Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Burlington, VT and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $3,098 in Burlington, VT, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

147

Cost of Living Index in Burlington, VT
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Burlington, VT Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Burlington, VT

🇺🇸 United States

$3,098

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Burlington, VT 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 Burlington, VT and in San Jose actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,098 in Burlington, VT versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Burlington, VT $3,098
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,642 in Burlington, VT versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Burlington, VT $4,642
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,187 in Burlington, VT versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Burlington, VT $6,187
San Jose $4,054

Living in Burlington, VT is roughly 47% more expensive than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Burlington, VT 129% above, San Jose 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.36 $22.36

$12.37 ₡5,563

80.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.7 $79.7

$62.4 ₡28.0K

27.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.21 $12.21

$11.71 ₡5,264

4.27%

Cappuccino

$5.03 $5.03

$4.54 ₡2,040

10.79%

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

$2.89 $2.89

$2.75 ₡1,238

5.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 $2.37

$1.86 ₡837

27.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.15 $8.15

$3.35 ₡1,505

143.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.22 $8.22

$4.32 ₡1,944

90.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 $1.26

$2.36 ₡1,061

-46.61%

White Bread (500g)

$4.59 $4.59

$3.07 ₡1,379

49.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.91 $5.91

$2.51 ₡1,128

135.46%

Eggs

$4.48 $4.48

$3.53 ₡1,585

26.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.38 $15.38

$10.54 ₡4,738

45.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.25 $12.25

$10.57 ₡4,754

15.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.07 $19.07

$13.92 ₡6,261

37.00%

Apples (1kg)

$7.25 $7.25

$5.20 ₡2,338

39.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 $2.03

$1.65 ₡740

23.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.49 $5.49

$4.89 ₡2,198

12.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.37 $7.37

$3.84 ₡1,728

91.93%

Potato (1kg)

$4.41 $4.41

$3.91 ₡1,757

12.79%

Onion (1kg)

$3.95 $3.95

$3.76 ₡1,692

5.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.02 $3.02

$1.12 ₡504

169.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 $2.85

$3.22 ₡1,447

-11.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.26 $12.26

$6.02 ₡2,706

103.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.20 $15.20

$19.84 ₡8,919

-23.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 $1.78

$2.81 ₡1,264

-36.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.46 $4.46

$3.65 ₡1,643

22.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$1.08 ₡487

83.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.8 $50.8

$65.2 ₡29.3K

-22.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 $2.55

$2.26 ₡1,018

12.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 $1.79

$1.78 ₡799

0.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.73 $27.73

$7.90 ₡3,551

251.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.50 ₡673

-24.00%

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

$27.3K $27.3K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-18.40%

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

$26.6K $26.6K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-37.09%

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

$151 $151

$93.2 ₡41.9K

61.98%

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

$55.6 $55.6

$36.13 ₡16.2K

53.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.1 $62.1

$60.6 ₡27.2K

2.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.0 $64.0

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-7.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.22 $28.22

$24.94 ₡11.2K

13.15%

Cinema Ticket

$12.15 $12.15

$7.67 ₡3,449

58.41%

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

$1,267 $1,267

$972 ₡436.9K

30.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.1K $21.1K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

11.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.7 $59.7

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-15.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.3 $51.3

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-9.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.2 $70.2

$129 ₡57.8K

-45.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$155 $155

$131 ₡58.8K

18.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,426 $2,426

$1,170 ₡525.9K

107.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,678 $1,678

$943 ₡424.1K

77.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,601 $3,601

$1,984 ₡892.0K

81.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,943 $2,943

$1,400 ₡629.5K

110.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,831 $3,831

$2,681 ₡1.2M

42.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,217 $3,217

$2,037 ₡915.8K

57.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,442 $4,442

$987 ₡443.6K

350.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.7

8.62

-22.27%

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

Last update for Burlington, VT: November 1, 2026

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Burlington, VT

$1.7K 54.2%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 43.8% $735

Groceries & Markets

Burlington, VT

$487 15.7%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 17.4% $85

Eating Out

Burlington, VT

$354 11.4%

San Jose

$232 11% 34.4% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Burlington, VT

$269 8.7%

San Jose

$190 9% 29.3% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Burlington, VT

$151 4.9%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 15.1% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Burlington, VT

$88 2.9%

San Jose

$84 4% 4.5% $4

Getting Around

Burlington, VT

$70 2.3%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 15% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,426 in Burlington, VT and $1,170 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Burlington, VT pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $80 in Burlington, VT vs $62 in San Jose for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $487 vs $403 per month, with San Jose cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Burlington, VT

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

14:55 2:55 PM

13:55 1:55 PM

1 h behind Burlington, VT

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

44,743

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.895 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Burlington, VT San Jose 3,980 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Burlington, VT
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

Burlington, VT vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose is about 32% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Burlington, VT is about 4.5 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,426 in Burlington, VT versus $1,170 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Burlington, VT runs roughly 22% less than in San Jose. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $1,267 in Burlington, VT versus $972 in San Jose. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $2,107 in San Jose versus $3,098 in Burlington, VT, a $2,500 budget is realistic in San Jose but tight or insufficient in Burlington, VT. The gap between the two cities makes San Jose the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, San Jose is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Burlington, VT, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

It comes down to priorities – San Jose wins on affordability, Burlington, VT on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.