Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Augustine, FL and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,783 in St. Augustine, FL, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in St. Augustine, FL outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

134

Cost of Living Index in St. Augustine, FL
Learn more

St. Augustine, FL Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
Learn more

San Jose Living Index

Jump to prices

St. Augustine, FL

🇺🇸 United States

$2,783

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in St. Augustine, FL and in San Jose

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

A single person spends $2,783 per month in St. Augustine, FL vs $2,107 in San Jose, rent included.

St. Augustine, FL $2,783
San Jose $2,107

A couple spends around $3,916 per month in St. Augustine, FL vs $3,081 in San Jose, rent included.

St. Augustine, FL $3,916
San Jose $3,081

A family of three spends $5,048 per month in St. Augustine, FL vs $4,054 in San Jose, rent included.

St. Augustine, FL $5,048
San Jose $4,054

St. Augustine, FL costs about 32% more than San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both St. Augustine, FL and San Jose sit above the global median – St. Augustine, FL by 106%, San Jose by 56%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.16 $21.16

$12.37 ₡5,563

71.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.8 $75.8

$62.4 ₡28.0K

21.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.51 $9.51

$11.71 ₡5,264

-18.79%

Cappuccino

$5.08 $5.08

$4.54 ₡2,040

11.89%

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

$2.28 $2.28

$2.75 ₡1,238

-17.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 $1.50

$1.86 ₡837

-19.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.95 $4.95

$3.35 ₡1,505

47.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 $7.13

$4.32 ₡1,944

65.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 $1.10

$2.36 ₡1,061

-53.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 $1.94

$3.07 ₡1,379

-36.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.37 $4.37

$2.51 ₡1,128

74.10%

Eggs

$3.16 $3.16

$3.53 ₡1,585

-10.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.82 $11.82

$10.54 ₡4,738

12.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.93 $10.93

$10.57 ₡4,754

3.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.29 $17.29

$13.92 ₡6,261

24.21%

Apples (1kg)

$5.74 $5.74

$5.20 ₡2,338

10.38%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.65 ₡740

23.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.07 $5.07

$4.89 ₡2,198

3.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.35 $3.35

$3.84 ₡1,728

-12.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 $1.61

$3.91 ₡1,757

-58.82%

Onion (1kg)

$3.38 $3.38

$3.76 ₡1,692

-10.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.53 $2.53

$1.12 ₡504

125.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 $2.04

$3.22 ₡1,447

-36.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 $6.89

$6.02 ₡2,706

14.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.14 $14.14

$19.84 ₡8,919

-28.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 $2.81

$2.81 ₡1,264

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 $2.43

$3.65 ₡1,643

-33.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.85 $2.85

$2.26 ₡1,018

26.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.85 $1.85

$1.78 ₡799

3.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.93 $34.93

$7.90 ₡3,551

342.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.91 $0.91

$1.50 ₡673

-39.33%

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

$35.9K $35.9K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

7.40%

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

$26.7K $26.7K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-36.95%

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

$117 $117

$93.2 ₡41.9K

25.11%

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

$63.7 $63.7

$36.13 ₡16.2K

76.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$76.6 $76.6

$60.6 ₡27.2K

26.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.56 $39.56

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-42.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 $24.94

$24.94 ₡11.2K

Cinema Ticket

$13.89 $13.89

$7.67 ₡3,449

81.10%

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

$1,155 $1,155

$972 ₡436.9K

18.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,087 $8,087

$18.9K ₡8.5M

-57.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.5 $63.5

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-10.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.63 $40.63

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-28.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 $78.9

$129 ₡57.8K

-38.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 $109

$131 ₡58.8K

-16.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,779 $1,779

$1,170 ₡525.9K

52.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,629 $1,629

$943 ₡424.1K

72.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,258 $3,258

$1,984 ₡892.0K

64.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,376 $2,376

$1,400 ₡629.5K

69.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,194 $3,194

$2,681 ₡1.2M

19.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,743 $2,743

$2,037 ₡915.8K

34.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,458 $4,458

$987 ₡443.6K

351.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.27

8.62

-27.26%

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

Last update for St. Augustine, FL: November 2, 2026

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Augustine, FL

$1.6K 58.5%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 42.1% $686

Groceries & Markets

St. Augustine, FL

$374 13.4%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 7.7% $29

Eating Out

St. Augustine, FL

$313 11.2%

San Jose

$232 11% 25.7% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Augustine, FL

$257 9.2%

San Jose

$190 9% 26.1% $67

Clothing & Footwear

St. Augustine, FL

$131 4.7%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 32.5% $43

Sport & Entertainment

St. Augustine, FL

$67 2.4%

San Jose

$84 4% 25.1% $17

Getting Around

St. Augustine, FL

$12 * 0.4%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 568% $69

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,779 in St. Augustine, FL versus $1,170 in San Jose. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in St. Augustine, FL are about 4.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $76 in St. Augustine, FL versus $62 in San Jose. Groceries tell a different story – $374 in St. Augustine, FL vs $403 in San Jose – so St. Augustine, FL wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇺🇸 St. Augustine, FL

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

23:03 11:03 PM

22:03 10:03 PM

1 h behind St. Augustine, FL

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,975

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.891 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.891 EUR).

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).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

St. Augustine, FL San Jose 2,240 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

St. Augustine, FL
San Jose

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

St. Augustine, FL vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St. Augustine, FL is pricier by about 32%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,175 per month in St. Augustine, FL and $3,161 in San Jose. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Jose, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,170 there versus $1,779 in St. Augustine, FL.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,783 in St. Augustine, FL and $2,107 in San Jose. That makes San Jose about 24% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $1,155 per month in St. Augustine, FL and $972 in San Jose. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in San Jose, where all-in costs run around $2,107, than in St. Augustine, FL at $2,783. In San Jose it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Augustine, FL it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with San Jose. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, St. Augustine, FL makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.