Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Todos Santos

For one person, living is cheaper in Todos Santos: $1,398 a month against $1,924 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Todos Santos
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Todos Santos Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,924

/mo nomad

Todos Santos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,398

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Jose and in Todos Santos

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

A single person spends $1,924 per month in San Jose vs $1,398 in Todos Santos, rent included.

San Jose $1,924
Todos Santos $1,398

A couple spends around $2,926 per month in San Jose vs $2,069 in Todos Santos, rent included.

San Jose $2,926
Todos Santos $2,069

A family of three spends $3,929 per month in San Jose vs $2,741 in Todos Santos, rent included.

San Jose $3,929
Todos Santos $2,741

San Jose costs about 38% more than Todos Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both San Jose and Todos Santos sit above the global median – San Jose by 42%, Todos Santos by 3%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.29 ₡5,513

$10.97 MX$203

12.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 ₡27.9K

$44.57 MX$824

39.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.53 ₡5,171

$8.31 MX$154

38.75%

Cappuccino

$4.35 ₡1,953

$3.54 MX$65.3

22.88%

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

$2.64 ₡1,183

$1.41 MX$26.01

87.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₡836

$1.06 MX$19.67

75.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 ₡1,490

$2.44 MX$45.14

36.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.52 ₡2,026

$4.13 MX$76.3

9.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 ₡1,073

$1.60 MX$29.60

49.38%

White Bread (500g)

$3.08 ₡1,381

$2.68 MX$49.48

14.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.50 ₡1,119

$1.65 MX$30.44

51.52%

Eggs

$3.48 ₡1,562

$2.53 MX$46.72

37.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.74 ₡4,815

$8.01 MX$148

34.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.32 ₡4,629

$8.20 MX$151

25.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.10 ₡6,325

$11.37 MX$210

24.01%

Apples (1kg)

$5.03 ₡2,256

$2.82 MX$52.1

78.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡714

$1.57 MX$28.97

1.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.84 ₡2,171

$1.91 MX$35.22

153.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.96 ₡1,776

$1.83 MX$33.86

116.39%

Potato (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,684

$1.92 MX$35.53

95.83%

Onion (1kg)

$3.73 ₡1,674

$1.80 MX$33.30

107.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ₡485

$1.46 MX$26.92

-26.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.25 ₡1,456

$1.13 MX$20.97

187.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.86 ₡2,627

$4.34 MX$80.3

35.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.28 ₡9,095

$10.44 MX$193

94.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.75 MX$32.31

65.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.73 ₡1,673

$3.23 MX$59.8

15.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡486

$0.63 MX$11.61

71.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.5 ₡29.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.50 ₡1,123

$2.58 MX$47.63

-3.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡732

$1.95 MX$35.96

-16.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.71 ₡3,904

$11.14 MX$206

-21.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 ₡709

$1.48 MX$27.32

6.76%

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

$33.6K ₡15.1M

$20.9K MX$386.6K

60.63%

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

$41.7K ₡18.7M

$23.7K MX$437.5K

76.01%

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

$93.7 ₡42.0K

$58.6 MX$1,082

59.95%

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

$35.42 ₡15.9K

$23.08 MX$426

53.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.0 ₡26.9K

$29.66 MX$548

102.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

$34.43 MX$636

110.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.83 ₡11.6K

$20.26 MX$374

27.49%

Cinema Ticket

$7.74 ₡3,471

$5.05 MX$93.4

53.27%

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

$1,005 ₡450.9K

$217 MX$4,006

363.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K ₡7.6M

$4,567 MX$84.4K

270.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.1 ₡32.8K

$54.0 MX$997

35.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.9K

$40.53 MX$749

36.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 ₡57.5K

$100 MX$1,853

27.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 ₡58.5K

$90.2 MX$1,666

44.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$932 ₡418.0K

$993 MX$18.3K

-6.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$760 ₡340.8K

$650 MX$12.0K

17.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 ₡862.0K

$1,880 MX$34.7K

2.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 ₡572.1K

$979 MX$18.1K

30.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,301 ₡1.0M

$1,910 MX$35.3K

20.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,833 ₡821.9K

$1,134 MX$20.9K

61.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,029 ₡461.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

11.3

-23.72%

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

Last update for San Jose: October 18, 2026

Last update for Todos Santos: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$760 39.5%

Todos Santos

$650 46.5% 14.5% $110

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$403 21%

Todos Santos

$264 18.9% 34.6% $139

Eating Out

San Jose

$229 11.9%

Todos Santos

$185 13.3% 19% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$189 9.8%

Todos Santos

$111 8% 41.1% $78

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 9.1%

Todos Santos

$128 9.2% 26.4% $46

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$88 4.6%

Todos Santos

$45 3.2% 49.4% $44

Getting Around

San Jose

$80 4.2%

Todos Santos

$15 * 1.1% 81.6% $66

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $932 in San Jose versus $993 in Todos Santos. 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 $62.0 in San Jose versus $45.00 in Todos Santos. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $403 vs $264 – making Todos Santos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇲🇽 Todos Santos

🕒 Local time

12:52 12:52 PM

11:52 11:52 AM

1 h behind San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

5,148

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Jose Todos Santos 3,160 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Todos Santos

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 Todos Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – San Jose is pricier by about 38%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,886 per month in San Jose and $2,097 in Todos Santos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,924 in San Jose and $1,398 in Todos Santos. That's a gap of about 38%.

Kindergarten costs $1,005 per month in San Jose and $217 in Todos Santos. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Todos Santos, where all-in costs run around $1,398, than in San Jose at $1,924. In Todos Santos it covers expenses comfortably, while in San Jose it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Todos Santos – 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 Todos Santos. 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.