Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ottawa and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,449 in Ottawa, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Ottawa
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Ottawa Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

Jump to prices

Ottawa

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,449

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,449 per month in Ottawa vs $2,107 in San Jose, rent included.

Ottawa $2,449
San Jose $2,107

A couple spends around $3,557 per month in Ottawa vs $3,081 in San Jose, rent included.

Ottawa $3,557
San Jose $3,081

A family of three spends $4,665 per month in Ottawa vs $4,054 in San Jose, rent included.

Ottawa $4,665
San Jose $4,054

Ottawa costs about 16% more than San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Ottawa and San Jose sit above the global median – Ottawa by 81%, San Jose by 56%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.60 CA$24.67

$12.37 ₡5,563

42.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.2 CA$110

$62.4 ₡28.0K

25.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 CA$14.77

$11.71 ₡5,264

-9.99%

Cappuccino

$4.23 CA$5.92

$4.54 ₡2,040

-6.83%

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

$2.03 CA$2.84

$2.75 ₡1,238

-26.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 CA$2.45

$1.86 ₡837

-5.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.57 CA$7.81

$3.35 ₡1,505

66.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.37 CA$8.93

$4.32 ₡1,944

47.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.37 CA$3.33

$2.36 ₡1,061

0.42%

White Bread (500g)

$3.06 CA$4.30

$3.07 ₡1,379

-0.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.03 CA$4.25

$2.51 ₡1,128

20.72%

Eggs

$3.20 CA$4.48

$3.53 ₡1,585

-9.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.55 CA$16.19

$10.54 ₡4,738

9.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.33 CA$17.28

$10.57 ₡4,754

16.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.81 CA$26.37

$13.92 ₡6,261

35.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.88 CA$5.44

$5.20 ₡2,338

-25.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 CA$1.79

$1.65 ₡740

-22.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.96 CA$5.55

$4.89 ₡2,198

-19.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 CA$4.98

$3.84 ₡1,728

-7.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.72 CA$3.81

$3.91 ₡1,757

-30.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 CA$3.42

$3.76 ₡1,692

-35.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.69 CA$3.77

$1.12 ₡504

140.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CA$2.17

$3.22 ₡1,447

-51.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.64 CA$20.52

$6.02 ₡2,706

143.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.53 CA$17.56

$19.84 ₡8,919

-36.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 CA$3.73

$2.81 ₡1,264

-5.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 CA$4.21

$3.65 ₡1,643

-17.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.90 CA$4.07

$1.08 ₡487

168.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.2 CA$138

$65.2 ₡29.3K

50.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.76 CA$3.88

$2.26 ₡1,018

22.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.46 CA$2.05

$1.78 ₡799

-17.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.28 CA$27.03

$7.90 ₡3,551

144.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 CA$1.69

$1.50 ₡673

-20.00%

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

$27.9K CA$39.1K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-16.74%

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

$22.2K CA$31.2K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-47.41%

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

$137 CA$192

$93.2 ₡41.9K

47.20%

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

$36.79 CA$51.6

$36.13 ₡16.2K

1.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.56 CA$66.7

$60.6 ₡27.2K

-21.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.86 CA$65.7

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-32.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.83 CA$39.02

$24.94 ₡11.2K

11.59%

Cinema Ticket

$12.66 CA$17.74

$7.67 ₡3,449

65.06%

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

$817 CA$1,145

$972 ₡436.9K

-15.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.5K CA$28.7K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

8.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.1 CA$84.2

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-14.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.13 CA$54.9

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-30.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 CA$148

$129 ₡57.8K

-17.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 CA$142

$131 ₡58.8K

-22.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,447 CA$2,028

$1,170 ₡525.9K

23.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,240 CA$1,738

$943 ₡424.1K

31.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,214 CA$3,103

$1,984 ₡892.0K

11.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,856 CA$2,601

$1,400 ₡629.5K

32.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,570 CA$6,406

$2,681 ₡1.2M

70.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,419 CA$6,195

$2,037 ₡915.8K

116.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,670 CA$5,145

$987 ₡443.6K

271.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.14

8.62

-51.97%

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

Last update for Ottawa: 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

Ottawa

$1.2K 50.6%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 23.9% $297

Groceries & Markets

Ottawa

$379 15.5%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 6.1% $23

Eating Out

Ottawa

$279 11.4%

San Jose

$232 11% 16.7% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ottawa

$222 9%

San Jose

$190 9% 14.3% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Ottawa

$138 5.6%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 26.5% $36

Getting Around

Ottawa

$120 4.9%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 32.7% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Ottawa

$72 3%

San Jose

$84 4% 16.8% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,447 in Ottawa versus $1,170 in San Jose. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Ottawa are about 3.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $78 in Ottawa versus $62 in San Jose. Groceries tell a different story – $379 in Ottawa vs $403 in San Jose – so Ottawa wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Ottawa

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

04:09 4:09 AM

03:09 3:09 AM

1 h behind Ottawa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,000,000 Capital

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

Ottawa San Jose 4,030 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ottawa
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,449 in Ottawa, $2,107 in San Jose – San Jose comes out roughly 14% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,674 per month in Ottawa and $3,161 in San Jose. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Jose, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,170 there versus $1,447 in Ottawa.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,449 in Ottawa and $2,107 in San Jose. That makes San Jose about 14% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 34% less in San Jose. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. San Jose costs $2,107 versus $2,449 in Ottawa. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with San Jose. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ottawa makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.