Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Old Harbour

For one person, living is cheaper in Old Harbour: $998 a month against $1,938 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Old Harbour
Learn more

Old Harbour Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,938

/mo nomad

Old Harbour

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$998

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Jose and in Old Harbour

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,938 in San Jose versus $998 in Old Harbour.

San Jose $1,938
Old Harbour $998

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,936 in San Jose versus $1,652 in Old Harbour.

San Jose $2,936
Old Harbour $1,652

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,934 in San Jose versus $2,305 in Old Harbour.

San Jose $3,934
Old Harbour $2,305

Living in San Jose is roughly 94% more expensive than in Old Harbour, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Jose is 44% above, Old Harbour is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.38 ₡5,551

$13.53 JMD 2,138

-8.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 ₡27.3K

$74.1 JMD 11.7K

-17.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.45 ₡5,135

$7.93 JMD 1,253

44.39%

Cappuccino

$4.39 ₡1,967

$5.24 JMD 828

-16.22%

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

$2.70 ₡1,211

$1.20 JMD 190

125.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ₡864

$0.73 JMD 115

164.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 ₡1,433

$2.17 JMD 343

47.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 ₡1,979

$3.17 JMD 500

39.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.44 ₡1,093

$4.03 JMD 636

-39.45%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 ₡1,369

$3.77 JMD 595

-19.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 ₡1,081

$1.59 JMD 251

51.57%

Eggs

$3.40 ₡1,523

$3.47 JMD 548

-2.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.75 ₡4,823

$11.28 JMD 1,783

-4.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 ₡4,679

$6.38 JMD 1,008

63.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 ₡6,273

$10.30 JMD 1,628

35.83%

Apples (1kg)

$5.25 ₡2,353

$6.09 JMD 963

-13.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡712

$3.80 JMD 601

-58.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.69 ₡2,103

$7.45 JMD 1,177

-37.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.95 ₡1,770

$3.06 JMD 484

29.08%

Potato (1kg)

$3.92 ₡1,760

$3.28 JMD 519

19.51%

Onion (1kg)

$3.68 ₡1,651

$2.70 JMD 427

36.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡503

$3.03 JMD 479

-63.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.19 ₡1,429

$1.45 JMD 229

120.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.00 ₡2,692

$9.24 JMD 1,459

-35.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.56 ₡8,771

$11.41 JMD 1,803

71.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 ₡1,263

$2.80 JMD 442

0.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 ₡1,611

$4.00 JMD 633

-10.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡503

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.8 ₡30.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.50 ₡1,119

$1.16 JMD 184

115.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡733

$3.07 JMD 486

-46.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.50 ₡3,812

$6.13 JMD 968

38.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.47 JMD 232

6.12%

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

$22.4K ₡10.0M

$44.8K JMD 7.1M

-49.96%

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

$35.6K ₡16.0M

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

8.42%

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

$95.2 ₡42.7K

$164 JMD 26.0K

-42.04%

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

$35.58 ₡16.0K

$29.43 JMD 4,650

20.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.6 ₡26.3K

$53.0 JMD 8,374

10.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.7 ₡32.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.85 ₡11.1K

Cinema Ticket

$7.58 ₡3,401

$13.05 JMD 2,062

-41.92%

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

$1,001 ₡449.0K

$361 JMD 57.0K

177.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K ₡7.7M

$8,389 JMD 1.3M

104.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.5 ₡31.6K

$23.49 JMD 3,710

200.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.0K

$31.98 JMD 5,053

74.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 ₡58.2K

$76.2 JMD 12.0K

70.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.7K

$104 JMD 16.4K

25.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$927 ₡415.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 ₡347.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,967 ₡882.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 ₡577.6K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,274 ₡1.0M

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

9.45

-8.78%

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

Last update for San Jose: October 11, 2026

Last update for Old Harbour: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$774 40%

Old Harbour

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$401 20.7%

Old Harbour

$383 38.4% 4.5% $18

Eating Out

San Jose

$229 11.8%

Old Harbour

$220 22% 4.1% $9.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$189 9.8%

Old Harbour

$247 24.7% 30.2% $57

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 9%

Old Harbour

$106 10.6% 39.1% $68

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$88 4.5%

Old Harbour

$26 * 2.6% 70.3% $62

Getting Around

San Jose

$82 4.2%

Old Harbour

$17 * 1.7% 79.8% $65

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $61.0 in San Jose vs $74.0 in Old Harbour. Groceries flip the comparison at $401 vs $383, with Old Harbour cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇯🇲 Old Harbour

🕒 Local time

17:21 5:21 PM

18:21 6:21 PM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

26,024

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, 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).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

San Jose Old Harbour 1,160 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Old Harbour

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 Old Harbour: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose and Old Harbour differ by about 94% in total monthly costs ($1,938 vs $998 including rent). Old Harbour is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,907 in San Jose and $1,497 in Old Harbour to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $1,001 in San Jose versus $361 in Old Harbour. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Old Harbour – a meal for two runs $74.0 versus $61.0 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $998 in Old Harbour versus $1,938 in San Jose, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Old Harbour but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Old Harbour 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.

Expats usually find Old Harbour gentler on the wallet – expenses run 94% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.