Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Carrefour

For one person, living is cheaper in Carrefour: $1,830 a month against $2,107 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 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
87

Cost of Living Index in Carrefour
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Carrefour Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Carrefour

🇭🇹 Haiti

$1,830

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,107 in San Jose versus $1,830 in Carrefour.

San Jose $2,107
Carrefour $1,830

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,081 in San Jose versus $2,710 in Carrefour.

San Jose $3,081
Carrefour $2,710

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,054 in San Jose versus $3,589 in Carrefour.

San Jose $4,054
Carrefour $3,589

Living in San Jose is roughly 15% more expensive than in Carrefour, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: San Jose 56% above, Carrefour 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.37 ₡5,563

$15.22 HTG 1,988

-18.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.4 ₡28.0K

$89.8 HTG 11.7K

-30.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.71 ₡5,264

$6.97 HTG 911

68.01%

Cappuccino

$4.54 ₡2,040

$1.69 HTG 220

168.64%

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

$2.75 ₡1,238

$1.59 HTG 208

72.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₡837

$1.46 HTG 191

27.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 ₡1,505

$5.01 HTG 654

-33.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.32 ₡1,944

$7.11 HTG 929

-39.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.36 ₡1,061

$1.57 HTG 205

50.32%

White Bread (500g)

$3.07 ₡1,379

$2.24 HTG 292

37.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,128

$3.15 HTG 411

-20.32%

Eggs

$3.53 ₡1,585

$2.79 HTG 364

26.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.54 ₡4,738

$7.76 HTG 1,013

35.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.57 ₡4,754

$6.06 HTG 792

74.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.92 ₡6,261

$11.76 HTG 1,536

18.37%

Apples (1kg)

$5.20 ₡2,338

$1.82 HTG 238

185.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 ₡740

$2.45 HTG 320

-32.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 ₡2,198

$0.90 HTG 118

443.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 ₡1,728

$2.34 HTG 305

64.10%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 ₡1,757

$6.22 HTG 812

-37.14%

Onion (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,692

$0.97 HTG 127

287.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.69 HTG 90.3

62.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 ₡1,447

$1.03 HTG 134

212.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 ₡2,706

$3.99 HTG 521

50.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.84 ₡8,919

$11.62 HTG 1,518

70.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 ₡1,264

$0.94 HTG 122

198.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 ₡1,643

$1.51 HTG 198

141.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

$0.17 HTG 22.50

535.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

$19.83 HTG 2,590

228.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.26 ₡1,018

$0.37 HTG 47.86

510.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 ₡799

$0.42 HTG 54.3

323.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ₡3,551

$19.76 HTG 2,580

-60.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₡673

$1.27 HTG 166

18.11%

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

$33.5K ₡15.1M

$40.3K HTG 5.3M

-16.91%

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

$42.3K ₡19.0M

$45.5K HTG 5.9M

-7.12%

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

$93.2 ₡41.9K

$102 HTG 13.3K

-8.31%

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

$36.13 ₡16.2K

$50.3 HTG 6,568

-28.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.6 ₡27.2K

$166 HTG 21.7K

-63.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 ₡31.0K

$70.2 HTG 9,170

-1.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

$20.27 HTG 2,647

23.04%

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 ₡3,449

$9.88 HTG 1,290

-22.37%

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

$972 ₡436.9K

$99.0 HTG 12.9K

881.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.9K ₡8.5M

$7,111 HTG 928.5K

165.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.6 ₡31.8K

$80.8 HTG 10.5K

-12.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.7 ₡25.5K

$74.5 HTG 9,725

-23.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡57.8K

$118 HTG 15.5K

8.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.8K

$150 HTG 19.6K

-13.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 ₡525.9K

$895 HTG 116.9K

30.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$943 ₡424.1K

$738 HTG 96.3K

27.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,984 ₡892.0K

$1,271 HTG 166.0K

56.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 ₡629.5K

$1,075 HTG 140.4K

30.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,681 ₡1.2M

$762 HTG 99.5K

251.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,037 ₡915.8K

$604 HTG 78.8K

237.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$987 ₡443.6K

$1,386 HTG 181.0K

-28.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

-42.53%

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

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Last update for Carrefour: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$943 44.8%

Carrefour

$738 40.3% 21.8% $206

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$403 19.1%

Carrefour

$256 14% 36.3% $146

Eating Out

San Jose

$232 11%

Carrefour

$214 11.7% 7.7% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$190 9%

Carrefour

$318 17.4% 67.5% $128

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 8.3%

Carrefour

$191 10.4% 9.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$84 4%

Carrefour

$90 4.9% 6.8% $5.7

Getting Around

San Jose

$81 3.8%

Carrefour

$23 1.3% 71.5% $58

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,170 in San Jose and $895 in Carrefour. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Carrefour pays 41% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in San Jose vs $90 in Carrefour. Groceries flip the comparison at $403 vs $256, with Carrefour cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇭🇹 Carrefour

🕒 Local time

01:26 1:26 AM

02:26 2:26 AM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

511,345

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Haitian Gourde HTG G

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1,000 HTG = 7.66 USD

1,000 HTG = 6.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HTG, 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).

Haitian Gourde exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 131 HTG (1,000 HTG = 7.66 USD). 1 EUR = 147 HTG (1,000 HTG = 6.82 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Jose Carrefour 1,580 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Carrefour

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 Carrefour: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,107 in San Jose and $1,830 in Carrefour, so Carrefour is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 29% lower in San Jose. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,170 in San Jose versus $895 in Carrefour. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $972 in San Jose versus $99 in Carrefour. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in San Jose. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Carrefour gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.