Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toronto and Desamparados

For one person, living is cheaper in Desamparados: $1,689 a month against $2,561 in Toronto, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Toronto
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Toronto Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Desamparados
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Desamparados Living Index

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Toronto

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,561

/mo nomad

Desamparados

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,689

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Toronto and in Desamparados

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

A single person spends $2,561 per month in Toronto vs $1,689 in Desamparados, rent included.

Toronto $2,561
Desamparados $1,689

A couple spends around $3,694 per month in Toronto vs $2,670 in Desamparados, rent included.

Toronto $3,694
Desamparados $2,670

A family of three spends $4,826 per month in Toronto vs $3,651 in Desamparados, rent included.

Toronto $4,826
Desamparados $3,651

Toronto costs about 52% more than Desamparados, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Toronto and Desamparados sit above the global median – Toronto by 90%, Desamparados by 25%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.18 CA$24.29

$12.26 ₡5,498

40.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.0 CA$107

$52.4 ₡23.5K

44.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 CA$14.89

$11.82 ₡5,303

-10.83%

Cappuccino

$4.02 CA$5.68

$4.69 ₡2,101

-14.29%

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

$2.12 CA$3.00

$2.39 ₡1,072

-11.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 CA$2.48

$1.98 ₡889

-11.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.24 CA$8.83

$3.60 ₡1,617

73.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.09 CA$10.02

$4.68 ₡2,097

51.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.44 CA$3.45

$2.42 ₡1,087

0.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.68 CA$3.78

$2.71 ₡1,217

-1.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 CA$3.17

$2.13 ₡954

5.16%

Eggs

$3.56 CA$5.03

$3.88 ₡1,740

-8.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 CA$12.85

$12.07 ₡5,412

-24.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.33 CA$16.01

$10.56 ₡4,736

7.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.53 CA$20.55

$14.00 ₡6,279

3.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.62 CA$5.12

$4.90 ₡2,200

-26.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 CA$1.72

$1.75 ₡785

-30.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.60 CA$5.09

$3.61 ₡1,617

-0.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.21 CA$5.96

$3.24 ₡1,454

29.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 CA$2.53

$3.49 ₡1,564

-48.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 CA$2.25

$3.33 ₡1,493

-52.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.27 CA$3.21

$1.05 ₡469

116.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 CA$1.77

$2.86 ₡1,283

-56.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.82 CA$19.53

$5.63 ₡2,524

145.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.27 CA$20.18

$15.39 ₡6,903

-7.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 CA$3.10

$2.26 ₡1,015

-2.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 CA$3.44

$2.84 ₡1,273

-14.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.39 CA$3.38

$1.32 ₡594

81.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$111 CA$157

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 CA$4.12

$2.25 ₡1,008

29.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 CA$1.69

$1.76 ₡788

-31.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.38 CA$30.23

$7.44 ₡3,337

187.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 CA$1.71

$1.54 ₡692

-21.43%

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

$28.2K CA$39.8K

$21.5K ₡9.6M

31.06%

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

$20.3K CA$28.6K

$30.9K ₡13.9M

-34.47%

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

$120 CA$170

$97.5 ₡43.7K

23.41%

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

$32.26 CA$45.60

$34.11 ₡15.3K

-5.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.93 CA$67.8

$56.3 ₡25.2K

-14.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.48 CA$54.4

$69.1 ₡31.0K

-44.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.96 CA$32.46

Cinema Ticket

$12.38 CA$17.50

$7.96 ₡3,571

55.53%

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

$830 CA$1,173

$919 ₡412.2K

-9.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.1K CA$32.6K

$14.9K ₡6.7M

55.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.7 CA$71.7

$76.9 ₡34.5K

-34.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.02 CA$56.6

$60.9 ₡27.3K

-34.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.0 CA$139

$133 ₡59.5K

-26.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 CA$171

$121 ₡54.4K

-0.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,592 CA$2,251

$854 ₡383.1K

86.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,410 CA$1,994

$613 ₡275.0K

129.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,670 CA$3,775

$2,068 ₡927.3K

29.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,152 CA$3,042

$1,243 ₡557.3K

73.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,945 CA$11.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,542 CA$9,249

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,727 CA$5,269

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.47

8.62

-48.14%

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

Last update for Toronto: October 12, 2026

Last update for Desamparados: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Toronto

$1.4K 55.1%

Desamparados

$613 36.3% 56.5% $797

Groceries & Markets

Toronto

$340 13.3%

Desamparados

$375 22.2% 10.5% $36

Eating Out

Toronto

$278 10.9%

Desamparados

$235 13.9% 15.6% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toronto

$201 7.8%

Desamparados

$188 11.1% 6.3% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Toronto

$139 5.4%

Desamparados

$176 10.4% 26.6% $37

Getting Around

Toronto

$129 5.1%

Desamparados

$16 * 1% 87.4% $113

Sport & Entertainment

Toronto

$63 2.5%

Desamparados

$85 5% 34.5% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,592 in Toronto versus $854 in Desamparados. 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 $76.0 in Toronto versus $52.0 in Desamparados. Groceries tell a different story – $340 in Toronto vs $375 in Desamparados – so Toronto wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Toronto

🇨🇷 Desamparados

🕒 Local time

09:18 9:18 AM

07:18 7:18 AM

2 h behind Toronto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,731,571

38,000

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Toronto Desamparados 3,780 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Toronto
Desamparados

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

Toronto vs Desamparados: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,561 in Toronto, $1,689 in Desamparados – roughly 52% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,841 per month in Toronto and $2,533 in Desamparados. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $76.0 in Toronto and $52.0 in Desamparados. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 11% cheaper in Toronto – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Desamparados, where all-in costs run around $1,689, than in Toronto at $2,561. In Desamparados it covers expenses comfortably, while in Toronto it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Desamparados – 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 Desamparados. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Toronto makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.