Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cusco and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in Cusco: $688 a month against $1,949 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Cusco
Learn more

Cusco Living Index
93

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
Learn more

San Jose Living Index

Jump to prices

Cusco

🇵🇪 Peru

$688

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,949

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $688 in Cusco versus $1,949 in San Jose.

Cusco $688
San Jose $1,949

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,096 in Cusco versus $2,903 in San Jose.

Cusco $1,096
San Jose $2,903

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,505 in Cusco versus $3,857 in San Jose.

Cusco $1,505
San Jose $3,857

Living in Cusco costs roughly 65% less than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cusco is 49% below, San Jose is 45% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.99 PEN 6.85

$12.22 ₡5,510

-83.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.55 PEN 70.7

$60.1 ₡27.1K

-65.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.70 PEN 23.04

$11.77 ₡5,305

-43.08%

Cappuccino

$2.11 PEN 7.24

$4.30 ₡1,939

-50.93%

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

$0.78 PEN 2.69

$2.72 ₡1,226

-71.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 PEN 1.13

$1.84 ₡830

-82.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.72 PEN 5.92

$3.28 ₡1,480

-47.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.33 PEN 14.90

$4.36 ₡1,966

-0.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 PEN 4.27

$2.38 ₡1,074

-47.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.32 PEN 7.97

$3.12 ₡1,408

-25.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 PEN 4.43

$2.41 ₡1,086

-46.47%

Eggs

$3.63 PEN 12.48

$3.47 ₡1,564

4.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.69 PEN 16.14

$10.57 ₡4,767

-55.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.43 PEN 15.24

$10.56 ₡4,758

-58.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.37 PEN 25.35

$13.75 ₡6,196

-46.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 PEN 8.78

$5.04 ₡2,274

-49.40%

Banana (1kg)

$0.77 PEN 2.63

$1.61 ₡727

-52.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.04

$4.59 ₡2,069

-67.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.94

$3.84 ₡1,731

-77.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 PEN 3.52

$3.77 ₡1,700

-72.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 PEN 3.80

$3.76 ₡1,693

-70.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.49 PEN 1.67

$1.12 ₡506

-56.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 PEN 2.58

$3.20 ₡1,441

-76.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.84 ₡2,632

Wine (Bottle)

$5.93 PEN 20.41

$19.73 ₡8,897

-69.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 PEN 6.38

$2.75 ₡1,240

-32.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 PEN 14.16

$3.66 ₡1,650

12.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 PEN 1.04

$1.12 ₡503

-73.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.1 ₡29.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$2.46 ₡1,110

-30.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 PEN 6.65

$1.54 ₡692

25.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.82 PEN 9.69

$8.46 ₡3,815

-66.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 PEN 5.42

$1.55 ₡699

1.29%

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)

$28.9K PEN 99.5K

$34.9K ₡15.7M

-17.03%

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

$29.31 PEN 101

$94.7 ₡42.7K

-69.04%

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

$14.31 PEN 49.22

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-59.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.13 PEN 152

$58.6 ₡26.4K

-24.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.51 PEN 98.1

$72.2 ₡32.5K

-60.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.19 ₡11.4K

Cinema Ticket

$4.26 PEN 14.64

$7.83 ₡3,532

-45.59%

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)

$37.39 PEN 129

$71.6 ₡32.3K

-47.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.43 PEN 115

$54.9 ₡24.7K

-39.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.4 PEN 187

$129 ₡58.2K

-57.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.2 PEN 248

$133 ₡60.0K

-45.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$218 PEN 748

$934 ₡420.9K

-76.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$191 PEN 657

$770 ₡347.2K

-75.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$538 PEN 1,849

$1,945 ₡876.7K

-72.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$416 PEN 1,431

$1,316 ₡593.5K

-68.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,249 PEN 11.2K

$2,277 ₡1.0M

42.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,823 PEN 6,270

$1,795 ₡809.1K

1.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$433 PEN 1,490

$1,006 ₡453.5K

-56.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

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

Last update for Cusco: October 3, 2026

Last update for San Jose: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cusco

$191 27.8%

San Jose

$770 39.9% 304% $579

Groceries & Markets

Cusco

$187 27.2%

San Jose

$399 20.7% 114% $212

Clothing & Footwear

Cusco

$89 12.9%

San Jose

$175 9.1% 96.8% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cusco

$88 12.8%

San Jose

$188 9.8% 115% $101

Eating Out

Cusco

$83 12.1%

San Jose

$228 11.8% 175% $145

Sport & Entertainment

Cusco

$37 5.4%

San Jose

$88 4.6% 137% $51

Getting Around

Cusco

$13 * 1.8%

San Jose

$80 4.1% 533% $67

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 $218 in Cusco and $934 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Jose pays 132% 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: $21.00 in Cusco vs $60.0 in San Jose for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $187 vs $399 per month, with Cusco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Cusco

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

22:42 10:42 PM

21:42 9:42 PM

1 h behind Cusco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

428,450

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 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 PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cusco San Jose 2,930 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cusco
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

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

Cusco is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 183% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 132% 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: $218 in Cusco versus $934 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 114% higher in San Jose. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cusco – a meal for two runs $21.00 versus $60.0 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $688 in Cusco versus $1,949 in San Jose, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cusco but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Cusco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cusco 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 Cusco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 183% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.