Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan, Trinidad And Tobago and Arima

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $777 a month against $1,273 in Arima, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Arima
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Arima Living Index

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San Juan

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$777

/mo nomad

Arima

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,273

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Juan and in Arima

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in San Juan and in Arima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $777 per month in San Juan vs $1,273 in Arima, rent included.

San Juan $777
Arima $1,273

A couple spends around $1,330 per month in San Juan vs $2,161 in Arima, rent included.

San Juan $1,330
Arima $2,161

A family of three spends $1,884 per month in San Juan vs $3,049 in Arima, rent included.

San Juan $1,884
Arima $3,049

San Juan is about 39% cheaper than Arima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both San Juan and Arima are more affordable than the global median – San Juan 43% lower, Arima 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.51 TTD 70.6

$10.24 TTD 68.8

2.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.6 TTD 400

$74.8 TTD 502

-20.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.14 TTD 54.7

$8.91 TTD 59.8

-8.64%

Cappuccino

$3.78 TTD 25.35

$3.63 TTD 24.35

4.13%

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

$1.20 TTD 8.07

$1.04 TTD 6.96

15.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 TTD 4.74

$0.72 TTD 4.84

-1.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 TTD 15.23

$1.81 TTD 12.15

25.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 TTD 20.17

$2.91 TTD 19.54

3.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 TTD 13.69

$2.39 TTD 16.06

-14.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.25 TTD 15.14

$2.44 TTD 16.41

-7.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.92 TTD 19.62

$2.80 TTD 18.79

4.29%

Eggs

$3.94 TTD 26.44

$4.41 TTD 29.57

-10.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.77 TTD 45.45

$6.49 TTD 43.54

4.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.23 TTD 68.7

$6.67 TTD 44.78

53.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.88 TTD 59.6

$9.20 TTD 61.8

-3.48%

Apples (1kg)

$5.63 TTD 37.78

$5.38 TTD 36.10

4.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.58 TTD 17.32

$2.24 TTD 15.07

15.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.59 TTD 24.11

$3.61 TTD 24.24

-0.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.33 TTD 29.06

$4.77 TTD 32.03

-9.22%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 TTD 4.85

$1.34 TTD 8.96

-46.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 TTD 5.10

$1.03 TTD 6.90

-26.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 TTD 9.74

$1.36 TTD 9.15

6.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 TTD 8.03

$0.96 TTD 6.48

25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.63 TTD 37.81

$4.76 TTD 31.97

18.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.85 TTD 120

$19.44 TTD 130

-8.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 TTD 10.34

$1.83 TTD 12.28

-15.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 TTD 20.14

$3.10 TTD 20.80

-3.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 TTD 6.99

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 TTD 6.24

$0.72 TTD 4.84

29.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.91 TTD 6.14

$0.71 TTD 4.73

28.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.62 TTD 98.1

$15.02 TTD 101

-2.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 TTD 7.86

$1.13 TTD 7.57

3.54%

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

$37.3K TTD 250.4K

$27.4K TTD 184.0K

36.03%

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

$41.1K TTD 276.0K

$36.4K TTD 244.2K

13.03%

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

$44.07 TTD 296

$91.2 TTD 613

-51.70%

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

$42.67 TTD 286

$44.14 TTD 296

-3.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.28 TTD 304

$55.5 TTD 373

-18.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 TTD 346

Cinema Ticket

$8.97 TTD 60.2

$8.61 TTD 57.8

4.18%

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

$395 TTD 2,650

$180 TTD 1,212

118.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K TTD 71.4K

$10.7K TTD 72.1K

-1.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 TTD 371

$62.5 TTD 419

-11.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.61 TTD 246

$43.47 TTD 292

-15.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.4 TTD 594

$144 TTD 970

-38.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 TTD 595

$72.7 TTD 488

21.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$510 TTD 3,424

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 TTD 2,496

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,048 TTD 7,034

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$895 TTD 6,010

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,200 TTD 8,056

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.75

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

Last update for San Juan: October 26, 2026

Last update for Arima: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$321 41.4%

Arima

$314 24.6% 2.4% $7.8

Eating Out

San Juan

$179 23%

Arima

$174 13.7% 2.6% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$132 17%

Arima

$191 15% 44.6% $59

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$121 15.6%

Arima

$145 11.4% 20.1% $24

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$18 * 2.3%

Arima

$69 5.4% 283% $51

Getting Around

San Juan

$5.5 * 0.7%

Arima

$8.4 * 0.7% 52.9% $2.9

Accommodation & Living

San Juan

- * 0%

Arima

$372 29.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60 in San Juan versus $75 in Arima. Groceries tell a different story – $321 in San Juan vs $314 in Arima – so Arima wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇹 San Juan

🇹🇹 Arima

🕒 Local time

05:27 5:27 AM

Same time as San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,000

💱 Currency

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.134 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Juan Arima 18 km

From you

San Juan
Arima

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 Juan vs Arima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Arima costs about 64% more than San Juan, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,165 per month in San Juan and $1,909 in Arima. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $777 in San Juan and $1,273 in Arima. That’s a gap of about 64%.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60 in San Juan and $75 in Arima. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.