Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Pasto

For one person, living is cheaper in Pasto: $799 a month against $1,938 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Pasto
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Pasto Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,938

/mo nomad

Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$799

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,938 in San Jose versus $799 in Pasto.

San Jose $1,938
Pasto $799

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,936 in San Jose versus $1,210 in Pasto.

San Jose $2,936
Pasto $1,210

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,934 in San Jose versus $1,622 in Pasto.

San Jose $3,934
Pasto $1,622

Living in San Jose is roughly 143% more expensive than in Pasto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Jose is 44% above, Pasto is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.38 ₡5,551

$3.98 COP 12.6K

211.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 ₡27.3K

$23.79 COP 75.4K

155.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.45 ₡5,135

$7.46 COP 23.7K

53.49%

Cappuccino

$4.39 ₡1,967

$1.56 COP 4,934

181.41%

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

$2.70 ₡1,211

$0.86 COP 2,724

213.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ₡864

$0.61 COP 1,943

216.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 ₡1,433

$1.16 COP 3,666

175.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 ₡1,979

$2.20 COP 6,968

100.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.44 ₡1,093

$1.09 COP 3,464

123.85%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 ₡1,369

$1.29 COP 4,088

136.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 ₡1,081

$1.18 COP 3,744

104.24%

Eggs

$3.40 ₡1,523

$2.14 COP 6,771

58.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.75 ₡4,823

$4.61 COP 14.6K

133.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 ₡4,679

$5.26 COP 16.7K

98.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 ₡6,273

$7.29 COP 23.1K

91.91%

Apples (1kg)

$5.25 ₡2,353

$2.44 COP 7,748

115.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡712

$1.04 COP 3,302

52.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.69 ₡2,103

$1.30 COP 4,108

260.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.95 ₡1,770

$1.07 COP 3,379

269.16%

Potato (1kg)

$3.92 ₡1,760

$1.15 COP 3,648

240.87%

Onion (1kg)

$3.68 ₡1,651

$1.13 COP 3,586

225.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡503

$0.80 COP 2,537

40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.19 ₡1,429

$0.64 COP 2,041

398.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.00 ₡2,692

$2.37 COP 7,509

153.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.56 ₡8,771

$9.81 COP 31.1K

99.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 ₡1,263

$1.09 COP 3,443

158.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 ₡1,611

$1.77 COP 5,599

102.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡503

$0.72 COP 2,271

55.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.8 ₡30.0K

$30.39 COP 96.4K

119.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.50 ₡1,119

$1.43 COP 4,532

74.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡733

$1.79 COP 5,688

-8.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.50 ₡3,812

$5.98 COP 18.9K

42.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$0.93 COP 2,958

67.74%

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

$22.4K ₡10.0M

$18.1K COP 57.2M

24.11%

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

$35.6K ₡16.0M

$25.7K COP 81.6M

38.20%

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

$95.2 ₡42.7K

$83.4 COP 264.4K

14.19%

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

$35.58 ₡16.0K

$8.89 COP 28.2K

300.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.6 ₡26.3K

$22.38 COP 71.0K

161.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.7 ₡32.6K

$23.02 COP 73.0K

215.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.85 ₡11.1K

Cinema Ticket

$7.58 ₡3,401

$3.89 COP 12.3K

94.86%

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

$1,001 ₡449.0K

$235 COP 744.6K

326.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K ₡7.7M

$6,071 COP 19.2M

182.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.5 ₡31.6K

$58.6 COP 185.6K

20.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.0K

$32.60 COP 103.4K

71.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 ₡58.2K

$82.4 COP 261.4K

57.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.7K

$71.8 COP 227.6K

82.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$927 ₡415.8K

$269 COP 851.9K

245.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 ₡347.2K

$237 COP 751.4K

226.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,967 ₡882.0K

$530 COP 1.7M

271.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 ₡577.6K

$415 COP 1.3M

210.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,274 ₡1.0M

$1,429 COP 4.5M

59.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,831 ₡821.0K

$1,069 COP 3.4M

71.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,016 ₡455.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

13.06

-34.00%

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

Last update for San Jose: October 11, 2026

Last update for Pasto: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$774 40%

Pasto

$237 29.7% 69.4% $537

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$401 20.7%

Pasto

$173 21.7% 56.8% $228

Eating Out

San Jose

$229 11.8%

Pasto

$89 11.1% 61.2% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$189 9.8%

Pasto

$115 14.4% 39.5% $75

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 9%

Pasto

$110 13.8% 36.6% $64

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$88 4.5%

Pasto

$31 3.9% 64.9% $57

Getting Around

San Jose

$82 4.2%

Pasto

$44 5.5% 46.7% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $927 in San Jose and $269 in Pasto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in San Jose vs $24.00 in Pasto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $401 vs $173 per month, with Pasto cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇨🇴 Pasto

🕒 Local time

22:51 10:51 PM

23:51 11:51 PM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

392,930

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Jose Pasto 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Pasto

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 Pasto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose and Pasto differ by about 143% in total monthly costs ($1,938 vs $799 including rent). Pasto 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 $1,198 in Pasto 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $927 in San Jose versus $269 in Pasto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 131% higher in San Jose. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Pasto – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $61.0 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $799 in Pasto versus $1,938 in San Jose, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Pasto but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Pasto 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.

Safety-wise, San Jose and Pasto are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Pasto gentler on the wallet – expenses run 143% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.