Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Acuna

For one person, living is cheaper in Acuna: $1,128 a month against $1,938 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Acuna
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Acuna Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,938

/mo nomad

Acuna

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,128

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Jose and in Acuna

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in San Jose and in Acuna actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,938 per month in San Jose vs $1,128 in Acuna, rent included.

San Jose $1,938
Acuna $1,128

A couple spends around $2,936 per month in San Jose vs $1,861 in Acuna, rent included.

San Jose $2,936
Acuna $1,861

A family of three spends $3,934 per month in San Jose vs $2,594 in Acuna, rent included.

San Jose $3,934
Acuna $2,594

San Jose costs about 72% more than Acuna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

San Jose sits 44% above the global median, while Acuna is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.38 ₡5,551

$12.22 MX$226

1.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 ₡27.3K

$40.26 MX$744

51.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.45 ₡5,135

$8.18 MX$151

39.98%

Cappuccino

$4.39 ₡1,967

$3.04 MX$56.1

44.41%

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

$2.70 ₡1,211

$1.26 MX$23.26

114.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ₡864

$1.16 MX$21.43

66.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 ₡1,433

$2.25 MX$41.51

42.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 ₡1,979

$3.51 MX$64.9

25.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.44 ₡1,093

$1.82 MX$33.55

34.07%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 ₡1,369

$2.58 MX$47.59

18.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 ₡1,081

$1.73 MX$31.92

39.31%

Eggs

$3.40 ₡1,523

$2.50 MX$46.18

36.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.75 ₡4,823

$7.88 MX$146

36.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 ₡4,679

$7.96 MX$147

31.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 ₡6,273

$12.30 MX$227

13.74%

Apples (1kg)

$5.25 ₡2,353

$3.08 MX$57.0

70.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡712

$1.52 MX$28.10

4.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.69 ₡2,103

$1.95 MX$35.95

140.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.95 ₡1,770

$1.74 MX$32.16

127.01%

Potato (1kg)

$3.92 ₡1,760

$1.95 MX$36.12

101.03%

Onion (1kg)

$3.68 ₡1,651

$1.86 MX$34.34

97.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡503

$1.36 MX$25.17

-17.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.19 ₡1,429

$1.22 MX$22.50

161.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.00 ₡2,692

$4.08 MX$75.3

47.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.56 ₡8,771

$10.98 MX$203

78.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 ₡1,263

$1.58 MX$29.24

78.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 ₡1,611

$3.32 MX$61.3

8.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡503

$0.59 MX$10.92

89.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.8 ₡30.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.50 ₡1,119

$2.47 MX$45.72

1.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡733

$2.14 MX$39.55

-23.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.50 ₡3,812

$12.51 MX$231

-32.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.31 MX$24.23

19.08%

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

$22.4K ₡10.0M

$22.6K MX$417.6K

-0.84%

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

$35.6K ₡16.0M

$26.6K MX$491.6K

33.74%

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

$95.2 ₡42.7K

$55.5 MX$1,025

71.69%

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

$35.58 ₡16.0K

$21.62 MX$399

64.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.6 ₡26.3K

$29.24 MX$540

100.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.7 ₡32.6K

$37.72 MX$697

92.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.85 ₡11.1K

$19.85 MX$367

25.19%

Cinema Ticket

$7.58 ₡3,401

$5.30 MX$97.9

43.02%

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

$1,001 ₡449.0K

$242 MX$4,477

313.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K ₡7.7M

$4,625 MX$85.5K

270.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.5 ₡31.6K

$55.0 MX$1,017

28.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.0K

$43.44 MX$803

28.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 ₡58.2K

$111 MX$2,043

17.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.7K

$93.6 MX$1,729

39.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$927 ₡415.8K

$543 MX$10.0K

70.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 ₡347.2K

$367 MX$6,785

110.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,967 ₡882.0K

$963 MX$17.8K

104.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 ₡577.6K

$817 MX$15.1K

57.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,274 ₡1.0M

$2,129 MX$39.4K

6.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,831 ₡821.0K

$1,319 MX$24.4K

38.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,016 ₡455.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

11.3

-23.72%

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

Last update for San Jose: October 11, 2026

Last update for Acuna: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$774 40%

Acuna

$367 32.5% 52.6% $407

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$401 20.7%

Acuna

$268 23.8% 33.1% $133

Eating Out

San Jose

$229 11.8%

Acuna

$187 16.5% 18.6% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$189 9.8%

Acuna

$106 9.4% 43.9% $83

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 9%

Acuna

$136 12.1% 21.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$88 4.5%

Acuna

$48 4.3% 45% $40

Getting Around

San Jose

$82 4.2%

Acuna

$16 * 1.4% 81% $66

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $927 in San Jose versus $543 in Acuna. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in San Jose versus $40.00 in Acuna. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $401 vs $268 – making Acuna the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇲🇽 Acuna

🕒 Local time

01:10 1:10 AM

02:10 2:10 AM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

160,225

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Jose Acuna 2,780 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Acuna

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

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

Yes – San Jose is pricier by about 72%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,907 per month in San Jose and $1,693 in Acuna. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Acuna, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in San Jose and $40.00 in Acuna. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 49% more in San Jose, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Acuna, where all-in costs run around $1,128, than in San Jose at $1,938. In Acuna it covers expenses comfortably, while in San Jose it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Acuna – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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