Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fond du Lac, WI and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in Fond du Lac, WI: $989 a month against $1,938 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Fond du Lac, WI
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Fond du Lac, WI Living Index
94

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Fond du Lac, WI

🇺🇸 United States

$989

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $989 in Fond du Lac, WI versus $1,938 in San Jose.

Fond du Lac, WI $989
San Jose $1,938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,655 in Fond du Lac, WI versus $2,936 in San Jose.

Fond du Lac, WI $1,655
San Jose $2,936

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,322 in Fond du Lac, WI versus $3,934 in San Jose.

Fond du Lac, WI $2,322
San Jose $3,934

Living in Fond du Lac, WI costs roughly 49% less than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Fond du Lac, WI is 27% below, San Jose is 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.84 $12.84

$12.38 ₡5,551

3.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.0 $68.0

$60.9 ₡27.3K

11.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.08 $8.08

$11.45 ₡5,135

-29.43%

Cappuccino

$3.97 $3.97

$4.39 ₡1,967

-9.57%

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

$2.94 $2.94

$2.70 ₡1,211

8.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 $2.36

$1.93 ₡864

22.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 $4.01

$3.20 ₡1,433

25.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.92 $5.92

$4.41 ₡1,979

34.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.77 $0.77

$2.44 ₡1,093

-68.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 $2.78

$3.05 ₡1,369

-8.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.93 $2.93

$2.41 ₡1,081

21.58%

Eggs

$3.15 $3.15

$3.40 ₡1,523

-7.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.75 $16.75

$10.75 ₡4,823

55.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.47 $11.47

$10.43 ₡4,679

9.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.08 $13.08

$13.99 ₡6,273

-6.50%

Apples (1kg)

$4.51 $4.51

$5.25 ₡2,353

-14.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 $1.65

$1.59 ₡712

3.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.42 $3.42

$4.69 ₡2,103

-27.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.84 $5.84

$3.95 ₡1,770

47.85%

Potato (1kg)

$4.62 $4.62

$3.92 ₡1,760

17.86%

Onion (1kg)

$2.51 $2.51

$3.68 ₡1,651

-31.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.12 ₡503

-12.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 $1.70

$3.19 ₡1,429

-46.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.06 $11.06

$6.00 ₡2,692

84.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.45 $8.45

$19.56 ₡8,771

-56.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 $1.70

$2.82 ₡1,263

-39.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 ₡1,611

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡503

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.8 ₡30.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$10.09 $10.09

$2.50 ₡1,119

303.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡733

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.31 $20.31

$8.50 ₡3,812

138.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.56 ₡701

-39.10%

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

$24.5K $24.5K

$22.4K ₡10.0M

9.34%

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

$25.1K $25.1K

$35.6K ₡16.0M

-29.51%

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

$101 $101

$95.2 ₡42.7K

5.79%

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

$36.93 $36.93

$35.58 ₡16.0K

3.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 $51.5

$58.6 ₡26.3K

-12.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.7 ₡32.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.85 ₡11.1K

Cinema Ticket

$11.96 $11.96

$7.58 ₡3,401

57.78%

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

$1,523 $1,523

$1,001 ₡449.0K

52.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K ₡7.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.6 $56.6

$70.5 ₡31.6K

-19.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.30 $48.30

$55.8 ₡25.0K

-13.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.9 $86.9

$130 ₡58.2K

-33.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$224 $224

$131 ₡58.7K

71.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,181 $1,181

$927 ₡415.8K

27.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 ₡347.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,517 $1,517

$1,967 ₡882.0K

-22.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 ₡577.6K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,796 $1,796

$2,274 ₡1.0M

-21.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,780 $1,780

$1,831 ₡821.0K

-2.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,007 $3,007

$1,016 ₡455.8K

195.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

8.62

-25.41%

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

Last update for Fond du Lac, WI: October 13, 2026

Last update for San Jose: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Fond du Lac, WI

$351 * 35.5%

San Jose

$401 20.7% 14.4% $50

Eating Out

Fond du Lac, WI

$228 23%

San Jose

$229 11.8% 0.7% $1.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fond du Lac, WI

$189 19.1%

San Jose

$189 9.8% 0.2% $0.3

Clothing & Footwear

Fond du Lac, WI

$187 18.9%

San Jose

$174 9% 7% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Fond du Lac, WI

$24 * 2.4%

San Jose

$88 4.5% 267% $64

Getting Around

Fond du Lac, WI

$10 * 1%

San Jose

$82 4.2% 712% $72

Accommodation & Living

Fond du Lac, WI

- * 0%

San Jose

$774 40%

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 $1,181 in Fond du Lac, WI and $927 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fond du Lac, WI pays 196% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Fond du Lac, WI vs $61.0 in San Jose. Groceries flip the comparison at $351 vs $401, with Fond du Lac, WI cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Fond du Lac, WI

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

12:08 12:08 PM

11:08 11:08 AM

1 h behind Fond du Lac, WI

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,021

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 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 October 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Fond du Lac, WI San Jose 3,790 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Fond du Lac, WI
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

Fond du Lac, WI vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fond du Lac, WI and San Jose differ by about 96% in total monthly costs ($989 vs $1,938 including rent). Fond du Lac, WI is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 196% higher in Fond du Lac, WI, 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: $1,181 in Fond du Lac, WI versus $927 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,523 in Fond du Lac, WI versus $1,001 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 Fond du Lac, WI – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $61.0 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $989 in Fond du Lac, WI versus $1,938 in San Jose, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Fond du Lac, WI but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Fond du Lac, WI 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.

Safety-wise, Fond du Lac, WI and San Jose are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Fond du Lac, WI gentler on the wallet – expenses run 96% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.