Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth, NH and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,761 in Portsmouth, NH, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Portsmouth, NH outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

133

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth, NH
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Portsmouth, NH Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Portsmouth, NH

🇺🇸 United States

$2,761

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,761 per month in Portsmouth, NH vs $2,107 in San Jose, rent included.

Portsmouth, NH $2,761
San Jose $2,107

A couple spends around $3,993 per month in Portsmouth, NH vs $3,081 in San Jose, rent included.

Portsmouth, NH $3,993
San Jose $3,081

A family of three spends $5,224 per month in Portsmouth, NH vs $4,054 in San Jose, rent included.

Portsmouth, NH $5,224
San Jose $4,054

Portsmouth, NH costs about 31% more than San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Portsmouth, NH and San Jose sit above the global median – Portsmouth, NH by 104%, San Jose by 56%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.09 $20.09

$12.37 ₡5,546

62.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.5 $98.5

$62.4 ₡28.0K

57.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.87 $8.87

$11.71 ₡5,248

-24.25%

Cappuccino

$4.34 $4.34

$4.54 ₡2,034

-4.41%

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

$2.79 $2.79

$2.75 ₡1,234

1.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 $1.53

$1.86 ₡835

-17.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.91 $6.91

$3.35 ₡1,501

106.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.36 $7.36

$4.32 ₡1,938

70.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 $1.27

$2.36 ₡1,057

-46.19%

White Bread (500g)

$5.25 $5.25

$3.07 ₡1,375

71.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.07 $4.07

$2.51 ₡1,124

62.15%

Eggs

$3.51 $3.51

$3.53 ₡1,580

-0.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.20 $11.20

$10.54 ₡4,724

6.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.19 $13.19

$10.57 ₡4,740

24.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.29 $17.29

$13.92 ₡6,242

24.21%

Apples (1kg)

$5.21 $5.21

$5.20 ₡2,331

0.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.10 $2.10

$1.65 ₡738

27.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.50 $4.50

$4.89 ₡2,191

-7.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.51 $4.51

$3.84 ₡1,722

17.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 $1.64

$3.91 ₡1,752

-58.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.70 $2.70

$3.76 ₡1,687

-28.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.51 $2.51

$1.12 ₡503

124.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 $3.11

$3.22 ₡1,443

-3.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.80 $13.80

$6.02 ₡2,698

129.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 $16.15

$19.84 ₡8,892

-18.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 $1.70

$2.81 ₡1,261

-39.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 $1.96

$3.65 ₡1,638

-46.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡485

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.93 $4.93

$2.26 ₡1,015

118.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.28 $2.28

$1.78 ₡797

28.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$47.07 $47.07

$7.90 ₡3,540

495.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.90 $0.90

$1.50 ₡671

-40.00%

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

$27.5K $27.5K

$33.5K ₡15.0M

-17.94%

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

$25.9K $25.9K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-38.79%

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

$196 $196

$93.2 ₡41.8K

110.37%

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

$53.1 $53.1

$36.13 ₡16.2K

47.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 $53.0

$60.6 ₡27.2K

-12.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.26 $25.26

$68.9 ₡30.9K

-63.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

Cinema Ticket

$12.20 $12.20

$7.67 ₡3,439

59.06%

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

$819 $819

$972 ₡435.6K

-15.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.0K $36.0K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

90.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.03 $25.03

$70.6 ₡31.7K

-64.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.66 $37.66

$56.7 ₡25.4K

-33.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.2 $51.2

$129 ₡57.7K

-60.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.8 $80.8

$131 ₡58.7K

-38.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,194 $2,194

$1,170 ₡524.3K

87.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,571 $1,571

$943 ₡422.8K

66.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,085 $4,085

$1,984 ₡889.3K

105.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,453 $2,453

$1,400 ₡627.6K

75.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,813 $4,813

$2,681 ₡1.2M

79.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,068 $3,068

$2,037 ₡913.0K

50.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,129 $6,129

$987 ₡442.3K

521.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.1

8.62

-29.23%

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

Last update for Portsmouth, NH: 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

Portsmouth, NH

$1.6K 56.9%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 40% $628

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth, NH

$429 15.5%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 6.1% $26

Eating Out

Portsmouth, NH

$306 11.1%

San Jose

$232 11% 24.1% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth, NH

$302 10.9%

San Jose

$190 9% 37.2% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth, NH

$88 3.2%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 98.7% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth, NH

$50 1.8%

San Jose

$84 4% 69.7% $35

Getting Around

Portsmouth, NH

$16 * 0.6%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 394% $64

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,194 in Portsmouth, NH 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 Portsmouth, NH are about 6.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $98 in Portsmouth, NH versus $62 in San Jose. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $429 vs $403 – making San Jose the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Portsmouth, NH

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

20:06 8:06 PM

19:06 7:06 PM

1 h behind Portsmouth, NH

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,535

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 2 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 7, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.895 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 501 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Portsmouth, NH San Jose 3,900 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth, NH
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

Portsmouth, NH vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Portsmouth, NH costs about 31% more than San Jose, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,142 per month in Portsmouth, NH 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 $2,194 in Portsmouth, NH.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $98 in Portsmouth, NH and $62 in San Jose. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Portsmouth, NH, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in San Jose, where all-in costs run around $2,107, than in Portsmouth, NH at $2,761. In San Jose it covers expenses comfortably, while in Portsmouth, NH it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. San Jose costs $2,107 versus $2,761 in Portsmouth, NH. 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, Portsmouth, NH makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.