Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Old Harbour and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in Old Harbour: $998 a month against $1,938 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Old Harbour
Learn more

Old Harbour Living Index
94

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
Learn more

San Jose Living Index

Jump to prices

Old Harbour

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$998

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $998 in Old Harbour versus $1,938 in San Jose.

Old Harbour $998
San Jose $1,938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,652 in Old Harbour versus $2,936 in San Jose.

Old Harbour $1,652
San Jose $2,936

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,305 in Old Harbour versus $3,934 in San Jose.

Old Harbour $2,305
San Jose $3,934

Living in Old Harbour costs roughly 48% less than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Old Harbour is 26% below, San Jose is 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.53 JMD 2,138

$12.38 ₡5,551

9.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.1 JMD 11.7K

$60.9 ₡27.3K

21.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.93 JMD 1,253

$11.45 ₡5,135

-30.74%

Cappuccino

$5.24 JMD 828

$4.39 ₡1,967

19.36%

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

$1.20 JMD 190

$2.70 ₡1,211

-55.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 JMD 115

$1.93 ₡864

-62.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 JMD 343

$3.20 ₡1,433

-32.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 JMD 500

$4.41 ₡1,979

-28.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.03 JMD 636

$2.44 ₡1,093

65.16%

White Bread (500g)

$3.77 JMD 595

$3.05 ₡1,369

23.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 JMD 251

$2.41 ₡1,081

-34.02%

Eggs

$3.47 JMD 548

$3.40 ₡1,523

2.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 JMD 1,783

$10.75 ₡4,823

4.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.38 JMD 1,008

$10.43 ₡4,679

-38.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.30 JMD 1,628

$13.99 ₡6,273

-26.38%

Apples (1kg)

$6.09 JMD 963

$5.25 ₡2,353

16.00%

Banana (1kg)

$3.80 JMD 601

$1.59 ₡712

138.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.45 JMD 1,177

$4.69 ₡2,103

58.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 JMD 484

$3.95 ₡1,770

-22.53%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 JMD 519

$3.92 ₡1,760

-16.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.70 JMD 427

$3.68 ₡1,651

-26.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.03 JMD 479

$1.12 ₡503

170.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 JMD 229

$3.19 ₡1,429

-54.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.24 JMD 1,459

$6.00 ₡2,692

54.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.41 JMD 1,803

$19.56 ₡8,771

-41.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 JMD 442

$2.82 ₡1,263

-0.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.00 JMD 633

$3.59 ₡1,611

11.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡503

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.8 ₡30.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 JMD 184

$2.50 ₡1,119

-53.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.07 JMD 486

$1.63 ₡733

88.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.13 JMD 968

$8.50 ₡3,812

-27.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 JMD 232

$1.56 ₡701

-5.77%

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

$44.8K JMD 7.1M

$22.4K ₡10.0M

99.84%

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

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

$35.6K ₡16.0M

-7.76%

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

$164 JMD 26.0K

$95.2 ₡42.7K

72.53%

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

$29.43 JMD 4,650

$35.58 ₡16.0K

-17.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 JMD 8,374

$58.6 ₡26.3K

-9.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.7 ₡32.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.85 ₡11.1K

Cinema Ticket

$13.05 JMD 2,062

$7.58 ₡3,401

72.16%

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

$361 JMD 57.0K

$1,001 ₡449.0K

-63.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,389 JMD 1.3M

$17.1K ₡7.7M

-51.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.49 JMD 3,710

$70.5 ₡31.6K

-66.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.98 JMD 5,053

$55.8 ₡25.0K

-42.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.2 JMD 12.0K

$130 ₡58.2K

-41.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 JMD 16.4K

$131 ₡58.7K

-20.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$927 ₡415.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 ₡347.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,967 ₡882.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 ₡577.6K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,274 ₡1.0M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,831 ₡821.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,016 ₡455.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

8.62

9.63%

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

Last update for Old Harbour: October 12, 2026

Last update for San Jose: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Old Harbour

$383 38.4%

San Jose

$401 20.7% 4.8% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Old Harbour

$247 24.7%

San Jose

$189 9.8% 23.2% $57

Eating Out

Old Harbour

$220 22%

San Jose

$229 11.8% 4.3% $9.4

Clothing & Footwear

Old Harbour

$106 10.6%

San Jose

$174 9% 64.2% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Old Harbour

$26 * 2.6%

San Jose

$88 4.5% 236% $62

Getting Around

Old Harbour

$17 * 1.7%

San Jose

$82 4.2% 395% $65

Accommodation & Living

Old Harbour

- * 0%

San Jose

$774 40%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $74.0 in Old Harbour vs $61.0 in San Jose. Groceries flip the comparison at $383 vs $401, with Old Harbour cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Old Harbour

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

18:21 6:21 PM

17:21 5:21 PM

1 h behind Old Harbour

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

26,024

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Old Harbour San Jose 1,160 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Old Harbour
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

Old Harbour vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Old Harbour and San Jose differ by about 94% in total monthly costs ($998 vs $1,938 including rent). Old Harbour is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,497 in Old Harbour and $2,907 in San Jose to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $361 in Old Harbour versus $1,001 in San Jose. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Old Harbour – a meal for two runs $74.0 versus $61.0 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $998 in Old Harbour versus $1,938 in San Jose, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Old Harbour but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Old Harbour the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Old Harbour gentler on the wallet – expenses run 94% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.