Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oakville and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,839 in Oakville, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

135

Cost of Living Index in Oakville
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Oakville Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Oakville

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,839

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,839 in Oakville versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Oakville $2,839
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,938 in Oakville versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Oakville $3,938
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,037 in Oakville versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Oakville $5,037
San Jose $4,054

Living in Oakville is roughly 35% more expensive than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Oakville 110% above, San Jose 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.19 CA$19.89

$12.37 ₡5,563

14.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.5 CA$102

$62.4 ₡28.0K

16.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.35 CA$13.11

$11.71 ₡5,264

-20.15%

Cappuccino

$3.83 CA$5.37

$4.54 ₡2,040

-15.64%

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

$2.18 CA$3.06

$2.75 ₡1,238

-20.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 CA$2.47

$1.86 ₡837

-5.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.85 CA$8.20

$3.35 ₡1,505

74.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.35 CA$8.90

$4.32 ₡1,944

46.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.68 CA$3.75

$2.36 ₡1,061

13.56%

White Bread (500g)

$3.30 CA$4.63

$3.07 ₡1,379

7.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.51 CA$4.91

$2.51 ₡1,128

39.84%

Eggs

$4.22 CA$5.91

$3.53 ₡1,585

19.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 CA$14.96

$10.54 ₡4,738

1.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.93 CA$16.73

$10.57 ₡4,754

12.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.68 CA$27.59

$13.92 ₡6,261

41.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.48 CA$4.87

$5.20 ₡2,338

-33.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 CA$2.61

$1.65 ₡740

12.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.19 CA$4.47

$4.89 ₡2,198

-34.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.01 CA$4.22

$3.84 ₡1,728

-21.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.38 CA$3.33

$3.91 ₡1,757

-39.13%

Onion (1kg)

$2.75 CA$3.86

$3.76 ₡1,692

-26.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.17 CA$3.05

$1.12 ₡504

93.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 CA$2.48

$3.22 ₡1,447

-45.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.23 CA$19.95

$6.02 ₡2,706

136.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.69 CA$19.20

$19.84 ₡8,919

-31.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.26 CA$4.57

$2.81 ₡1,264

16.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 CA$3.55

$3.65 ₡1,643

-30.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.82 CA$3.95

$1.08 ₡487

161.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$104 CA$145

$65.2 ₡29.3K

58.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 CA$4.65

$2.26 ₡1,018

46.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 CA$1.90

$1.78 ₡799

-24.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.42 CA$30.03

$7.90 ₡3,551

171.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 CA$1.68

$1.50 ₡673

-20.00%

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

$28.1K CA$39.4K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-16.07%

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

$21.3K CA$29.8K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-49.73%

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

$90.4 CA$127

$93.2 ₡41.9K

-2.98%

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

$29.28 CA$41.04

$36.13 ₡16.2K

-18.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.56 CA$66.7

$60.6 ₡27.2K

-21.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 CA$58.8

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-39.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

Cinema Ticket

$10.05 CA$14.08

$7.67 ₡3,449

31.03%

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

$1,081 CA$1,515

$972 ₡436.9K

11.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.0K CA$36.5K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

37.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.3 CA$94.4

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-4.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$93.0 CA$130

$56.7 ₡25.5K

64.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 CA$182

$129 ₡57.8K

0.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 CA$151

$131 ₡58.8K

-17.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,872 CA$2,623

$1,170 ₡525.9K

60.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,672 CA$2,343

$943 ₡424.1K

77.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,581 CA$3,619

$1,984 ₡892.0K

30.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,317 CA$3,248

$1,400 ₡629.5K

65.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,871 CA$6,828

$2,681 ₡1.2M

81.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,011 CA$8,426

$2,037 ₡915.8K

195.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,160 CA$4,429

$987 ₡443.6K

220.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.26

8.62

-38.98%

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

Last update for Oakville: November 2, 2026

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oakville

$1.7K 58.9%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 43.6% $728

Groceries & Markets

Oakville

$389 13.7%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 3.5% $14

Eating Out

Oakville

$245 8.6%

San Jose

$232 11% 5.2% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Oakville

$179 6.3%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 2.6% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oakville

$167 5.9%

San Jose

$190 9% 13.5% $23

Getting Around

Oakville

$125 4.4%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 35.4% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Oakville

$62 2.2%

San Jose

$84 4% 35.9% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,872 in Oakville and $1,170 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Dining out: $72 in Oakville vs $62 in San Jose. Groceries flip the comparison at $389 vs $403, with Oakville cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Oakville

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

09:31 9:31 AM

08:31 8:31 AM

1 h behind Oakville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

193,832

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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Highest

Between locations

Oakville San Jose 3,750 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Oakville
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

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

San Jose wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Oakville. 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 Oakville 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: $1,872 in Oakville versus $1,170 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in San Jose runs roughly 37% less than in Oakville. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $1,081 in Oakville versus $972 in San Jose. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $2,107 in San Jose versus $2,839 in Oakville, a $2,500 budget is realistic in San Jose but tight or insufficient in Oakville. The gap between the two cities makes San Jose the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but San Jose delivers better value at $2,107 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes San Jose hard to pass up.

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