Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guatemala City and San Jose, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Guatemala City: $1,347 a month against $4,683 in San Jose, CA, rent and utilities included – about $40,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index
222

Cost of Living Index in San Jose, CA
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San Jose, CA Living Index

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Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,347

/mo nomad

San Jose, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$4,683

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Guatemala City and in San Jose, CA

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Guatemala City and in San Jose, CA actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,347 in Guatemala City versus $4,683 in San Jose, CA.

Guatemala City $1,347
San Jose, CA $4,683

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,028 in Guatemala City versus $6,401 in San Jose, CA.

Guatemala City $2,028
San Jose, CA $6,401

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,710 in Guatemala City versus $8,118 in San Jose, CA.

Guatemala City $2,710
San Jose, CA $8,118

Living in Guatemala City costs roughly 71% less than in San Jose, CA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.76 Q 59.3

$22.28 $22.28

-65.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.88 Q 381

$98.9 $98.9

-49.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.72 Q 59.0

$11.81 $11.81

-34.63%

Cappuccino

$3.31 Q 25.28

$5.95 $5.95

-44.37%

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

$1.17 Q 8.98

$3.16 $3.16

-62.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 Q 7.75

$2.35 $2.35

-57.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 Q 24.29

$8.88 $8.88

-64.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.71 Q 36.00

$9.82 $9.82

-52.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 Q 15.88

$1.73 $1.73

20.23%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 Q 23.78

$4.52 $4.52

-31.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 Q 16.19

$4.17 $4.17

-49.16%

Eggs

$2.44 Q 18.68

$5.89 $5.89

-58.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.19 Q 47.28

$19.26 $19.26

-67.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.64 Q 73.7

$14.04 $14.04

-31.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.48 Q 103

$21.85 $21.85

-38.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 Q 30.43

$5.01 $5.01

-20.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 Q 12.58

$1.95 $1.95

-15.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 Q 21.66

$5.54 $5.54

-48.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 Q 12.48

$5.40 $5.40

-69.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 Q 11.70

$3.53 $3.53

-56.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 Q 16.63

$2.93 $2.93

-25.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 Q 5.26

$2.42 $2.42

-71.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 Q 8.94

$2.56 $2.56

-54.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.01 Q 30.62

$11.60 $11.60

-65.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 Q 61.7

$15.48 $15.48

-47.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 Q 13.71

$2.50 $2.50

-28.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 Q 20.46

$3.28 $3.28

-18.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 Q 7.69

$2.49 $2.49

-59.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.11 Q 84.9

$90.1 $90.1

-87.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.17 Q 39.48

$3.43 $3.43

50.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.95 $2.95

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.66 Q 81.5

$29.41 $29.41

-63.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 Q 10.47

$1.55 $1.55

-11.61%

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

$27.1K Q 207.4K

$37.7K $37.7K

-27.95%

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

$24.9K Q 190.7K

$26.5K $26.5K

-5.88%

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

$73.1 Q 559

$275 $275

-73.43%

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

$29.48 Q 225

$48.37 $48.37

-39.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.73 Q 349

$83.8 $83.8

-45.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.04 Q 291

$87.9 $87.9

-56.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.79 Q 97.8

$24.77 $24.77

-48.36%

Cinema Ticket

$6.57 Q 50.2

$16.07 $16.07

-59.12%

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

$338 Q 2,582

$1,841 $1,841

-81.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K Q 120.8K

$42.8K $42.8K

-63.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.96 Q 382

$59.0 $59.0

-15.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.37 Q 362

$51.2 $51.2

-7.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 Q 908

$99.3 $99.3

19.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Q 845

$118 $118

-6.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$835 Q 6,383

$3,064 $3,064

-72.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$538 Q 4,114

$3,031 $3,031

-82.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,568 Q 12.0K

$4,761 $4,761

-67.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$823 Q 6,292

$4,458 $4,458

-81.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,041 Q 15.6K

$8,431 $8,431

-75.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,099 Q 8,398

$8,431 $8,431

-86.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$846 Q 6,463

$5,662 $5,662

-85.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

6.83

70.13%

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

Last update for Guatemala City: November 3, 2026

Last update for San Jose, CA: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guatemala City

$538 40%

San Jose, CA

$3K 64.7% 463% $2.5K

Groceries & Markets

Guatemala City

$283 21%

San Jose, CA

$489 10.4% 72.9% $206

Eating Out

Guatemala City

$159 11.8%

San Jose, CA

$371 7.9% 133% $212

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guatemala City

$148 11%

San Jose, CA

$407 8.7% 175% $259

Clothing & Footwear

Guatemala City

$147 10.9%

San Jose, CA

$147 3.1% 0.1% $0.2

Sport & Entertainment

Guatemala City

$51 3.8%

San Jose, CA

$120 2.6% 135% $69

Getting Around

Guatemala City

$20 * 1.5%

San Jose, CA

$118 2.5% 483% $98

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 $835 in Guatemala City and $3,064 in San Jose, CA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Jose, CA pays about 6.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $50 in Guatemala City vs $99 in San Jose, CA for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $489 per month, with Guatemala City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🇺🇸 San Jose, CA

🕒 Local time

16:22 4:22 PM

14:22 2:22 PM

2 h behind Guatemala City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,450,212 Capital

1,035,317

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.54 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.895 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Guatemala City San Jose, CA 3,990 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Guatemala City
San Jose, CA

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

Guatemala City vs San Jose, CA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guatemala City wins on cost – living expenses run 71% lower than in San Jose, CA. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Guatemala City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 85% lower in Guatemala City. 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: $835 in Guatemala City versus $3,064 in San Jose, CA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Guatemala City – a meal for two runs $50 versus $99 in San Jose, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,347 per month in Guatemala City versus $4,683 in San Jose, CA – Guatemala City is about 71% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Guatemala City is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Guatemala City delivers better value at $1,347 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Guatemala City hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Guatemala City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in San Jose, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.