Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Markham and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,405 in Markham, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Markham outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

115

Cost of Living Index in Markham
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Markham Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Markham

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,405

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Markham versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Markham $2,405
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,496 in Markham versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Markham $3,496
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,587 in Markham versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Markham $4,587
San Jose $4,054

Living in Markham is roughly 14% more expensive than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Markham 78% above, San Jose 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.69 CA$24.69

$12.37 ₡5,572

43.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.9 CA$73.9

$62.4 ₡28.1K

-15.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 CA$15.06

$11.71 ₡5,272

-7.86%

Cappuccino

$3.70 CA$5.16

$4.54 ₡2,043

-18.50%

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

$1.81 CA$2.53

$2.75 ₡1,239

-34.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 CA$1.73

$1.86 ₡839

-33.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.65 CA$5.10

$3.35 ₡1,508

8.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.63 CA$7.85

$4.32 ₡1,947

30.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 CA$2.70

$2.36 ₡1,062

-17.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 CA$3.11

$3.07 ₡1,381

-27.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 CA$2.79

$2.51 ₡1,129

-20.32%

Eggs

$3.17 CA$4.42

$3.53 ₡1,588

-10.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.54 ₡4,746

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.22 CA$17.06

$10.57 ₡4,761

15.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.30 CA$10.19

$13.92 ₡6,270

-47.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.65 CA$5.09

$5.20 ₡2,341

-29.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 CA$1.80

$1.65 ₡742

-21.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.28 CA$3.18

$4.89 ₡2,201

-53.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 CA$4.75

$3.84 ₡1,730

-11.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 CA$2.93

$3.91 ₡1,760

-46.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 CA$2.79

$3.76 ₡1,694

-46.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.78 CA$3.88

$1.12 ₡505

148.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 CA$2.11

$3.22 ₡1,449

-53.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.75 CA$19.19

$6.02 ₡2,711

128.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.76 CA$20.60

$19.84 ₡8,932

-25.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 CA$3.40

$2.81 ₡1,266

-13.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 CA$4.42

$3.65 ₡1,646

-13.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.96 CA$4.13

$1.08 ₡488

174.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$99.7 CA$139

$65.2 ₡29.4K

52.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 CA$4.62

$2.26 ₡1,019

46.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 ₡800

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.16 CA$26.75

$7.90 ₡3,557

142.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 CA$1.67

$1.50 ₡674

-20.67%

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

$28.6K CA$39.9K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-14.60%

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

$21.5K CA$30.1K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-49.08%

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

$130 CA$182

$93.2 ₡42.0K

39.95%

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

$26.54 CA$37.05

$36.13 ₡16.3K

-26.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.84 CA$64.0

$60.6 ₡27.3K

-24.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.81 CA$52.8

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-45.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.33 CA$29.77

$24.94 ₡11.2K

-14.47%

Cinema Ticket

$10.35 CA$14.45

$7.67 ₡3,454

34.94%

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

$525 CA$732

$972 ₡437.6K

-46.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.0K CA$33.5K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

27.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.38 CA$60.6

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-38.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.49 CA$52.3

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-33.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 CA$132

$129 ₡57.9K

-26.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 CA$149

$131 ₡58.9K

-18.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,640 CA$2,290

$1,170 ₡526.7K

40.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,357 CA$1,894

$943 ₡424.7K

43.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,685 CA$3,748

$1,984 ₡893.3K

35.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,267 CA$3,165

$1,400 ₡630.5K

61.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,308 CA$8,805

$2,681 ₡1.2M

135.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,199 CA$7,258

$2,037 ₡917.1K

155.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,198 CA$4,465

$987 ₡444.3K

224.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.56

8.62

-47.10%

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

Last update for Markham: 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

Markham

$1.4K 56.4%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 30.5% $414

Groceries & Markets

Markham

$285 * 11.9%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 41.3% $118

Eating Out

Markham

$260 10.8%

San Jose

$232 11% 10.6% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Markham

$203 8.4%

San Jose

$190 9% 6.4% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Markham

$127 5.3%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 37.3% $47

Getting Around

Markham

$115 * 4.8%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 29.7% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Markham

$59 2.4%

San Jose

$84 4% 44% $26

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 $1,640 in Markham and $1,170 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Markham pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $53 in Markham vs $62 in San Jose for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $285 vs $403 per month, with Markham cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Markham

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

17:35 5:35 PM

16:35 4:35 PM

1 h behind Markham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

338,503

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.638 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.638 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Markham San Jose 3,800 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Markham
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

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

San Jose wins on cost – living expenses run 12% lower than in Markham. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making San Jose the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Markham is about 3.2 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: $1,640 in Markham versus $1,170 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $525 in Markham versus $972 in San Jose. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Markham pay roughly 29% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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, Markham on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.