Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cary, NC and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,852 in Cary, NC, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

136

Cost of Living Index in Cary, NC
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Cary, NC Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Cary, NC

🇺🇸 United States

$2,852

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Cary, NC versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Cary, NC $2,852
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,204 in Cary, NC versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Cary, NC $4,204
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,556 in Cary, NC versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Cary, NC $5,556
San Jose $4,054

Living in Cary, NC is roughly 35% more expensive than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cary, NC 111% above, San Jose 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.44 $19.44

$12.37 ₡5,563

57.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.5 $98.5

$62.4 ₡28.0K

57.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.46 $10.46

$11.71 ₡5,264

-10.67%

Cappuccino

$5.19 $5.19

$4.54 ₡2,040

14.32%

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

$2.01 $2.01

$2.75 ₡1,238

-26.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 $1.89

$1.86 ₡837

1.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 $4.43

$3.35 ₡1,505

32.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 $6.53

$4.32 ₡1,944

51.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 $1.01

$2.36 ₡1,061

-57.20%

White Bread (500g)

$5.42 $5.42

$3.07 ₡1,379

76.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$6.02 $6.02

$2.51 ₡1,128

139.84%

Eggs

$4.14 $4.14

$3.53 ₡1,585

17.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.04 $18.04

$10.54 ₡4,738

71.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.10 $17.10

$10.57 ₡4,754

61.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.58 $17.58

$13.92 ₡6,261

26.29%

Apples (1kg)

$5.97 $5.97

$5.20 ₡2,338

14.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 $1.92

$1.65 ₡740

16.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.76 $3.76

$4.89 ₡2,198

-23.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.80 $6.80

$3.84 ₡1,728

77.08%

Potato (1kg)

$3.23 $3.23

$3.91 ₡1,757

-17.39%

Onion (1kg)

$4.21 $4.21

$3.76 ₡1,692

11.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.97 $2.97

$1.12 ₡504

165.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.38 $2.38

$3.22 ₡1,447

-26.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.04 $10.04

$6.02 ₡2,706

66.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.77 $9.77

$19.84 ₡8,919

-50.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 $2.28

$2.81 ₡1,264

-18.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 $4.08

$3.65 ₡1,643

11.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.52 $2.52

$1.08 ₡487

133.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.6 $79.6

$65.2 ₡29.3K

22.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.26 ₡1,018

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 ₡799

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ₡3,551

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.93 $0.93

$1.50 ₡673

-38.00%

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

$33.5K ₡15.1M

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

$29.1K $29.1K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-31.21%

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

$179 $179

$93.2 ₡41.9K

91.98%

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

$47.71 $47.71

$36.13 ₡16.2K

32.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.9 $67.9

$60.6 ₡27.2K

12.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.4 $77.4

$68.9 ₡31.0K

12.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.17 $22.17

$24.94 ₡11.2K

-11.11%

Cinema Ticket

$15.11 $15.11

$7.67 ₡3,449

97.00%

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

$1,477 $1,477

$972 ₡436.9K

51.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.9K ₡8.5M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.3 $64.3

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-8.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.19 $32.19

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-43.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 $119

$129 ₡57.8K

-7.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 $134

$131 ₡58.8K

2.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,916 $1,916

$1,170 ₡525.9K

63.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,417 $1,417

$943 ₡424.1K

50.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,699 $2,699

$1,984 ₡892.0K

36.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,217 $2,217

$1,400 ₡629.5K

58.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,827 $2,827

$2,681 ₡1.2M

5.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,628 $2,628

$2,037 ₡915.8K

29.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,874 $5,874

$987 ₡443.6K

495.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.42

8.62

-25.52%

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

Last update for Cary, NC: October 31, 2026

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cary, NC

$1.4K 49.7%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 33.5% $474

Groceries & Markets

Cary, NC

$485 17%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 17% $83

Eating Out

Cary, NC

$300 10.5%

San Jose

$232 11% 22.5% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cary, NC

$294 10.3%

San Jose

$190 9% 35.5% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Cary, NC

$157 5.5%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 10.6% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Cary, NC

$108 3.8%

San Jose

$84 4% 21.7% $23

Getting Around

Cary, NC

$90 * 3.1%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 10% $9

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 $1,916 in Cary, NC and $1,170 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cary, NC pays about 6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $98 in Cary, NC vs $62 in San Jose for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $485 vs $403 per month, with San Jose cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Cary, NC

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

07:30 7:30 AM

06:30 6:30 AM

1 h behind Cary, NC

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

176,987

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 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 = 0.89 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cary, NC San Jose 2,920 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cary, NC
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

Cary, NC vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose is about 26% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cary, NC is about 6 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: $1,916 in Cary, NC versus $1,170 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,477 in Cary, NC versus $972 in San Jose. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Cary, NC. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,107 in San Jose versus $2,852 in Cary, NC, a $2,500 budget is realistic in San Jose but tight or insufficient in Cary, NC. The gap between the two cities makes San Jose 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 San Jose gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Cary, NC. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.