Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Castle Rock, CO and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in Castle Rock, CO: $1,249 a month against $2,107 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Castle Rock, CO
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Castle Rock, CO Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Castle Rock, CO

🇺🇸 United States

$1,249

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,249 in Castle Rock, CO versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Castle Rock, CO $1,249
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,975 in Castle Rock, CO versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Castle Rock, CO $1,975
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,702 in Castle Rock, CO versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Castle Rock, CO $2,702
San Jose $4,054

Living in Castle Rock, CO costs roughly 41% less than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Castle Rock, CO is 8% below, San Jose is 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.20 $22.20

$12.37 ₡5,563

79.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 $64.5

$62.4 ₡28.0K

3.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.21 $9.21

$11.71 ₡5,264

-21.35%

Cappuccino

$5.64 $5.64

$4.54 ₡2,040

24.23%

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

$2.56 $2.56

$2.75 ₡1,238

-6.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.86 ₡837

5.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 $6.78

$3.35 ₡1,505

102.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.98 $5.98

$4.32 ₡1,944

38.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 $1.00

$2.36 ₡1,061

-57.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.98 $2.98

$3.07 ₡1,379

-2.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.81 $2.81

$2.51 ₡1,128

11.95%

Eggs

$4.38 $4.38

$3.53 ₡1,585

24.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.07 $11.07

$10.54 ₡4,738

5.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 $9.32

$10.57 ₡4,754

-11.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.29 $19.29

$13.92 ₡6,261

38.58%

Apples (1kg)

$4.95 $4.95

$5.20 ₡2,338

-4.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 $1.39

$1.65 ₡740

-15.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.62 $3.62

$4.89 ₡2,198

-25.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.37 $5.37

$3.84 ₡1,728

39.84%

Potato (1kg)

$2.88 $2.88

$3.91 ₡1,757

-26.34%

Onion (1kg)

$3.23 $3.23

$3.76 ₡1,692

-14.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.12 ₡504

16.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 $1.76

$3.22 ₡1,447

-45.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.40 $10.40

$6.02 ₡2,706

72.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.06 $12.06

$19.84 ₡8,919

-39.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 $2.56

$2.81 ₡1,264

-8.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 $2.62

$3.65 ₡1,643

-28.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 $2.54

$2.26 ₡1,018

12.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 $1.83

$1.78 ₡799

2.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.86 $24.86

$7.90 ₡3,551

214.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.74 $0.74

$1.50 ₡673

-50.67%

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

$28.4K $28.4K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-15.05%

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

$26.0K $26.0K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-38.64%

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

$209 $209

$93.2 ₡41.9K

124.54%

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

$39.22 $39.22

$36.13 ₡16.2K

8.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.7 $70.7

$60.6 ₡27.2K

16.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.1 $60.1

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-12.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

Cinema Ticket

$11.90 $11.90

$7.67 ₡3,449

55.15%

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

$1,285 $1,285

$972 ₡436.9K

32.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K $11.3K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

-40.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 $54.2

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-23.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.30 $49.30

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-13.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.4 $79.4

$129 ₡57.8K

-38.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 $114

$131 ₡58.8K

-12.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 ₡525.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$943 ₡424.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,984 ₡892.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 ₡629.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,681 ₡1.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,037 ₡915.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,943 $5,943

$987 ₡443.6K

502.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.77

8.62

-21.46%

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

Last update for Castle Rock, CO: November 3, 2026

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Castle Rock, CO

$364 29.1%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 10.6% $39

Eating Out

Castle Rock, CO

$337 27%

San Jose

$232 11% 31% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Castle Rock, CO

$319 25.6%

San Jose

$190 9% 40.5% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Castle Rock, CO

$134 10.7%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 30.3% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Castle Rock, CO

$84 6.7%

San Jose

$84 4% 0.4% $0.4

Getting Around

Castle Rock, CO

$12 * 0.9%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 592% $69

Accommodation & Living

Castle Rock, CO

- * 0%

San Jose

$943 44.8%

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

Cost Breakdown

Castle Rock, CO pays about 6 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $65 in Castle Rock, CO vs $62 in San Jose. Groceries flip the comparison at $364 vs $403, with Castle Rock, CO cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Castle Rock, CO

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

08:09 8:09 AM

09:09 9:09 AM

1 h ahead of Castle Rock, CO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

73,158

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Castle Rock, CO San Jose 3,870 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Castle Rock, CO
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

Castle Rock, CO vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,249 in Castle Rock, CO and $2,107 in San Jose, so Castle Rock, CO is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Castle Rock, CO 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in San Jose. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,249 per month in Castle Rock, CO versus $2,107 in San Jose – Castle Rock, CO is about 41% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,249 in Castle Rock, CO versus $2,107 in San Jose, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Castle Rock, CO but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Castle Rock, CO 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.