Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Thomas, Canada and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,308 in St. Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in St. Thomas outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

111

Cost of Living Index in St. Thomas
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St. Thomas Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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St. Thomas

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,308

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in St. Thomas 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. Thomas and in San Jose actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,308 per month in St. Thomas vs $2,107 in San Jose, rent included.

St. Thomas $2,308
San Jose $2,107

A couple spends around $3,326 per month in St. Thomas vs $3,081 in San Jose, rent included.

St. Thomas $3,326
San Jose $3,081

A family of three spends $4,344 per month in St. Thomas vs $4,054 in San Jose, rent included.

St. Thomas $4,344
San Jose $4,054

St. Thomas costs about 10% more than San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both St. Thomas and San Jose sit above the global median – St. Thomas by 71%, San Jose by 56%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.55 CA$30.09

$12.37 ₡5,572

74.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.4 CA$88.5

$62.4 ₡28.1K

1.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.33 CA$15.81

$11.71 ₡5,272

-3.25%

Cappuccino

$3.33 CA$4.65

$4.54 ₡2,043

-26.65%

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

$2.20 CA$3.06

$2.75 ₡1,239

-20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 CA$2.17

$1.86 ₡839

-16.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.91 CA$6.86

$3.35 ₡1,508

46.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.01 CA$8.38

$4.32 ₡1,947

39.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.23 CA$3.11

$2.36 ₡1,062

-5.51%

White Bread (500g)

$2.72 CA$3.79

$3.07 ₡1,381

-11.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.74 CA$5.22

$2.51 ₡1,129

49.00%

Eggs

$3.22 CA$4.50

$3.53 ₡1,588

-8.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.95 CA$13.88

$10.54 ₡4,746

-5.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.27 CA$22.71

$10.57 ₡4,761

53.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.23 CA$26.84

$13.92 ₡6,270

38.15%

Apples (1kg)

$4.09 CA$5.70

$5.20 ₡2,341

-21.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 CA$1.83

$1.65 ₡742

-20.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.69 CA$5.15

$4.89 ₡2,201

-24.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.01 CA$5.60

$3.84 ₡1,730

4.43%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 CA$4.63

$3.91 ₡1,760

-15.09%

Onion (1kg)

$3.11 CA$4.35

$3.76 ₡1,694

-17.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.86 CA$3.99

$1.12 ₡505

155.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 CA$2.11

$3.22 ₡1,449

-53.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.13 CA$15.53

$6.02 ₡2,711

84.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.88 CA$17.98

$19.84 ₡8,932

-35.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 CA$3.43

$2.81 ₡1,266

-12.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 CA$4.04

$3.65 ₡1,646

-20.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.34 CA$3.27

$1.08 ₡488

116.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.2 CA$88.2

$65.2 ₡29.4K

-3.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 CA$3.38

$2.26 ₡1,019

7.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 CA$2.31

$1.78 ₡800

-7.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.53 CA$31.45

$7.90 ₡3,557

185.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 CA$1.65

$1.50 ₡674

-21.33%

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

$26.9K CA$37.6K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-19.57%

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

$23.1K CA$32.3K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-45.31%

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

$125 CA$174

$93.2 ₡42.0K

33.69%

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

$43.40 CA$60.6

$36.13 ₡16.3K

20.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.6 CA$78.9

$60.6 ₡27.3K

-6.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.39 CA$52.2

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-45.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.91 CA$25.01

$24.94 ₡11.2K

-28.19%

Cinema Ticket

$10.51 CA$14.66

$7.67 ₡3,454

37.03%

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

$411 CA$573

$972 ₡437.6K

-57.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.3K CA$24.2K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

-8.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.9 CA$73.8

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-25.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.92 CA$51.5

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-34.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.5 CA$115

$129 ₡57.9K

-35.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 CA$126

$131 ₡58.9K

-30.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 CA$1,647

$1,170 ₡526.7K

0.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,127 CA$1,573

$943 ₡424.7K

19.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,036 CA$2,843

$1,984 ₡893.3K

2.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,659 CA$2,316

$1,400 ₡630.5K

18.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,398 CA$6,139

$2,681 ₡1.2M

64.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,626 CA$5,062

$2,037 ₡917.1K

78.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,021 CA$4,216

$987 ₡444.3K

206.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

8.62

-42.11%

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

Last update for St. Thomas: 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. Thomas

$1.1K 48.8%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 16.3% $184

Groceries & Markets

St. Thomas

$399 17.3%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 1% $3.8

Eating Out

St. Thomas

$298 12.9%

San Jose

$232 11% 22% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Thomas

$225 9.7%

San Jose

$190 9% 15.4% $35

Clothing & Footwear

St. Thomas

$118 5.1%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 47.1% $56

Getting Around

St. Thomas

$83 3.6%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 3% $2.5

Sport & Entertainment

St. Thomas

$58 2.5%

San Jose

$84 4% 44.3% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,180 in St. Thomas 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. Thomas are about 3.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63 in St. Thomas versus $62 in San Jose. Groceries tell a different story – $399 in St. Thomas vs $403 in San Jose – so St. Thomas wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇦 St. Thomas

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

00:20 12:20 AM

23:20 11:20 PM

1 h behind St. Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,909

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.638 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.638 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

St. Thomas San Jose 3,660 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Thomas
San Jose

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

St. Thomas vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St. Thomas is pricier by about 10%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,462 per month in St. Thomas and $3,161 in San Jose. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $1,180 in St. Thomas and $1,170 in San Jose. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Public transport costs about 3% less in St. Thomas. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $411 per month in St. Thomas and $972 in San Jose. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. San Jose has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $2,107 in San Jose to $2,308 in St. Thomas. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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