Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint George, UT and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,454 in Saint George, UT, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Saint George, UT outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Saint George, UT
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Saint George, UT Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Saint George, UT

🇺🇸 United States

$2,454

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,454 in Saint George, UT versus $2,107 in San Jose.

Saint George, UT $2,454
San Jose $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,305 in Saint George, UT versus $3,081 in San Jose.

Saint George, UT $3,305
San Jose $3,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,156 in Saint George, UT versus $4,054 in San Jose.

Saint George, UT $4,156
San Jose $4,054

Living in Saint George, UT is roughly 16% more expensive than in San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Saint George, UT 82% above, San Jose 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.05 $13.05

$12.37 ₡5,563

5.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.9 $68.9

$62.4 ₡28.0K

10.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.81 $9.81

$11.71 ₡5,264

-16.23%

Cappuccino

$4.87 $4.87

$4.54 ₡2,040

7.27%

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

$2.70 $2.70

$2.75 ₡1,238

-1.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.34 $2.34

$1.86 ₡837

25.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.84 $7.84

$3.35 ₡1,505

134.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.86 $7.86

$4.32 ₡1,944

81.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 $0.89

$2.36 ₡1,061

-62.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.95 $2.95

$3.07 ₡1,379

-3.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.42 $4.42

$2.51 ₡1,128

76.10%

Eggs

$4.41 $4.41

$3.53 ₡1,585

24.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 $13.26

$10.54 ₡4,738

25.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.90 $8.90

$10.57 ₡4,754

-15.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.06 $12.06

$13.92 ₡6,261

-13.36%

Apples (1kg)

$4.20 $4.20

$5.20 ₡2,338

-19.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 $1.49

$1.65 ₡740

-9.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 $3.63

$4.89 ₡2,198

-25.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.43 $3.43

$3.84 ₡1,728

-10.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 $1.98

$3.91 ₡1,757

-49.36%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 $2.24

$3.76 ₡1,692

-40.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 $1.91

$1.12 ₡504

70.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.16 $2.16

$3.22 ₡1,447

-32.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.89 $9.89

$6.02 ₡2,706

64.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 $11.15

$19.84 ₡8,919

-43.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 $1.71

$2.81 ₡1,264

-39.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 $2.98

$3.65 ₡1,643

-18.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.14 $5.14

$2.26 ₡1,018

127.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 $1.93

$1.78 ₡799

8.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.79 $32.79

$7.90 ₡3,551

315.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 $1.08

$1.50 ₡673

-28.00%

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

$37.1K $37.1K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

10.75%

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

$27.6K $27.6K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-34.84%

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

$132 $132

$93.2 ₡41.9K

41.97%

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

$77.6 $77.6

$36.13 ₡16.2K

114.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.6 $71.6

$60.6 ₡27.2K

18.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.68 $29.68

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-56.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

Cinema Ticket

$12.75 $12.75

$7.67 ₡3,449

66.23%

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

$615 $615

$972 ₡436.9K

-36.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.0K $27.0K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

43.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.91 $45.91

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-34.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.03 $36.03

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-36.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.1 $83.1

$129 ₡57.8K

-35.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.6 $93.6

$131 ₡58.8K

-28.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,579 $1,579

$1,170 ₡525.9K

35.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,382 $1,382

$943 ₡424.1K

46.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,054 $2,054

$1,984 ₡892.0K

3.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,760 $1,760

$1,400 ₡629.5K

25.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,098 $3,098

$2,681 ₡1.2M

15.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,074 $3,074

$2,037 ₡915.8K

50.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,958 $3,958

$987 ₡443.6K

301.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.54

8.62

-24.13%

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

Last update for Saint George, UT: 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

Saint George, UT

$1.4K 56.3%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 31.8% $439

Groceries & Markets

Saint George, UT

$337 13.7%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 19.6% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint George, UT

$281 11.5%

San Jose

$190 9% 32.5% $92

Eating Out

Saint George, UT

$267 10.9%

San Jose

$232 11% 13.1% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Saint George, UT

$116 4.7%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 49.5% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Saint George, UT

$55 2.3%

San Jose

$84 4% 52.7% $29

Getting Around

Saint George, UT

$15 * 0.6%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 446% $66

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,579 in Saint George, UT and $1,170 in San Jose. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint George, UT pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $69 in Saint George, UT vs $62 in San Jose. Groceries flip the comparison at $337 vs $403, with Saint George, UT cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Saint George, UT

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

09:58 9:58 AM

10:58 10:58 AM

1 h ahead of Saint George, UT

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,342

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 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 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Saint George, UT San Jose 4,230 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Saint George, UT
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

Saint George, UT vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose wins on cost – living expenses run 14% lower than in Saint George, UT. 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 Saint George, UT is about 4 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: $1,579 in Saint George, UT versus $1,170 in San Jose. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $615 in Saint George, UT versus $972 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 San Jose – a meal for two runs $62 versus $69 in Saint George, UT. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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