Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Cusco

For one person, living is cheaper in Cusco: $688 a month against $1,949 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Cusco
Learn more

Cusco Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,949

/mo nomad

Cusco

🇵🇪 Peru

$688

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,949 in San Jose versus $688 in Cusco.

San Jose $1,949
Cusco $688

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,903 in San Jose versus $1,096 in Cusco.

San Jose $2,903
Cusco $1,096

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,857 in San Jose versus $1,505 in Cusco.

San Jose $3,857
Cusco $1,505

Living in San Jose is roughly 183% more expensive than in Cusco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Jose is 45% above, Cusco is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 ₡5,510

$1.99 PEN 6.85

514.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.1 ₡27.1K

$20.55 PEN 70.7

192.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.77 ₡5,305

$6.70 PEN 23.04

75.67%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₡1,939

$2.11 PEN 7.24

103.79%

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

$2.72 ₡1,226

$0.78 PEN 2.69

248.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 ₡830

$0.33 PEN 1.13

457.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,480

$1.72 PEN 5.92

90.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 ₡1,966

$4.33 PEN 14.90

0.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.38 ₡1,074

$1.24 PEN 4.27

91.94%

White Bread (500g)

$3.12 ₡1,408

$2.32 PEN 7.97

34.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 ₡1,086

$1.29 PEN 4.43

86.82%

Eggs

$3.47 ₡1,564

$3.63 PEN 12.48

-4.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.57 ₡4,767

$4.69 PEN 16.14

125.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.56 ₡4,758

$4.43 PEN 15.24

138.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.75 ₡6,196

$7.37 PEN 25.35

86.57%

Apples (1kg)

$5.04 ₡2,274

$2.55 PEN 8.78

97.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡727

$0.77 PEN 2.63

109.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.59 ₡2,069

$1.47 PEN 5.04

212.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 ₡1,731

$0.85 PEN 2.94

351.76%

Potato (1kg)

$3.77 ₡1,700

$1.02 PEN 3.52

269.61%

Onion (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,693

$1.10 PEN 3.80

241.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡506

$0.49 PEN 1.67

128.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.20 ₡1,441

$0.75 PEN 2.58

326.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.84 ₡2,632

Wine (Bottle)

$19.73 ₡8,897

$5.93 PEN 20.41

232.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.75 ₡1,240

$1.85 PEN 6.38

48.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ₡1,650

$4.12 PEN 14.16

-11.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡503

$0.30 PEN 1.04

273.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.1 ₡29.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.46 ₡1,110

$1.72 PEN 5.91

43.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 ₡692

$1.93 PEN 6.65

-20.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.46 ₡3,815

$2.82 PEN 9.69

200.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡699

$1.57 PEN 5.42

-1.27%

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

$21.7K ₡9.8M

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

$34.9K ₡15.7M

$28.9K PEN 99.5K

20.52%

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

$94.7 ₡42.7K

$29.31 PEN 101

223.03%

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

$35.11 ₡15.8K

$14.31 PEN 49.22

145.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.6 ₡26.4K

$44.13 PEN 152

32.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.2 ₡32.5K

$28.51 PEN 98.1

153.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.19 ₡11.4K

Cinema Ticket

$7.83 ₡3,532

$4.26 PEN 14.64

83.80%

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

$971 ₡437.9K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.0K ₡7.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.6 ₡32.3K

$37.39 PEN 129

91.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.9 ₡24.7K

$33.43 PEN 115

64.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡58.2K

$54.4 PEN 187

137.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₡60.0K

$72.2 PEN 248

84.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$934 ₡420.9K

$218 PEN 748

329.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 ₡347.2K

$191 PEN 657

303.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,945 ₡876.7K

$538 PEN 1,849

261.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,316 ₡593.5K

$416 PEN 1,431

216.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,277 ₡1.0M

$3,249 PEN 11.2K

-29.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,795 ₡809.1K

$1,823 PEN 6,270

-1.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,006 ₡453.5K

$433 PEN 1,490

132.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

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

Last update for San Jose: October 3, 2026

Last update for Cusco: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$770 39.9%

Cusco

$191 27.8% 75.2% $579

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$399 20.7%

Cusco

$187 27.2% 53.2% $212

Eating Out

San Jose

$228 11.8%

Cusco

$83 12.1% 63.6% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$188 9.8%

Cusco

$88 12.8% 53.4% $101

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$175 9.1%

Cusco

$89 12.9% 49.2% $86

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$88 4.6%

Cusco

$37 5.4% 57.8% $51

Getting Around

San Jose

$80 4.1%

Cusco

$13 * 1.8% 84.2% $67

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 $934 in San Jose and $218 in Cusco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Jose pays 132% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $60.0 in San Jose vs $21.00 in Cusco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $399 vs $187 per month, with Cusco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇵🇪 Cusco

🕒 Local time

23:26 11:26 PM

00:26 12:26 AM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

428,450

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Jose Cusco 2,930 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Cusco

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 Cusco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cusco is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 183% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 132% higher in San Jose, 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: $934 in San Jose versus $218 in Cusco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 114% higher in San Jose. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cusco – a meal for two runs $21.00 versus $60.0 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $688 in Cusco versus $1,949 in San Jose, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cusco but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Cusco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cusco is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in San Jose, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Cusco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 183% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.