Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cali and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in Cali: $1,054 a month against $1,949 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Cali
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Cali Living Index
93

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Cali

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,054

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,949

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,054 in Cali versus $1,949 in San Jose.

Cali $1,054
San Jose $1,949

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,614 in Cali versus $2,903 in San Jose.

Cali $1,614
San Jose $2,903

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,174 in Cali versus $3,857 in San Jose.

Cali $2,174
San Jose $3,857

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Cali is 21% below, San Jose is 45% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.26 COP 23.4K

$12.22 ₡5,510

-40.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.04 COP 119.3K

$60.1 ₡27.1K

-38.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.05 COP 25.9K

$11.77 ₡5,305

-31.61%

Cappuccino

$1.54 COP 4,972

$4.30 ₡1,939

-64.19%

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

$1.25 COP 4,027

$2.72 ₡1,226

-54.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 COP 2,702

$1.84 ₡830

-54.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.16 COP 10.2K

$3.28 ₡1,480

-3.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 COP 11.5K

$4.36 ₡1,966

-17.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 COP 4,998

$2.38 ₡1,074

-34.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 COP 6,026

$3.12 ₡1,408

-40.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,822

$2.41 ₡1,086

-37.76%

Eggs

$2.77 COP 8,907

$3.47 ₡1,564

-20.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.40 COP 20.6K

$10.57 ₡4,767

-39.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 COP 22.2K

$10.56 ₡4,758

-34.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.92 COP 31.9K

$13.75 ₡6,196

-27.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.43 COP 11.0K

$5.04 ₡2,274

-31.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 COP 4,186

$1.61 ₡727

-19.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 COP 5,659

$4.59 ₡2,069

-61.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,421

$3.84 ₡1,731

-56.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 COP 4,730

$3.77 ₡1,700

-61.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 COP 4,722

$3.76 ₡1,693

-60.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 COP 3,551

$1.12 ₡506

-1.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 COP 3,004

$3.20 ₡1,441

-70.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 COP 11.7K

$5.84 ₡2,632

-37.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.56 COP 40.5K

$19.73 ₡8,897

-36.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,565

$2.75 ₡1,240

-48.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,712

$3.66 ₡1,650

-34.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.05 COP 3,370

$1.12 ₡503

-6.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.00 COP 93.4K

$65.1 ₡29.4K

-55.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.83 COP 2,664

$2.46 ₡1,110

-66.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 ₡692

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.46 ₡3,815

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 COP 4,040

$1.55 ₡699

-19.35%

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

$21.7K ₡9.8M

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

$33.7K COP 108.5M

$34.9K ₡15.7M

-3.37%

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

$111 COP 358.1K

$94.7 ₡42.7K

17.46%

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

$12.79 COP 41.2K

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-63.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.75 COP 95.8K

$58.6 ₡26.4K

-49.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.38 COP 91.4K

$72.2 ₡32.5K

-60.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.19 ₡11.4K

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 COP 26.5K

$7.83 ₡3,532

5.24%

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

$971 ₡437.9K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.0K ₡7.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.8 COP 243.9K

$71.6 ₡32.3K

5.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.8 COP 173.3K

$54.9 ₡24.7K

-1.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 COP 394.4K

$129 ₡58.2K

-5.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 COP 350.7K

$133 ₡60.0K

-18.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$638 COP 2.1M

$934 ₡420.9K

-31.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$291 COP 937.4K

$770 ₡347.2K

-62.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,498 COP 4.8M

$1,945 ₡876.7K

-22.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$479 COP 1.5M

$1,316 ₡593.5K

-63.62%

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)

$567 COP 1.8M

$1,006 ₡453.5K

-43.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.58

8.62

34.34%

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

Last update for Cali: October 4, 2026

Last update for San Jose: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cali

$291 27.6%

San Jose

$770 39.9% 165% $479

Groceries & Markets

Cali

$235 22.3%

San Jose

$399 20.7% 69.7% $164

Clothing & Footwear

Cali

$162 15.4%

San Jose

$175 9.1% 7.7% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cali

$154 14.6%

San Jose

$188 9.8% 22.5% $35

Eating Out

Cali

$132 12.5%

San Jose

$228 11.8% 72.6% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Cali

$45 4.3%

San Jose

$88 4.6% 95.8% $43

Getting Around

Cali

$34 * 3.2%

San Jose

$80 4.1% 134% $46

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $638 in Cali and $934 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Jose pays 77% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $37.00 in Cali vs $60.0 in San Jose for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $399 per month, with Cali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Cali

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

01:26 1:26 AM

00:26 12:26 AM

1 h behind Cali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,568,609

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.11 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,220 COP (10,000 COP = 3.11 USD). 1 EUR = 3,611 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 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 COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cali San Jose 1,100 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cali
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

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

Cali is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 85% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 77% lower in San Jose. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $638 in Cali versus $934 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cali – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $60.0 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Cali runs roughly 125% less than in San Jose. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,054 in Cali versus $1,949 in San Jose, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cali but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Cali the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Cali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 85% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.