Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Rosarito

For one person, living is cheaper in Rosarito: $1,173 a month against $1,949 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Rosarito
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Rosarito Living Index

Jump to prices

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,949

/mo nomad

Rosarito

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,173

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,949 in San Jose versus $1,173 in Rosarito.

San Jose $1,949
Rosarito $1,173

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,903 in San Jose versus $1,900 in Rosarito.

San Jose $2,903
Rosarito $1,900

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,857 in San Jose versus $2,628 in Rosarito.

San Jose $3,857
Rosarito $2,628

Living in San Jose is roughly 66% more expensive than in Rosarito, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Jose is 45% above, Rosarito is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 ₡5,510

$12.41 MX$228

-1.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.1 ₡27.1K

$34.87 MX$640

72.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.77 ₡5,305

$9.82 MX$180

19.86%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₡1,939

$4.26 MX$78.2

0.94%

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

$2.72 ₡1,226

$1.37 MX$25.20

98.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 ₡830

$1.24 MX$22.83

48.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,480

$3.42 MX$62.7

-4.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 ₡1,966

$6.57 MX$121

-33.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.38 ₡1,074

$1.80 MX$33.03

32.22%

White Bread (500g)

$3.12 ₡1,408

$3.01 MX$55.3

3.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 ₡1,086

$1.76 MX$32.27

36.93%

Eggs

$3.47 ₡1,564

$3.31 MX$60.7

4.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.57 ₡4,767

$8.34 MX$153

26.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.56 ₡4,758

$7.32 MX$134

44.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.75 ₡6,196

$11.88 MX$218

15.74%

Apples (1kg)

$5.04 ₡2,274

$2.86 MX$52.5

76.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡727

$1.68 MX$30.79

-4.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.59 ₡2,069

$1.91 MX$35.02

140.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 ₡1,731

$1.65 MX$30.30

132.73%

Potato (1kg)

$3.77 ₡1,700

$1.58 MX$28.93

138.61%

Onion (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,693

$1.91 MX$35.07

96.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡506

$1.47 MX$27.08

-23.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.20 ₡1,441

$1.07 MX$19.73

199.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.84 ₡2,632

$4.37 MX$80.2

33.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.73 ₡8,897

$8.20 MX$151

140.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.75 ₡1,240

$2.30 MX$42.15

19.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ₡1,650

$4.11 MX$75.5

-10.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡503

$0.66 MX$12.11

69.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.1 ₡29.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.46 ₡1,110

$3.00 MX$55.2

-18.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 ₡692

$2.28 MX$41.84

-32.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.46 ₡3,815

$11.05 MX$203

-23.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡699

$1.31 MX$24.12

18.32%

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

$21.7K ₡9.8M

$21.2K MX$389.6K

2.27%

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

$34.9K ₡15.7M

$24.4K MX$448.8K

42.66%

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

$94.7 ₡42.7K

$48.34 MX$887

95.86%

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

$35.11 ₡15.8K

$34.02 MX$625

3.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.6 ₡26.4K

$29.93 MX$550

95.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.2 ₡32.5K

$35.33 MX$649

104.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.19 ₡11.4K

$20.08 MX$369

25.45%

Cinema Ticket

$7.83 ₡3,532

$6.88 MX$126

13.81%

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

$971 ₡437.9K

$210 MX$3,849

363.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.0K ₡7.7M

$4,684 MX$86.0K

263.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.6 ₡32.3K

$54.5 MX$1,000

31.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.9 ₡24.7K

$46.77 MX$859

17.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡58.2K

$104 MX$1,901

24.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₡60.0K

$69.5 MX$1,277

91.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$934 ₡420.9K

$624 MX$11.5K

49.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 ₡347.2K

$396 MX$7,274

94.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,945 ₡876.7K

$1,036 MX$19.0K

87.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,316 ₡593.5K

$776 MX$14.2K

69.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,277 ₡1.0M

$1,894 MX$34.8K

20.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,795 ₡809.1K

$1,146 MX$21.0K

56.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,006 ₡453.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

12.07

-28.58%

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

Last update for San Jose: October 3, 2026

Last update for Rosarito: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$770 39.9%

Rosarito

$396 33.4% 48.6% $374

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$399 20.7%

Rosarito

$269 22.7% 32.5% $130

Eating Out

San Jose

$228 11.8%

Rosarito

$220 18.6% 3.3% $7.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$188 9.8%

Rosarito

$112 9.5% 40.4% $76

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$175 9.1%

Rosarito

$123 10.4% 29.4% $51

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$88 4.6%

Rosarito

$49 4.1% 44.1% $39

Getting Around

San Jose

$80 4.1%

Rosarito

$17 * 1.4% 78.6% $63

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $934 in San Jose and $624 in Rosarito. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $60.0 in San Jose vs $35.00 in Rosarito for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $399 vs $269 per month, with Rosarito cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇲🇽 Rosarito

🕒 Local time

06:12 6:12 AM

05:12 5:12 AM

1 h behind San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

100,660

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Jose Rosarito 4,200 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Rosarito

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 Rosarito: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rosarito wins on cost – living expenses run 66% lower than in San Jose. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Rosarito the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,924 in San Jose and $1,759 in Rosarito 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: $934 in San Jose versus $624 in Rosarito. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $971 in San Jose versus $210 in Rosarito. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Rosarito – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $60.0 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,173 in Rosarito versus $1,949 in San Jose, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Rosarito but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Rosarito the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Rosarito delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,173 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Rosarito hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Rosarito gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.