Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oshawa and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,370 in Oshawa, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Oshawa outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

113

Cost of Living Index in Oshawa
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Oshawa Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Oshawa

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,370

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,370 in Oshawa versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Oshawa $2,370
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,414 in Oshawa versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Oshawa $3,414
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,457 in Oshawa versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Oshawa $4,457
San Jose $4,054

Living in Oshawa is roughly 12% more expensive than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Oshawa 75% above, San Jose 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.25 CA$19.98

$12.37 ₡5,563

15.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.6 CA$89.1

$62.4 ₡28.0K

1.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.33 CA$11.67

$11.71 ₡5,264

-28.86%

Cappuccino

$3.54 CA$4.97

$4.54 ₡2,040

-22.03%

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

$1.77 CA$2.48

$2.75 ₡1,238

-35.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 CA$1.91

$1.86 ₡837

-26.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.86 CA$6.81

$3.35 ₡1,505

45.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.04 CA$8.47

$4.32 ₡1,944

39.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.91 CA$4.08

$2.36 ₡1,061

23.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.91 CA$4.07

$3.07 ₡1,379

-5.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.12 CA$5.77

$2.51 ₡1,128

64.14%

Eggs

$2.97 CA$4.16

$3.53 ₡1,585

-15.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.14 CA$14.21

$10.54 ₡4,738

-3.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.74 CA$19.27

$10.57 ₡4,754

29.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.60 CA$23.27

$13.92 ₡6,261

19.25%

Apples (1kg)

$4.20 CA$5.89

$5.20 ₡2,338

-19.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 CA$1.71

$1.65 ₡740

-26.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.94 CA$4.12

$4.89 ₡2,198

-39.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 CA$5.39

$3.84 ₡1,728

Potato (1kg)

$3.36 CA$4.71

$3.91 ₡1,757

-14.07%

Onion (1kg)

$2.57 CA$3.60

$3.76 ₡1,692

-31.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 CA$3.29

$1.12 ₡504

109.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 CA$2.42

$3.22 ₡1,447

-46.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.29 CA$20.03

$6.02 ₡2,706

137.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.63 CA$17.70

$19.84 ₡8,919

-36.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.53 CA$4.94

$2.81 ₡1,264

25.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 CA$4.89

$3.65 ₡1,643

-4.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.82 CA$3.95

$1.08 ₡487

161.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.1 CA$122

$65.2 ₡29.3K

33.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.74 CA$3.84

$2.26 ₡1,018

21.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 CA$2.01

$1.78 ₡799

-19.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.58 CA$27.44

$7.90 ₡3,551

147.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 CA$1.74

$1.50 ₡673

-17.33%

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

$28.8K CA$40.3K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-14.02%

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

$22.9K CA$32.1K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-45.82%

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

$139 CA$195

$93.2 ₡41.9K

49.09%

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

$37.94 CA$53.2

$36.13 ₡16.2K

5.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.3 CA$76.2

$60.6 ₡27.2K

-10.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.91 CA$32.11

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-66.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.28 CA$41.05

$24.94 ₡11.2K

17.40%

Cinema Ticket

$10.86 CA$15.23

$7.67 ₡3,449

41.59%

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

$922 CA$1,292

$972 ₡436.9K

-5.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,083 CA$11.3K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

-57.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.3 CA$81.7

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-17.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.7 CA$80.8

$56.7 ₡25.5K

1.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 CA$150

$129 ₡57.8K

-16.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 CA$181

$131 ₡58.8K

-1.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 CA$1,963

$1,170 ₡525.9K

19.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,207 CA$1,692

$943 ₡424.1K

27.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,003 CA$2,807

$1,984 ₡892.0K

0.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 CA$2,556

$1,400 ₡629.5K

30.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,158 CA$7,230

$2,681 ₡1.2M

92.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.3K CA$14.5K

$2,037 ₡915.8K

407.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,049 CA$4,274

$987 ₡443.6K

209.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.53

8.62

-47.45%

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

Last update for Oshawa: October 31, 2026

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oshawa

$1.2K 50.9%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 21.9% $264

Groceries & Markets

Oshawa

$390 16.5%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 3.3% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oshawa

$231 9.8%

San Jose

$190 9% 17.9% $41

Eating Out

Oshawa

$230 9.7%

San Jose

$232 11% 0.8% $1.9

Clothing & Footwear

Oshawa

$158 6.7%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 9.9% $16

Getting Around

Oshawa

$108 4.6%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 25.5% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Oshawa

$45 1.9%

San Jose

$84 4% 88.8% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,400 in Oshawa and $1,170 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oshawa pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $64 in Oshawa vs $62 in San Jose. Groceries flip the comparison at $390 vs $403, with Oshawa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Oshawa

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

07:23 7:23 AM

06:23 6:23 AM

1 h behind Oshawa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

159,458

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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Between locations

Oshawa San Jose 3,810 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Oshawa
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

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

San Jose wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in Oshawa. 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 Oshawa is about 3.1 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: $1,400 in Oshawa versus $1,170 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in San Jose – a meal for two runs $62 versus $64 in Oshawa. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,370 per month in Oshawa versus $2,107 in San Jose – San Jose is about 11% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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