Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Cabos and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in Los Cabos: $1,371 a month against $1,938 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Los Cabos
Learn more

Los Cabos Living Index
94

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
Learn more

San Jose Living Index

Jump to prices

Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,371

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in Los Cabos versus $1,938 in San Jose.

Los Cabos $1,371
San Jose $1,938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,211 in Los Cabos versus $2,936 in San Jose.

Los Cabos $2,211
San Jose $2,936

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,051 in Los Cabos versus $3,934 in San Jose.

Los Cabos $3,051
San Jose $3,934

Living in Los Cabos costs roughly 29% less than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Los Cabos 2% above, San Jose 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 MX$412

$12.38 ₡5,551

80.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.70 MX$807

$60.9 ₡27.3K

-28.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.76 MX$254

$11.45 ₡5,135

20.17%

Cappuccino

$5.22 MX$96.5

$4.39 ₡1,967

18.91%

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

$2.30 MX$42.51

$2.70 ₡1,211

-14.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 MX$38.06

$1.93 ₡864

6.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.99 MX$92.2

$3.20 ₡1,433

55.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.36 MX$154

$4.41 ₡1,979

89.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 MX$30.46

$2.44 ₡1,093

-32.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.86 MX$52.8

$3.05 ₡1,369

-6.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.38 MX$44.07

$2.41 ₡1,081

-1.24%

Eggs

$2.41 MX$44.49

$3.40 ₡1,523

-29.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 MX$166

$10.75 ₡4,823

-16.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.56 MX$177

$10.43 ₡4,679

-8.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 MX$328

$13.99 ₡6,273

26.95%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 MX$76.4

$5.25 ₡2,353

-21.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.89

$1.59 ₡712

11.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 MX$54.2

$4.69 ₡2,103

-37.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.53 MX$46.70

$3.95 ₡1,770

-35.95%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.16

$3.92 ₡1,760

-40.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.53 MX$46.73

$3.68 ₡1,651

-31.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 MX$22.99

$1.12 ₡503

10.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.94

$3.19 ₡1,429

-73.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.52 MX$83.6

$6.00 ₡2,692

-24.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.32 MX$191

$19.56 ₡8,771

-47.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 MX$29.70

$2.82 ₡1,263

-42.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 MX$57.8

$3.59 ₡1,611

-12.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 MX$25.98

$1.12 ₡503

25.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.8 ₡30.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.20

$2.50 ₡1,119

6.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 MX$35.59

$1.63 ₡733

18.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.63 MX$215

$8.50 ₡3,812

36.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$25.43

$1.56 ₡701

-11.54%

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

$21.0K MX$388.2K

$22.4K ₡10.0M

-6.26%

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

$24.3K MX$449.9K

$35.6K ₡16.0M

-31.57%

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

$58.6 MX$1,083

$95.2 ₡42.7K

-38.47%

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

$27.70 MX$512

$35.58 ₡16.0K

-22.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.59 MX$454

$58.6 ₡26.3K

-58.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.48 MX$637

$72.7 ₡32.6K

-52.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.05 MX$371

$24.85 ₡11.1K

-19.32%

Cinema Ticket

$4.28 MX$79.1

$7.58 ₡3,401

-43.54%

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

$215 MX$3,971

$1,001 ₡449.0K

-78.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,652 MX$86.0K

$17.1K ₡7.7M

-72.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 MX$1,724

$70.5 ₡31.6K

32.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.63 MX$751

$55.8 ₡25.0K

-27.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 MX$2,298

$130 ₡58.2K

-4.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.7 MX$1,657

$131 ₡58.7K

-31.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$612 MX$11.3K

$927 ₡415.8K

-34.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 MX$7,226

$774 ₡347.2K

-49.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,044 MX$19.3K

$1,967 ₡882.0K

-46.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 MX$14.4K

$1,288 ₡577.6K

-39.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,933 MX$35.7K

$2,274 ₡1.0M

-14.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,131 MX$20.9K

$1,831 ₡821.0K

-38.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$811 MX$15.0K

$1,016 ₡455.8K

-20.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

8.62

31.09%

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

Last update for Los Cabos: October 12, 2026

Last update for San Jose: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Los Cabos

$391 28.5%

San Jose

$774 40% 98% $383

Eating Out

Los Cabos

$341 24.9%

San Jose

$229 11.8% 32.8% $112

Groceries & Markets

Los Cabos

$310 22.6%

San Jose

$401 20.7% 29.3% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Los Cabos

$157 11.4%

San Jose

$174 9% 11.2% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Cabos

$111 8.1%

San Jose

$189 9.8% 70.8% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Los Cabos

$43 3.1%

San Jose

$88 4.5% 104% $45

Getting Around

Los Cabos

$18 * 1.3%

San Jose

$82 4.2% 357% $64

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 $612 in Los Cabos and $927 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Jose pays 25% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Los Cabos vs $61.0 in San Jose for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $401 per month, with Los Cabos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Los Cabos

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

07:44 7:44 AM

08:44 8:44 AM

1 h ahead of Los Cabos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

202,694

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 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).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Los Cabos San Jose 3,100 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Los Cabos
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

Los Cabos vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Los Cabos is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. The 41% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 25% lower in San Jose. 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: $612 in Los Cabos versus $927 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in San Jose. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,371 per month in Los Cabos versus $1,938 in San Jose – a 41% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,371 in Los Cabos versus $1,938 in San Jose, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Los Cabos but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Los Cabos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Los Cabos is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in San Jose, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Los Cabos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.