Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Miraflores

For one person, living is cheaper in Miraflores: $1,118 a month against $1,938 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Miraflores
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Miraflores Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,938

/mo nomad

Miraflores

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,118

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,938 per month in San Jose vs $1,118 in Miraflores, rent included.

San Jose $1,938
Miraflores $1,118

A couple spends around $2,936 per month in San Jose vs $1,239 in Miraflores, rent included.

San Jose $2,936
Miraflores $1,239

A family of three spends $3,934 per month in San Jose vs $1,360 in Miraflores, rent included.

San Jose $3,934
Miraflores $1,360

San Jose costs about 73% more than Miraflores, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

San Jose sits 44% above the global median, while Miraflores is 17% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.38 ₡5,551

$4.29 PEN 14.74

188.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 ₡27.3K

$35.43 PEN 122

71.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.45 ₡5,135

$5.32 PEN 18.25

115.23%

Cappuccino

$4.39 ₡1,967

$3.27 PEN 11.23

34.25%

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

$2.70 ₡1,211

$1.11 PEN 3.80

143.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ₡864

$0.65 PEN 2.24

196.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 ₡1,433

$2.57 PEN 8.83

24.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 ₡1,979

$4.47 PEN 15.36

-1.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.44 ₡1,093

$1.34 PEN 4.59

82.09%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 ₡1,369

$1.17 PEN 4.03

160.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 ₡1,081

$1.30 PEN 4.48

85.38%

Eggs

$3.40 ₡1,523

$2.84 PEN 9.77

19.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.75 ₡4,823

$8.98 PEN 30.84

19.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 ₡4,679

$5.78 PEN 19.87

80.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 ₡6,273

$9.88 PEN 33.93

41.60%

Apples (1kg)

$5.25 ₡2,353

$2.07 PEN 7.10

153.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡712

$1.02 PEN 3.50

55.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.69 ₡2,103

$1.41 PEN 4.84

232.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.95 ₡1,770

$1.18 PEN 4.04

234.75%

Potato (1kg)

$3.92 ₡1,760

$0.88 PEN 3.02

345.45%

Onion (1kg)

$3.68 ₡1,651

$0.89 PEN 3.04

313.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡503

$0.83 PEN 2.84

34.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.19 ₡1,429

$0.61 PEN 2.09

422.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.00 ₡2,692

$5.67 PEN 19.48

5.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.56 ₡8,771

$8.65 PEN 29.70

126.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 ₡1,263

$1.78 PEN 6.11

58.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 ₡1,611

$2.86 PEN 9.84

25.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡503

$0.30 PEN 1.04

273.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.8 ₡30.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.50 ₡1,119

$3.81 PEN 13.08

-34.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡733

$2.05 PEN 7.03

-20.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.50 ₡3,812

$7.29 PEN 25.04

16.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.33 PEN 4.56

17.29%

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

$22.4K ₡10.0M

$22.1K PEN 76.0K

1.27%

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

$35.6K ₡16.0M

$25.4K PEN 87.1K

40.25%

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

$95.2 ₡42.7K

$58.9 PEN 202

61.61%

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

$35.58 ₡16.0K

$8.92 PEN 30.65

298.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.6 ₡26.3K

$27.50 PEN 94.5

113.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.7 ₡32.6K

$35.26 PEN 121

106.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.85 ₡11.1K

Cinema Ticket

$7.58 ₡3,401

$7.28 PEN 24.99

4.12%

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

$1,001 ₡449.0K

$175 PEN 603

470.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K ₡7.7M

$13.1K PEN 45.0K

30.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.5 ₡31.6K

$53.0 PEN 182

33.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.0K

$35.27 PEN 121

58.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 ₡58.2K

$83.6 PEN 287

55.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.7K

$79.9 PEN 274

63.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$927 ₡415.8K

$662 PEN 2,275

39.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 ₡347.2K

$524 PEN 1,800

47.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,967 ₡882.0K

$1,596 PEN 5,481

23.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 ₡577.6K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,274 ₡1.0M

$2,507 PEN 8,609

-9.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,831 ₡821.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,016 ₡455.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

8.94

-3.58%

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

Last update for San Jose: October 11, 2026

Last update for Miraflores: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$774 40%

Miraflores

$524 46.9% 32.3% $250

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$401 20.7%

Miraflores

$202 18.1% 49.6% $199

Eating Out

San Jose

$229 11.8%

Miraflores

$118 10.6% 48.4% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$189 9.8%

Miraflores

$95 8.5% 49.7% $94

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 9%

Miraflores

$113 10.1% 34.9% $61

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$88 4.5%

Miraflores

$50 4.5% 43.3% $38

Getting Around

San Jose

$82 4.2%

Miraflores

$15 * 1.4% 81.4% $67

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $927 in San Jose versus $662 in Miraflores. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in San Jose versus $35.00 in Miraflores. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $401 vs $202 – making Miraflores the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇵🇪 Miraflores

🕒 Local time

09:02 9:02 AM

10:02 10:02 AM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

99,337

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Jose Miraflores 2,570 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Miraflores

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 Miraflores: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – San Jose is pricier by about 73%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,907 per month in San Jose and $1,678 in Miraflores. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Miraflores, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in San Jose and $35.00 in Miraflores. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 98% more in San Jose, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Miraflores, where all-in costs run around $1,118, than in San Jose at $1,938. In Miraflores it covers expenses comfortably, while in San Jose it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Miraflores – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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