Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Milton

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,721 in Milton, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 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
131

Cost of Living Index in Milton
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Milton Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Milton

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,721

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,107 in San Jose versus $2,721 in Milton.

San Jose $2,107
Milton $2,721

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,081 in San Jose versus $3,855 in Milton.

San Jose $3,081
Milton $3,855

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,054 in San Jose versus $4,990 in Milton.

San Jose $4,054
Milton $4,990

Living in San Jose costs roughly 23% less than in Milton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: San Jose 56% above, Milton 101% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.37 ₡5,563

$14.12 CA$19.85

-12.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.4 ₡28.0K

$70.8 CA$99.5

-11.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.71 ₡5,264

$8.54 CA$12.00

37.12%

Cappuccino

$4.54 ₡2,040

$3.63 CA$5.11

25.07%

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

$2.75 ₡1,238

$2.96 CA$4.16

-7.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₡837

$2.34 CA$3.28

-20.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 ₡1,505

$4.81 CA$6.77

-30.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.32 ₡1,944

$6.10 CA$8.58

-29.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.36 ₡1,061

$2.01 CA$2.83

17.41%

White Bread (500g)

$3.07 ₡1,379

$2.19 CA$3.08

40.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,128

$2.64 CA$3.71

-4.92%

Eggs

$3.53 ₡1,585

$3.36 CA$4.73

5.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.54 ₡4,738

$9.09 CA$12.78

15.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.57 ₡4,754

$21.90 CA$30.79

-51.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.92 ₡6,261

$23.29 CA$32.76

-40.23%

Apples (1kg)

$5.20 ₡2,338

$4.95 CA$6.96

5.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 ₡740

$1.10 CA$1.54

50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 ₡2,198

$2.97 CA$4.18

64.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 ₡1,728

$4.02 CA$5.66

-4.48%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 ₡1,757

$2.41 CA$3.40

62.24%

Onion (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,692

$2.15 CA$3.02

74.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡504

$2.27 CA$3.20

-50.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 ₡1,447

$1.87 CA$2.62

72.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 ₡2,706

$11.44 CA$16.08

-47.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.84 ₡8,919

$13.48 CA$18.95

47.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 ₡1,264

$2.06 CA$2.90

36.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 ₡1,643

$2.64 CA$3.72

38.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

$2.93 CA$4.11

-63.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

$56.1 CA$78.8

16.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.26 ₡1,018

$3.17 CA$4.46

-28.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 ₡799

$1.48 CA$2.07

20.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ₡3,551

$29.13 CA$40.96

-72.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₡673

$1.03 CA$1.45

45.63%

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

$33.5K ₡15.1M

$24.7K CA$34.8K

35.27%

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

$42.3K ₡19.0M

$19.5K CA$27.4K

116.99%

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

$93.2 ₡41.9K

$237 CA$334

-60.72%

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

$36.13 ₡16.2K

$55.5 CA$78.1

-34.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.6 ₡27.2K

$52.8 CA$74.2

14.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 ₡31.0K

$42.61 CA$59.9

61.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

$20.86 CA$29.34

19.56%

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 ₡3,449

$14.32 CA$20.14

-46.44%

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

$972 ₡436.9K

$413 CA$581

135.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.9K ₡8.5M

$10.7K CA$15.0K

76.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.6 ₡31.8K

$68.1 CA$95.7

3.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.7 ₡25.5K

$46.95 CA$66.0

20.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡57.8K

$89.9 CA$126

43.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.8K

$142 CA$200

-7.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 ₡525.9K

$1,490 CA$2,096

-21.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$943 ₡424.1K

$1,408 CA$1,980

-33.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,984 ₡892.0K

$2,591 CA$3,644

-23.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 ₡629.5K

$2,102 CA$2,956

-33.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,681 ₡1.2M

$4,875 CA$6,856

-45.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,037 ₡915.8K

$4,144 CA$5,828

-50.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$987 ₡443.6K

$3,169 CA$4,457

-68.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.69

51.49%

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

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Last update for Milton: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$943 44.8%

Milton

$1.4K 51.8% 49.3% $465

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$403 19.1%

Milton

$422 15.5% 4.7% $19

Eating Out

San Jose

$232 11%

Milton

$240 8.8% 3.1% $7.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$190 9%

Milton

$346 12.7% 81.9% $156

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 8.3%

Milton

$156 5.7% 10.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$84 4%

Milton

$71 2.6% 15.5% $13

Getting Around

San Jose

$81 3.8%

Milton

$78 2.9% 3% $2.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,170 in San Jose and $1,490 in Milton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Milton pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in San Jose vs $71 in Milton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $403 vs $422 per month, with San Jose cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇨🇦 Milton

🕒 Local time

09:58 9:58 AM

10:58 10:58 AM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

110,128

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 CAD = 0.711 USD

1 CAD = 0.633 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 = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.711 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 CAD (1 CAD = 0.633 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Jose Milton 3,760 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Milton

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 Milton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,107 in San Jose and $2,721 in Milton, so San Jose is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 69% 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 $1,490 in Milton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Milton runs roughly 14% less than in San Jose. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $972 in San Jose versus $413 in Milton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $2,107 in San Jose versus $2,721 in Milton, a $2,500 budget is realistic in San Jose but tight or insufficient in Milton. The gap between the two cities makes San Jose the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

It comes down to priorities – San Jose wins on affordability, Milton on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.