Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guelph and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,697 in Guelph, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Guelph
Learn more

Guelph Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
Learn more

San Jose Living Index

Jump to prices

Guelph

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,697

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,697 in Guelph versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Guelph $2,697
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,761 in Guelph versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Guelph $3,761
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,826 in Guelph versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Guelph $4,826
San Jose $4,054

Living in Guelph is roughly 28% more expensive than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Guelph 99% above, San Jose 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.69 CA$30.40

$12.37 ₡5,563

75.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.6 CA$100

$62.4 ₡28.0K

14.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.65 CA$16.34

$11.71 ₡5,264

-0.51%

Cappuccino

$3.41 CA$4.78

$4.54 ₡2,040

-24.89%

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

$1.51 CA$2.12

$2.75 ₡1,238

-45.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 CA$1.85

$1.86 ₡837

-29.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 CA$7.04

$3.35 ₡1,505

49.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 CA$8.62

$4.32 ₡1,944

42.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.15 CA$3.02

$2.36 ₡1,061

-8.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.91 CA$4.07

$3.07 ₡1,379

-5.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.66 CA$5.13

$2.51 ₡1,128

45.82%

Eggs

$2.95 CA$4.13

$3.53 ₡1,585

-16.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.39 CA$14.57

$10.54 ₡4,738

-1.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.95 CA$22.36

$10.57 ₡4,754

50.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.10 CA$30.98

$13.92 ₡6,261

58.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.64 CA$5.10

$5.20 ₡2,338

-30.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 CA$1.78

$1.65 ₡740

-23.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.46 CA$6.25

$4.89 ₡2,198

-8.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.68 CA$6.56

$3.84 ₡1,728

21.87%

Potato (1kg)

$3.33 CA$4.67

$3.91 ₡1,757

-14.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 CA$3.21

$3.76 ₡1,692

-39.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.99 CA$4.19

$1.12 ₡504

166.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 CA$2.08

$3.22 ₡1,447

-54.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.98 CA$15.39

$6.02 ₡2,706

82.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.03 CA$15.47

$19.84 ₡8,919

-44.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.46 CA$4.85

$2.81 ₡1,264

23.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 CA$4.37

$3.65 ₡1,643

-14.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 CA$3.23

$1.08 ₡487

112.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.1 CA$94.1

$65.2 ₡29.3K

2.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.39 CA$3.36

$2.26 ₡1,018

5.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.96 CA$2.74

$1.78 ₡799

10.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.29 CA$36.85

$7.90 ₡3,551

232.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 CA$1.67

$1.50 ₡673

-20.67%

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

$27.9K CA$39.1K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-16.62%

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

$22.7K CA$31.9K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-46.26%

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

$122 CA$171

$93.2 ₡41.9K

30.82%

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

$42.68 CA$59.8

$36.13 ₡16.2K

18.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.3 CA$77.6

$60.6 ₡27.2K

-8.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.57 CA$65.3

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-32.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.25 CA$19.97

$24.94 ₡11.2K

-42.86%

Cinema Ticket

$10.58 CA$14.83

$7.67 ₡3,449

37.94%

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

$838 CA$1,174

$972 ₡436.9K

-13.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K CA$23.7K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

-10.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.1 CA$89.8

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-9.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.43 CA$51.1

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-35.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.6 CA$121

$129 ₡57.8K

-32.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 CA$174

$131 ₡58.8K

-5.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,546 CA$2,167

$1,170 ₡525.9K

32.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,471 CA$2,062

$943 ₡424.1K

55.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,173 CA$3,046

$1,984 ₡892.0K

9.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,003 CA$2,808

$1,400 ₡629.5K

43.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,847 CA$6,795

$2,681 ₡1.2M

80.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,402 CA$6,170

$2,037 ₡915.8K

116.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,063 CA$4,293

$987 ₡443.6K

210.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

8.62

-42.11%

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

Last update for Guelph: 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

Guelph

$1.5K 54.6%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 35.9% $528

Groceries & Markets

Guelph

$411 15.3%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 2.1% $8.6

Eating Out

Guelph

$298 11.1%

San Jose

$232 11% 22.1% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guelph

$220 8.2%

San Jose

$190 9% 13.6% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Guelph

$140 5.2%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 24.3% $34

Getting Around

Guelph

$89 3.3%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 8.8% $7.8

Sport & Entertainment

Guelph

$68 2.5%

San Jose

$84 4% 24.4% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,546 in Guelph and $1,170 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guelph pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $72 in Guelph vs $62 in San Jose for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $411 vs $403 per month, with San Jose cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Guelph

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

02:52 2:52 AM

01:52 1:52 AM

1 h behind Guelph

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

131,794

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.635 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.635 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).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Guelph San Jose 3,760 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Guelph
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

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

San Jose is about 22% cheaper overall, especially in eating out and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Guelph is about 3.1 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: $1,546 in Guelph versus $1,170 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $838 in Guelph 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 San Jose – a meal for two runs $62 versus $72 in Guelph. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,107 in San Jose versus $2,697 in Guelph, a $2,500 budget is realistic in San Jose but tight or insufficient in Guelph. The gap between the two cities makes San Jose 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.

It comes down to priorities – San Jose wins on affordability, Guelph on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.