Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston, Canada and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,288 in Kingston, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Kingston outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

110

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Kingston

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,288

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,288 per month in Kingston vs $2,107 in San Jose, rent included.

Kingston $2,288
San Jose $2,107

A couple spends around $3,162 per month in Kingston vs $3,081 in San Jose, rent included.

Kingston $3,162
San Jose $3,081

A family of three spends $4,035 per month in Kingston vs $4,054 in San Jose, rent included.

Kingston $4,035
San Jose $4,054

Kingston costs about 9% more than San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Kingston and San Jose sit above the global median – Kingston by 69%, San Jose by 56%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.42 CA$21.62

$12.37 ₡5,563

24.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.9 CA$91.0

$62.4 ₡28.0K

4.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.67 CA$14.96

$11.71 ₡5,264

-8.88%

Cappuccino

$3.42 CA$4.80

$4.54 ₡2,040

-24.67%

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

$2.14 CA$2.99

$2.75 ₡1,238

-22.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 CA$1.88

$1.86 ₡837

-27.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.68 CA$7.96

$3.35 ₡1,505

69.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.94 CA$8.33

$4.32 ₡1,944

37.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.20 CA$3.09

$2.36 ₡1,061

-6.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.59 CA$3.62

$3.07 ₡1,379

-15.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.08 CA$4.32

$2.51 ₡1,128

22.71%

Eggs

$2.95 CA$4.13

$3.53 ₡1,585

-16.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.55 CA$14.79

$10.54 ₡4,738

0.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.89 CA$16.67

$10.57 ₡4,754

12.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.70 CA$16.40

$13.92 ₡6,261

-15.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 CA$4.13

$5.20 ₡2,338

-43.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 CA$1.70

$1.65 ₡740

-26.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.64 CA$5.11

$4.89 ₡2,198

-25.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.83 CA$5.37

$3.84 ₡1,728

-0.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.92 CA$4.09

$3.91 ₡1,757

-25.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 CA$3.42

$3.76 ₡1,692

-35.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.17 CA$3.04

$1.12 ₡504

93.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 CA$2.27

$3.22 ₡1,447

-49.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.14 CA$19.82

$6.02 ₡2,706

134.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.65 CA$17.73

$19.84 ₡8,919

-36.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 CA$3.30

$2.81 ₡1,264

-16.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 CA$4.12

$3.65 ₡1,643

-19.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.52 CA$3.53

$1.08 ₡487

133.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.5 CA$80.6

$65.2 ₡29.3K

-11.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 CA$4.54

$2.26 ₡1,018

43.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 CA$2.27

$1.78 ₡799

-8.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.10 CA$43.59

$7.90 ₡3,551

293.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 CA$1.61

$1.50 ₡673

-23.33%

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

$27.8K CA$39.0K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-16.96%

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

$21.3K CA$29.9K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-49.53%

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

$130 CA$182

$93.2 ₡41.9K

38.98%

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

$38.57 CA$54.1

$36.13 ₡16.2K

6.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.9 CA$88.2

$60.6 ₡27.2K

3.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.77 CA$37.52

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-61.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.92 CA$12.51

$24.94 ₡11.2K

-64.23%

Cinema Ticket

$10.85 CA$15.21

$7.67 ₡3,449

41.46%

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

$522 CA$732

$972 ₡436.9K

-46.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K CA$17.1K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

-35.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 CA$75.5

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-23.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.28 CA$45.25

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-43.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.1 CA$114

$129 ₡57.8K

-36.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.6 CA$119

$131 ₡58.8K

-35.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,468 CA$2,057

$1,170 ₡525.9K

25.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 CA$1,720

$943 ₡424.1K

30.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,338 CA$3,277

$1,984 ₡892.0K

17.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,646 CA$2,307

$1,400 ₡629.5K

17.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,407 CA$4,776

$2,681 ₡1.2M

27.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,550 CA$3,574

$2,037 ₡915.8K

25.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,098 CA$4,342

$987 ₡443.6K

213.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.61

8.62

-46.52%

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

Last update for Kingston: 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

Kingston

$1.2K 53.6%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 23.1% $284

Groceries & Markets

Kingston

$339 14.8%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 18.9% $64

Eating Out

Kingston

$251 11%

San Jose

$232 11% 7.3% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston

$231 10.1%

San Jose

$190 9% 17.8% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston

$113 5%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 53.6% $61

Getting Around

Kingston

$79 3.5%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 2.3% $1.8

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston

$48 2.1%

San Jose

$84 4% 73.8% $36

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,468 in Kingston versus $1,170 in San Jose. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Kingston are about 3.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $65 in Kingston versus $62 in San Jose. Groceries tell a different story – $339 in Kingston vs $403 in San Jose – so Kingston wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Kingston

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

03:07 3:07 AM

02:07 2:07 AM

1 h behind Kingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,363

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

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Between locations

Kingston San Jose 3,880 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Kingston
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,288 in Kingston, $2,107 in San Jose – San Jose comes out roughly 8% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,432 per month in Kingston and $3,161 in San Jose. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Jose, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,170 there versus $1,468 in Kingston.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,288 in Kingston and $2,107 in San Jose. That makes San Jose about 8% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 12% less in Kingston. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

It depends on your priorities. San Jose has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $2,107 in San Jose to $2,288 in Kingston. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with San Jose. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Kingston makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.