Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Elizabethtown, KY and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in Elizabethtown, KY: $2,040 a month against $2,107 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $800 less a year. The total is higher in San Jose despite lower rent and utilities.

97

Cost of Living Index in Elizabethtown, KY
Learn more

Elizabethtown, KY Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
Learn more

San Jose Living Index

Jump to prices

Elizabethtown, KY

🇺🇸 United States

$2,040

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,040 in Elizabethtown, KY versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Elizabethtown, KY $2,040
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,929 in Elizabethtown, KY versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Elizabethtown, KY $2,929
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,819 in Elizabethtown, KY versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Elizabethtown, KY $3,819
San Jose $4,054

Living in Elizabethtown, KY costs roughly 3% less than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Elizabethtown, KY 51% above, San Jose 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.02 $15.02

$12.37 ₡5,563

21.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.4 $50.4

$62.4 ₡28.0K

-19.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 $9.24

$11.71 ₡5,264

-21.09%

Cappuccino

$4.81 $4.81

$4.54 ₡2,040

5.95%

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

$2.25 $2.25

$2.75 ₡1,238

-18.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 $1.67

$1.86 ₡837

-10.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.10 $5.10

$3.35 ₡1,505

52.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.69 $7.69

$4.32 ₡1,944

78.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.82 $0.82

$2.36 ₡1,061

-65.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 $2.23

$3.07 ₡1,379

-27.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 $2.02

$2.51 ₡1,128

-19.52%

Eggs

$2.73 $2.73

$3.53 ₡1,585

-22.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.69 $12.69

$10.54 ₡4,738

20.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.98 $10.98

$10.57 ₡4,754

3.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.36 $16.36

$13.92 ₡6,261

17.53%

Apples (1kg)

$5.56 $5.56

$5.20 ₡2,338

6.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 $1.59

$1.65 ₡740

-3.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.31 $4.31

$4.89 ₡2,198

-11.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.84 $4.84

$3.84 ₡1,728

26.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.53 $2.53

$3.91 ₡1,757

-35.29%

Onion (1kg)

$3.30 $3.30

$3.76 ₡1,692

-12.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.12 ₡504

80.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 $1.86

$3.22 ₡1,447

-42.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.99 $5.99

$6.02 ₡2,706

-0.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.03 $15.03

$19.84 ₡8,919

-24.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 $2.10

$2.81 ₡1,264

-25.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 $3.10

$3.65 ₡1,643

-15.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.82 $3.82

$2.26 ₡1,018

69.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 $1.26

$1.78 ₡799

-29.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.34 $25.34

$7.90 ₡3,551

220.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 $0.81

$1.50 ₡673

-46.00%

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

$36.7K $36.7K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

9.66%

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

$25.1K $25.1K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-40.55%

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

$153 $153

$93.2 ₡41.9K

63.74%

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

$79.6 $79.6

$36.13 ₡16.2K

120.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.2 $71.2

$60.6 ₡27.2K

17.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 ₡31.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

Cinema Ticket

$11.16 $11.16

$7.67 ₡3,449

45.50%

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

$1,333 $1,333

$972 ₡436.9K

37.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.0K $25.0K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

32.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.09 $45.09

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-36.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.55 $40.55

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-28.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.9 $85.9

$129 ₡57.8K

-33.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.9 $85.9

$131 ₡58.8K

-34.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 $1,169

$1,170 ₡525.9K

-0.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$964 $964

$943 ₡424.1K

2.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,944 $1,944

$1,984 ₡892.0K

-1.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,502 $1,502

$1,400 ₡629.5K

7.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,730 $1,730

$2,681 ₡1.2M

-35.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,785 $1,785

$2,037 ₡915.8K

-12.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,299 $3,299

$987 ₡443.6K

234.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.84

8.62

-20.65%

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

Last update for Elizabethtown, KY: November 3, 2026

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Elizabethtown, KY

$964 47.3%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 2.2% $21

Groceries & Markets

Elizabethtown, KY

$362 17.7%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 11.4% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Elizabethtown, KY

$303 14.9%

San Jose

$190 9% 37.4% $113

Eating Out

Elizabethtown, KY

$262 12.9%

San Jose

$232 11% 11.4% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Elizabethtown, KY

$116 5.7%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 50.3% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Elizabethtown, KY

$22 * 1.1%

San Jose

$84 4% 278% $62

Getting Around

Elizabethtown, KY

$10 * 0.5%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 698% $71

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 $1,169 in Elizabethtown, KY and $1,170 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Elizabethtown, KY pays about 3.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50 in Elizabethtown, KY vs $62 in San Jose for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $362 vs $403 per month, with Elizabethtown, KY cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Elizabethtown, KY

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

18:18 6:18 PM

17:18 5:18 PM

1 h behind Elizabethtown, KY

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

23,406

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 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 = 0.895 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Elizabethtown, KY San Jose 3,090 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Elizabethtown, KY
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

Elizabethtown, KY vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,040 in Elizabethtown, KY and $2,107 in San Jose, so Elizabethtown, KY is about 3% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Elizabethtown, KY is about 3.3 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: $1,169 in Elizabethtown, KY versus $1,170 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,333 in Elizabethtown, KY versus $972 in San Jose. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Elizabethtown, KY – a meal for two runs $50 versus $62 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Elizabethtown, KY gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.