Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Santa Clara

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Clara: $959 a month against $2,107 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Santa Clara
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Santa Clara Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Santa Clara

🇨🇺 Cuba

$959

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Jose and in Santa Clara

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

A single person spends $2,107 per month in San Jose vs $959 in Santa Clara, rent included.

San Jose $2,107
Santa Clara $959

A couple spends around $3,081 per month in San Jose vs $1,438 in Santa Clara, rent included.

San Jose $3,081
Santa Clara $1,438

A family of three spends $4,054 per month in San Jose vs $1,918 in Santa Clara, rent included.

San Jose $4,054
Santa Clara $1,918

San Jose costs about 120% more than Santa Clara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

San Jose sits 56% above the global median, while Santa Clara is 29% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.37 ₡5,563

$3.54 CUP 85.1

249.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.4 ₡28.0K

$27.57 CUP 662

126.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.71 ₡5,264

$4.85 CUP 116

141.44%

Cappuccino

$4.54 ₡2,040

$1.05 CUP 25.09

332.38%

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

$2.75 ₡1,238

$1.54 CUP 36.95

78.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₡837

$0.93 CUP 22.26

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 ₡1,505

$1.22 CUP 29.37

174.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.32 ₡1,944

$1.96 CUP 46.93

120.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.36 ₡1,061

$2.82 CUP 67.7

-16.31%

White Bread (500g)

$3.07 ₡1,379

$1.47 CUP 35.24

108.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,128

$1.79 CUP 42.95

40.22%

Eggs

$3.53 ₡1,585

$3.53 CUP 84.6

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.54 ₡4,738

$4.56 CUP 110

131.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.57 ₡4,754

$4.70 CUP 113

124.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.92 ₡6,261

$8.29 CUP 199

67.91%

Apples (1kg)

$5.20 ₡2,338

$6.18 CUP 148

-15.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 ₡740

$1.02 CUP 24.54

61.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 ₡2,198

$3.84 CUP 92.1

27.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 ₡1,728

$2.27 CUP 54.5

69.16%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 ₡1,757

$2.93 CUP 70.2

33.45%

Onion (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,692

$2.82 CUP 67.7

33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.73 CUP 17.58

53.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 ₡1,447

$0.57 CUP 13.64

464.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 ₡2,706

$1.63 CUP 39.23

269.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.84 ₡8,919

$5.18 CUP 124

283.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 ₡1,264

$1.77 CUP 42.50

58.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 ₡1,643

$2.15 CUP 51.5

69.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.26 ₡1,018

$2.54 CUP 61.0

-11.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 ₡799

$0.33 CUP 7.99

439.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ₡3,551

$19.92 CUP 478

-60.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₡673

$1.27 CUP 30.49

18.11%

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

$33.5K ₡15.1M

$60.0K CUP 1.4M

-44.25%

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

$42.3K ₡19.0M

$59.4K CUP 1.4M

-28.86%

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

$93.2 ₡41.9K

$46.56 CUP 1,118

100.15%

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

$36.13 ₡16.2K

$38.76 CUP 930

-6.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.6 ₡27.2K

$90.2 CUP 2,164

-32.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 ₡31.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 ₡3,449

$0.89 CUP 21.41

761.80%

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

$972 ₡436.9K

$158 CUP 3,786

516.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.9K ₡8.5M

$12.5K CUP 299.7K

51.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.6 ₡31.8K

$51.6 CUP 1,239

36.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.7 ₡25.5K

$42.15 CUP 1,012

34.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡57.8K

$80.7 CUP 1,936

59.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.8K

$65.5 CUP 1,573

99.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 ₡525.9K

$347 CUP 8,317

237.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$943 ₡424.1K

$356 CUP 8,553

164.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,984 ₡892.0K

$762 CUP 18.3K

160.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 ₡629.5K

$601 CUP 14.4K

133.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,681 ₡1.2M

$276 CUP 6,621

871.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,037 ₡915.8K

$296 CUP 7,094

589.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$987 ₡443.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

9.1

-5.27%

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

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Last update for Santa Clara: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$943 44.8%

Santa Clara

$356 37.2% 62.2% $587

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$403 19.1%

Santa Clara

$238 24.8% 41% $165

Eating Out

San Jose

$232 11%

Santa Clara

$75 7.9% 67.6% $157

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$190 9%

Santa Clara

$176 18.3% 7.6% $14

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 8.3%

Santa Clara

$108 11.3% 37.9% $66

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$84 4%

Santa Clara

$1.8 * 0.2% 97.9% $82

Getting Around

San Jose

$81 3.8%

Santa Clara

$4.2 * 0.4% 94.8% $77

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,170 in San Jose versus $347 in Santa Clara. 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 $62 in San Jose versus $28 in Santa Clara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $403 vs $238 – making Santa Clara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇨🇺 Santa Clara

🕒 Local time

08:11 8:11 AM

09:11 9:11 AM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

216,056

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, 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).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.95 CUP (100 CUP = 3.71 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

San Jose Santa Clara 1,450 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Santa Clara

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 Santa Clara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – San Jose is pricier by about 120%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,161 per month in San Jose and $1,438 in Santa Clara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Santa Clara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $347 there versus $1,170 in San Jose.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,107 in San Jose and $959 in Santa Clara. That makes Santa Clara about 54% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $972 per month in San Jose and $158 in Santa Clara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,107 in San Jose and $959 in Santa Clara. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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