Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Goldsboro, NC and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in Goldsboro, NC: $1,859 a month against $2,107 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

89

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

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Goldsboro, NC

🇺🇸 United States

$1,859

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,859 in Goldsboro, NC versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Goldsboro, NC $1,859
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,658 in Goldsboro, NC versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Goldsboro, NC $2,658
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,458 in Goldsboro, NC versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Goldsboro, NC $3,458
San Jose $4,054

Living in Goldsboro, NC costs roughly 12% less than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Goldsboro, NC 37% above, San Jose 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.09 $15.09

$12.37 ₡5,563

21.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.8 $52.8

$62.4 ₡28.0K

-15.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 $9.24

$11.71 ₡5,264

-21.09%

Cappuccino

$4.36 $4.36

$4.54 ₡2,040

-3.96%

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

$2.15 $2.15

$2.75 ₡1,238

-21.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 $1.55

$1.86 ₡837

-16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 $3.42

$3.35 ₡1,505

2.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.89 $4.89

$4.32 ₡1,944

13.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.81 $0.81

$2.36 ₡1,061

-65.68%

White Bread (500g)

$3.58 $3.58

$3.07 ₡1,379

16.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.16 $3.16

$2.51 ₡1,128

25.90%

Eggs

$3.73 $3.73

$3.53 ₡1,585

5.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 $12.87

$10.54 ₡4,738

22.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 $8.83

$10.57 ₡4,754

-16.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.75 $15.75

$13.92 ₡6,261

13.15%

Apples (1kg)

$3.92 $3.92

$5.20 ₡2,338

-24.62%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.65 ₡740

23.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.32 $3.32

$4.89 ₡2,198

-32.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.33 $4.33

$3.84 ₡1,728

12.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.42 $2.42

$3.91 ₡1,757

-38.11%

Onion (1kg)

$3.31 $3.31

$3.76 ₡1,692

-11.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 $1.86

$1.12 ₡504

66.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 $2.17

$3.22 ₡1,447

-32.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.26 $7.26

$6.02 ₡2,706

20.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.24 $14.24

$19.84 ₡8,919

-28.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 $1.64

$2.81 ₡1,264

-41.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 $2.97

$3.65 ₡1,643

-18.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.77 $3.77

$2.26 ₡1,018

66.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 $1.79

$1.78 ₡799

0.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.12 $24.12

$7.90 ₡3,551

205.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.77 $0.77

$1.50 ₡673

-48.67%

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

$24.6K $24.6K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-26.55%

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

$22.8K $22.8K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-46.19%

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

$118 $118

$93.2 ₡41.9K

26.90%

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

$50.3 $50.3

$36.13 ₡16.2K

39.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.09 $45.09

$60.6 ₡27.2K

-25.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.49 $44.49

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-35.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

Cinema Ticket

$11.84 $11.84

$7.67 ₡3,449

54.37%

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

$775 $775

$972 ₡436.9K

-20.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K $11.9K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

-37.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.1 $51.1

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-27.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.84 $36.84

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-35.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.6 $69.6

$129 ₡57.8K

-45.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.2 $71.2

$131 ₡58.8K

-45.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,263 $1,263

$1,170 ₡525.9K

7.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$860 $860

$943 ₡424.1K

-8.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 $1,697

$1,984 ₡892.0K

-14.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,226 $1,226

$1,400 ₡629.5K

-12.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,746 $1,746

$2,681 ₡1.2M

-34.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,748 $1,748

$2,037 ₡915.8K

-14.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,471 $5,471

$987 ₡443.6K

454.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.36

8.62

-26.22%

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

Last update for Goldsboro, NC: November 1, 2026

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Goldsboro, NC

$860 46.3%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 9.6% $83

Groceries & Markets

Goldsboro, NC

$358 19.3%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 12.4% $45

Eating Out

Goldsboro, NC

$242 13%

San Jose

$232 11% 4.1% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Goldsboro, NC

$214 11.5%

San Jose

$190 9% 11.1% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Goldsboro, NC

$103 5.5%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 69.1% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Goldsboro, NC

$68 3.7%

San Jose

$84 4% 23.6% $16

Getting Around

Goldsboro, NC

$13 * 0.7%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 534% $68

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 $1,263 in Goldsboro, NC and $1,170 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Goldsboro, NC pays about 5.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $53 in Goldsboro, NC vs $62 in San Jose for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $358 vs $403 per month, with Goldsboro, NC cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Goldsboro, NC

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

13:36 1:36 PM

12:36 12:36 PM

1 h behind Goldsboro, NC

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,203

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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Between locations

Goldsboro, NC San Jose 2,900 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Goldsboro, 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

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

Goldsboro, NC is about 12% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Goldsboro, NC is about 5.5 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: $1,263 in Goldsboro, NC versus $1,170 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in San Jose. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,859 per month in Goldsboro, NC versus $2,107 in San Jose – Goldsboro, NC is about 12% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Goldsboro, NC 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.