Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mount Pleasant, MI and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in Mount Pleasant, MI: $1,915 a month against $2,107 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

91

Cost of Living Index in Mount Pleasant, MI
Learn more

Mount Pleasant, MI Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
Learn more

San Jose Living Index

Jump to prices

Mount Pleasant, MI

🇺🇸 United States

$1,915

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,915 in Mount Pleasant, MI versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Mount Pleasant, MI $1,915
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,751 in Mount Pleasant, MI versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Mount Pleasant, MI $2,751
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,587 in Mount Pleasant, MI versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Mount Pleasant, MI $3,587
San Jose $4,054

Living in Mount Pleasant, MI costs roughly 9% less than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mount Pleasant, MI 42% above, San Jose 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.65 $17.65

$12.37 ₡5,563

42.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.2 $63.2

$62.4 ₡28.0K

1.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.85 $12.85

$11.71 ₡5,264

9.74%

Cappuccino

$4.04 $4.04

$4.54 ₡2,040

-11.01%

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

$1.59 $1.59

$2.75 ₡1,238

-42.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 $2.03

$1.86 ₡837

9.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.07 $4.07

$3.35 ₡1,505

21.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 $5.46

$4.32 ₡1,944

26.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.74 $0.74

$2.36 ₡1,061

-68.64%

White Bread (500g)

$3.12 $3.12

$3.07 ₡1,379

1.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.24 $3.24

$2.51 ₡1,128

29.08%

Eggs

$1.77 $1.77

$3.53 ₡1,585

-49.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 $10.22

$10.54 ₡4,738

-3.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.20 $11.20

$10.57 ₡4,754

5.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.26 $15.26

$13.92 ₡6,261

9.63%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 $3.38

$5.20 ₡2,338

-35.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 $1.54

$1.65 ₡740

-6.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 $2.73

$4.89 ₡2,198

-44.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.88 $4.88

$3.84 ₡1,728

27.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 $2.58

$3.91 ₡1,757

-34.02%

Onion (1kg)

$3.11 $3.11

$3.76 ₡1,692

-17.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.94 $1.94

$1.12 ₡504

73.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 $0.43

$3.22 ₡1,447

-86.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.32 $10.32

$6.02 ₡2,706

71.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.83 $12.83

$19.84 ₡8,919

-35.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.07 $3.07

$2.81 ₡1,264

9.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 $1.52

$3.65 ₡1,643

-58.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.94 $1.94

$1.08 ₡487

79.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.26 $39.26

$65.2 ₡29.3K

-39.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.07 $3.07

$2.26 ₡1,018

35.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.78 ₡799

-14.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.63 $23.63

$7.90 ₡3,551

199.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.50 ₡673

-30.67%

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

$30.0K $30.0K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-10.31%

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

$26.7K $26.7K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-36.75%

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

$219 $219

$93.2 ₡41.9K

134.98%

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

$60.0 $60.0

$36.13 ₡16.2K

66.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.6 $68.6

$60.6 ₡27.2K

13.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.83 $19.83

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-71.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

Cinema Ticket

$10.19 $10.19

$7.67 ₡3,449

32.86%

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

$1,357 $1,357

$972 ₡436.9K

39.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.5K $32.5K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

72.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.0 $58.0

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-17.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.15 $41.15

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-27.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.4 $97.4

$129 ₡57.8K

-24.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 $118

$131 ₡58.8K

-9.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$791 $791

$1,170 ₡525.9K

-32.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$730 $730

$943 ₡424.1K

-22.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,358 $1,358

$1,984 ₡892.0K

-31.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,054 $1,054

$1,400 ₡629.5K

-24.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,471 $1,471

$2,681 ₡1.2M

-45.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,475 $1,475

$2,037 ₡915.8K

-27.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,355 $6,355

$987 ₡443.6K

544.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

8.62

-40.60%

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

Last update for Mount Pleasant, MI: 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

Mount Pleasant, MI

$730 38.1%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 29.2% $213

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mount Pleasant, MI

$348 18.2%

San Jose

$190 9% 45.4% $158

Groceries & Markets

Mount Pleasant, MI

$324 16.9%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 24.5% $79

Eating Out

Mount Pleasant, MI

$274 14.3%

San Jose

$232 11% 15.2% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Mount Pleasant, MI

$142 7.4%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 22.9% $32

Getting Around

Mount Pleasant, MI

$58 3%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 39.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Mount Pleasant, MI

$40 2.1%

San Jose

$84 4% 110% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $791 in Mount Pleasant, MI and $1,170 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mount Pleasant, MI pays about 6.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $63 in Mount Pleasant, MI vs $62 in San Jose. Groceries flip the comparison at $324 vs $403, with Mount Pleasant, MI cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Mount Pleasant, MI

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

13:06 1:06 PM

12:06 12:06 PM

1 h behind Mount Pleasant, MI

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,202

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mount Pleasant, MI San Jose 3,740 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Mount Pleasant, MI
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

Mount Pleasant, MI vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,915 in Mount Pleasant, MI and $2,107 in San Jose, so Mount Pleasant, MI is about 9% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mount Pleasant, MI is about 6.4 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: $791 in Mount Pleasant, MI versus $1,170 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in San Jose. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,915 per month in Mount Pleasant, MI versus $2,107 in San Jose – Mount Pleasant, MI is about 9% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mount Pleasant, MI gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.