Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Mayari

For one person, living is cheaper in Mayari: $1,510 a month against $2,107 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 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
72

Cost of Living Index in Mayari
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Mayari Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Mayari

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,510

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,107 in San Jose versus $1,510 in Mayari.

San Jose $2,107
Mayari $1,510

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,081 in San Jose versus $2,454 in Mayari.

San Jose $3,081
Mayari $2,454

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,054 in San Jose versus $3,398 in Mayari.

San Jose $4,054
Mayari $3,398

Living in San Jose is roughly 40% more expensive than in Mayari, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: San Jose 56% above, Mayari 12% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.37 ₡5,563

$6.06 CUP 145

104.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.4 ₡28.0K

$19.73 CUP 474

216.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.71 ₡5,264

$6.60 CUP 158

77.42%

Cappuccino

$4.54 ₡2,040

$1.27 CUP 30.41

257.48%

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

$2.75 ₡1,238

$2.24 CUP 53.8

22.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₡837

$1.27 CUP 30.43

46.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 ₡1,505

$2.46 CUP 59.0

36.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.32 ₡1,944

$3.05 CUP 73.3

41.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.36 ₡1,061

$2.92 CUP 70.1

-19.18%

White Bread (500g)

$3.07 ₡1,379

$0.76 CUP 18.34

303.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,128

$2.43 CUP 58.4

3.29%

Eggs

$3.53 ₡1,585

$3.15 CUP 75.6

12.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.54 ₡4,738

$5.85 CUP 140

80.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.57 ₡4,754

$5.32 CUP 128

98.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.92 ₡6,261

$11.86 CUP 285

17.37%

Apples (1kg)

$5.20 ₡2,338

$5.02 CUP 120

3.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 ₡740

$1.18 CUP 28.38

39.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 ₡2,198

$1.38 CUP 33.17

254.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 ₡1,728

$1.46 CUP 35.06

163.01%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 ₡1,757

$1.86 CUP 44.75

110.22%

Onion (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,692

$2.89 CUP 69.3

30.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.97 CUP 23.35

15.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 ₡1,447

$1.08 CUP 26.02

198.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 ₡2,706

$3.48 CUP 83.4

72.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.84 ₡8,919

$9.87 CUP 237

101.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 ₡1,264

$1.70 CUP 40.87

65.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 ₡1,643

$1.92 CUP 46.08

90.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

$0.18 CUP 4.43

500.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

$20.20 CUP 485

222.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.26 ₡1,018

$2.22 CUP 53.2

1.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 ₡799

$0.38 CUP 9.13

368.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ₡3,551

$19.82 CUP 476

-60.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₡673

$1.27 CUP 30.59

18.11%

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

$33.5K ₡15.1M

$70.2K CUP 1.7M

-52.33%

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

$42.3K ₡19.0M

$79.6K CUP 1.9M

-46.89%

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

$93.2 ₡41.9K

$34.87 CUP 837

167.25%

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

$36.13 ₡16.2K

$40.70 CUP 977

-11.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.6 ₡27.2K

$252 CUP 6,056

-75.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 ₡31.0K

$40.61 CUP 975

69.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

$15.28 CUP 367

63.22%

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 ₡3,449

$0.98 CUP 23.64

682.65%

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

$972 ₡436.9K

$117 CUP 2,816

728.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.9K ₡8.5M

$17.7K CUP 425.9K

6.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.6 ₡31.8K

$54.3 CUP 1,303

30.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.7 ₡25.5K

$39.60 CUP 950

43.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡57.8K

$44.37 CUP 1,065

189.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.8K

$49.18 CUP 1,180

166.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 ₡525.9K

$210 CUP 5,049

455.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$943 ₡424.1K

$670 CUP 16.1K

40.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,984 ₡892.0K

$380 CUP 9,119

422.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 ₡629.5K

$1,796 CUP 43.1K

-22.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,681 ₡1.2M

$399 CUP 9,566

572.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,037 ₡915.8K

$345 CUP 8,292

489.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$987 ₡443.6K

$22.03 CUP 529

4378.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

-13.80%

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

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mayari: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$943 44.8%

Mayari

$670 44.4% 29% $274

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$403 19.1%

Mayari

$244 16.2% 39.3% $158

Eating Out

San Jose

$232 11%

Mayari

$116 7.7% 50.1% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$190 9%

Mayari

$328 21.7% 72.7% $138

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 8.3%

Mayari

$84 5.6% 51.5% $90

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$84 4%

Mayari

$43 2.8% 49.5% $42

Getting Around

San Jose

$81 3.8%

Mayari

$25 1.7% 69% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,170 in San Jose and $210 in Mayari. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Jose pays about 45 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in San Jose vs $20 in Mayari for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $403 vs $244 per month, with Mayari cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇨🇺 Mayari

🕒 Local time

23:09 11:09 PM

00:09 12:09 AM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

29,259

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, 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).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.94 CUP (100 CUP = 3.71 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

San Jose Mayari 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Mayari

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 Mayari: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mayari wins on cost – living expenses run 28% lower than in San Jose. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Mayari the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in San Jose is about 45 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: $1,170 in San Jose versus $210 in Mayari. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mayari – a meal for two runs $20 versus $62 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,107 per month in San Jose versus $1,510 in Mayari – Mayari is about 28% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Mayari is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Mayari gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.