Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Burlington

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,701 in Burlington, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index
130

Cost of Living Index in Burlington
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Burlington Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Burlington

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,701

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Burlington actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,107 per month in San Jose vs $2,701 in Burlington, rent included.

San Jose $2,107
Burlington $2,701

A couple spends around $3,081 per month in San Jose vs $3,861 in Burlington, rent included.

San Jose $3,081
Burlington $3,861

A family of three spends $4,054 per month in San Jose vs $5,021 in Burlington, rent included.

San Jose $4,054
Burlington $5,021

San Jose is about 22% cheaper than Burlington, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both San Jose and Burlington sit above the global median – San Jose by 56%, Burlington by 100%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.37 ₡5,563

$21.06 CA$29.52

-41.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.4 ₡28.0K

$72.5 CA$102

-13.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.71 ₡5,264

$10.86 CA$15.23

7.83%

Cappuccino

$4.54 ₡2,040

$3.28 CA$4.60

38.41%

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

$2.75 ₡1,238

$1.99 CA$2.80

38.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₡837

$1.54 CA$2.16

20.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 ₡1,505

$5.84 CA$8.18

-42.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.32 ₡1,944

$6.42 CA$9.00

-32.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.36 ₡1,061

$2.69 CA$3.77

-12.27%

White Bread (500g)

$3.07 ₡1,379

$2.91 CA$4.08

5.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,128

$3.80 CA$5.33

-33.95%

Eggs

$3.53 ₡1,585

$3.63 CA$5.09

-2.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.54 ₡4,738

$9.99 CA$14.01

5.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.57 ₡4,754

$9.37 CA$13.14

12.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.92 ₡6,261

$14.73 CA$20.65

-5.50%

Apples (1kg)

$5.20 ₡2,338

$3.64 CA$5.11

42.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 ₡740

$1.54 CA$2.16

7.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 ₡2,198

$2.63 CA$3.69

85.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 ₡1,728

$3.66 CA$5.13

4.92%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 ₡1,757

$1.89 CA$2.65

106.88%

Onion (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,692

$1.95 CA$2.73

92.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡504

$2.08 CA$2.91

-46.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 ₡1,447

$1.49 CA$2.09

116.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 ₡2,706

$12.83 CA$17.98

-53.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.84 ₡8,919

$10.66 CA$14.94

86.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 ₡1,264

$2.77 CA$3.89

1.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 ₡1,643

$2.92 CA$4.09

25.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

$2.65 CA$3.71

-59.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

$98.8 CA$138

-33.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.26 ₡1,018

$4.95 CA$6.93

-54.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 ₡799

$2.13 CA$2.99

-16.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ₡3,551

$39.26 CA$55.0

-79.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₡673

$1.20 CA$1.68

25.00%

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

$33.5K ₡15.1M

$27.9K CA$39.2K

19.77%

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

$42.3K ₡19.0M

$22.0K CA$30.9K

92.14%

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

$93.2 ₡41.9K

$152 CA$214

-38.82%

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

$36.13 ₡16.2K

$44.84 CA$62.9

-19.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.6 ₡27.2K

$68.3 CA$95.7

-11.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 ₡31.0K

$44.18 CA$61.9

56.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

$29.82 CA$41.79

-16.36%

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 ₡3,449

$16.43 CA$23.03

-53.32%

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

$972 ₡436.9K

$885 CA$1,241

9.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.9K ₡8.5M

$20.2K CA$28.3K

-6.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.6 ₡31.8K

$70.0 CA$98.2

0.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.7 ₡25.5K

$65.6 CA$91.9

-13.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡57.8K

$97.8 CA$137

31.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.8K

$97.7 CA$137

33.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 ₡525.9K

$1,719 CA$2,409

-31.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$943 ₡424.1K

$1,448 CA$2,030

-34.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,984 ₡892.0K

$2,623 CA$3,677

-24.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 ₡629.5K

$2,194 CA$3,076

-36.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,681 ₡1.2M

$5,216 CA$7,311

-48.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,037 ₡915.8K

$4,125 CA$5,782

-50.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$987 ₡443.6K

$3,291 CA$4,613

-70.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

4.52

90.71%

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

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Last update for Burlington: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$943 44.8%

Burlington

$1.4K 53.6% 53.5% $505

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$403 19.1%

Burlington

$340 12.6% 15.6% $63

Eating Out

San Jose

$232 11%

Burlington

$297 11% 27.6% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$190 9%

Burlington

$265 9.8% 39.8% $76

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 8.3%

Burlington

$149 5.5% 14.4% $25

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$84 4%

Burlington

$77 2.9% 8.6% $7.2

Getting Around

San Jose

$81 3.8%

Burlington

$125 4.6% 54.9% $44

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,170 in San Jose versus $1,719 in Burlington. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Burlington are about 3.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in San Jose versus $72 in Burlington. Groceries tell a different story – $403 in San Jose vs $340 in Burlington – so Burlington wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇨🇦 Burlington

🕒 Local time

04:30 4:30 AM

05:30 5:30 AM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

183,314

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.635 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

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).

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).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Jose Burlington 3,740 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Burlington

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 Burlington: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Burlington is pricier by about 28%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,161 per month in San Jose and $4,051 in Burlington. 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 $1,719 in Burlington.

Kindergarten costs $972 per month in San Jose and $885 in Burlington. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 16% cheaper in Burlington – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in San Jose, where all-in costs run around $2,107, than in Burlington at $2,701. In San Jose it covers expenses comfortably, while in Burlington it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. San Jose has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $2,107 in San Jose to $2,701 in Burlington. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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