Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Burns Lake and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $1,938 a month against $2,212 in Burns Lake, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Burns Lake outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

108

Cost of Living Index in Burns Lake
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Burns Lake Living Index
94

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Burns Lake

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,212

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,212 per month in Burns Lake vs $1,938 in San Jose, rent included.

Burns Lake $2,212
San Jose $1,938

A couple spends around $3,200 per month in Burns Lake vs $2,936 in San Jose, rent included.

Burns Lake $3,200
San Jose $2,936

A family of three spends $4,187 per month in Burns Lake vs $3,934 in San Jose, rent included.

Burns Lake $4,187
San Jose $3,934

Burns Lake costs about 14% more than San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Burns Lake and San Jose sit above the global median – Burns Lake by 64%, San Jose by 44%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.66 CA$22.14

$12.38 ₡5,551

26.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.4 CA$101

$60.9 ₡27.3K

17.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.40 CA$14.70

$11.45 ₡5,135

-9.17%

Cappuccino

$3.73 CA$5.27

$4.39 ₡1,967

-15.03%

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

$2.06 CA$2.91

$2.70 ₡1,211

-23.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 CA$2.12

$1.93 ₡864

-22.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 CA$6.83

$3.20 ₡1,433

50.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.88 CA$6.90

$4.41 ₡1,979

10.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 CA$2.45

$2.44 ₡1,093

-29.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.24 CA$3.16

$3.05 ₡1,369

-26.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.49 CA$4.94

$2.41 ₡1,081

44.81%

Eggs

$3.20 CA$4.53

$3.40 ₡1,523

-5.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.50 CA$13.43

$10.75 ₡4,823

-11.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.79 CA$13.84

$10.43 ₡4,679

-6.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.72 CA$17.99

$13.99 ₡6,273

-9.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.62 CA$5.12

$5.25 ₡2,353

-31.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 CA$1.91

$1.59 ₡712

-15.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.81 CA$5.38

$4.69 ₡2,103

-18.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.94 CA$5.57

$3.95 ₡1,770

-0.25%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 CA$3.50

$3.92 ₡1,760

-36.99%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 CA$2.86

$3.68 ₡1,651

-44.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.65 CA$3.75

$1.12 ₡503

136.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 CA$2.55

$3.19 ₡1,429

-43.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.20 CA$20.07

$6.00 ₡2,692

136.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.85 CA$18.16

$19.56 ₡8,771

-34.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 CA$3.61

$2.82 ₡1,263

-9.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 CA$3.84

$3.59 ₡1,611

-24.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.37 CA$3.34

$1.12 ₡503

111.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.3 CA$78.1

$66.8 ₡30.0K

-17.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 CA$4.00

$2.50 ₡1,119

13.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 CA$2.33

$1.63 ₡733

1.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.52 CA$31.84

$8.50 ₡3,812

164.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 CA$1.68

$1.56 ₡701

-23.72%

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

$26.0K CA$36.8K

$22.4K ₡10.0M

16.02%

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

$18.1K CA$25.6K

$35.6K ₡16.0M

-49.21%

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

$132 CA$187

$95.2 ₡42.7K

38.76%

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

$38.50 CA$54.4

$35.58 ₡16.0K

8.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.6 CA$74.3

$58.6 ₡26.3K

-10.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.39 CA$57.1

$72.7 ₡32.6K

-44.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.07 CA$25.54

$24.85 ₡11.1K

-27.28%

Cinema Ticket

$11.00 CA$15.56

$7.58 ₡3,401

45.12%

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

$756 CA$1,068

$1,001 ₡449.0K

-24.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K CA$15.6K

$17.1K ₡7.7M

-35.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.6 CA$84.3

$70.5 ₡31.6K

-15.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.17 CA$61.0

$55.8 ₡25.0K

-22.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.9 CA$117

$130 ₡58.2K

-36.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 CA$157

$131 ₡58.7K

-14.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,255 CA$1,774

$927 ₡415.8K

35.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,137 CA$1,607

$774 ₡347.2K

46.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,937 CA$2,739

$1,967 ₡882.0K

-1.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,720 CA$2,432

$1,288 ₡577.6K

33.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,807 CA$6,795

$2,274 ₡1.0M

111.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,129 CA$4,424

$1,831 ₡821.0K

70.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,016 ₡455.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.66

8.62

-45.94%

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

Last update for Burns Lake: October 12, 2026

Last update for San Jose: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Burns Lake

$1.1K 51.4%

San Jose

$774 40% 31.9% $363

Groceries & Markets

Burns Lake

$331 15%

San Jose

$401 20.7% 21.2% $70

Eating Out

Burns Lake

$249 11.3%

San Jose

$229 11.8% 8.1% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Burns Lake

$223 10.1%

San Jose

$189 9.8% 15.1% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Burns Lake

$134 6%

San Jose

$174 9% 30.3% $40

Getting Around

Burns Lake

$76 3.4%

San Jose

$82 4.2% 8.1% $6.1

Sport & Entertainment

Burns Lake

$62 2.8%

San Jose

$88 4.5% 40.8% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,255 in Burns Lake versus $927 in San Jose. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71.0 in Burns Lake versus $61.0 in San Jose. Groceries tell a different story – $331 in Burns Lake vs $401 in San Jose – so Burns Lake wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Burns Lake

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

14:24 2:24 PM

15:24 3:24 PM

1 h ahead of Burns Lake

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,779

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Burns Lake San Jose 6,140 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Burns Lake
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

Burns Lake vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Burns Lake costs about 14% more than San Jose, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,318 per month in Burns Lake and $2,907 in San Jose. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Jose, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 21% cheaper in Burns Lake – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71.0 in Burns Lake and $61.0 in San Jose. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in San Jose, where all-in costs run around $1,938, than in Burns Lake at $2,212. In San Jose it covers expenses comfortably, while in Burns Lake it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. San Jose costs $1,938 versus $2,212 in Burns Lake. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with San Jose. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Burns Lake makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.