

$257 24.9%

San Jose

$188 9.8% 26.8% $69

Eating Out

Alexandria

$240 23.2%

San Jose

$228 11.8% 4.8% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Alexandria

$105 10.2%

San Jose

$175 9.1% 65.9% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Alexandria

$26 * 2.5%

San Jose

$88 4.6% 234% $62

Getting Around

Alexandria

$17 * 1.6%

San Jose

$80 4.1% 374% $63

Accommodation & Living

Alexandria

- * 0%

San Jose

$770 39.9%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $77.0 in Alexandria vs $60.0 in San Jose. Groceries flip the comparison at $388 vs $399, with Alexandria cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Alexandria

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

00:56 12:56 AM

23:56 11:56 PM

1 h behind Alexandria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,927

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.31 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alexandria San Jose 1,180 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Alexandria
San Jose

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Alexandria vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alexandria and San Jose differ by about 87% in total monthly costs ($1,044 vs $1,949 including rent). Alexandria is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,567 in Alexandria and $2,924 in San Jose to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $359 in Alexandria versus $971 in San Jose. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Alexandria – a meal for two runs $77.0 versus $60.0 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,044 in Alexandria versus $1,949 in San Jose, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Alexandria but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Alexandria the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Alexandria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.