Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vaughan and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $2,107 a month against $2,478 in Vaughan, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Vaughan outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

119

Cost of Living Index in Vaughan
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Vaughan Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Vaughan

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,478

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,478 per month in Vaughan vs $2,107 in San Jose, rent included.

Vaughan $2,478
San Jose $2,107

A couple spends around $3,910 per month in Vaughan vs $3,081 in San Jose, rent included.

Vaughan $3,910
San Jose $3,081

A family of three spends $5,341 per month in Vaughan vs $4,054 in San Jose, rent included.

Vaughan $5,341
San Jose $4,054

Vaughan costs about 18% more than San Jose, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Vaughan and San Jose sit above the global median – Vaughan by 83%, San Jose by 56%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.36 CA$24.33

$12.37 ₡5,563

40.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 CA$99.7

$62.4 ₡28.0K

13.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.04 CA$14.08

$11.71 ₡5,264

-14.26%

Cappuccino

$3.75 CA$5.26

$4.54 ₡2,040

-17.40%

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

$2.23 CA$3.13

$2.75 ₡1,238

-18.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 CA$2.43

$1.86 ₡837

-6.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.55 CA$7.78

$3.35 ₡1,505

65.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.47 CA$9.06

$4.32 ₡1,944

49.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.07 CA$2.90

$2.36 ₡1,061

-12.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 CA$3.12

$3.07 ₡1,379

-27.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.75 CA$3.86

$2.51 ₡1,128

9.56%

Eggs

$3.19 CA$4.46

$3.53 ₡1,585

-9.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.83 CA$13.78

$10.54 ₡4,738

-6.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.15 CA$17.03

$10.57 ₡4,754

14.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.38 CA$20.15

$13.92 ₡6,261

3.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 CA$4.90

$5.20 ₡2,338

-32.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 CA$1.81

$1.65 ₡740

-21.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.31 CA$4.64

$4.89 ₡2,198

-32.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.35 CA$4.69

$3.84 ₡1,728

-12.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 CA$2.34

$3.91 ₡1,757

-57.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 CA$2.76

$3.76 ₡1,692

-47.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 CA$3.17

$1.12 ₡504

101.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 CA$1.77

$3.22 ₡1,447

-60.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.05 CA$18.29

$6.02 ₡2,706

116.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.48 CA$18.90

$19.84 ₡8,919

-32.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 CA$2.94

$2.81 ₡1,264

-25.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 CA$2.03

$3.65 ₡1,643

-60.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.97 CA$4.16

$1.08 ₡487

175.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$110 CA$154

$65.2 ₡29.3K

68.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 CA$4.25

$2.26 ₡1,018

34.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.27 CA$1.78

$1.78 ₡799

-28.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.61 CA$30.29

$7.90 ₡3,551

173.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 CA$1.62

$1.50 ₡673

-23.33%

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

$28.3K CA$39.7K

$33.5K ₡15.1M

-15.38%

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

$19.6K CA$27.5K

$42.3K ₡19.0M

-53.65%

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

$110 CA$155

$93.2 ₡41.9K

18.27%

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

$29.60 CA$41.49

$36.13 ₡16.2K

-18.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.7 CA$71.1

$60.6 ₡27.2K

-16.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.90 CA$43.31

$68.9 ₡31.0K

-55.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.75 CA$30.49

$24.94 ₡11.2K

-12.79%

Cinema Ticket

$10.38 CA$14.55

$7.67 ₡3,449

35.33%

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

$659 CA$924

$972 ₡436.9K

-32.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K CA$32.5K

$18.9K ₡8.5M

22.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.51 CA$61.0

$70.6 ₡31.8K

-38.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.16 CA$60.5

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-23.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 CA$150

$129 ₡57.8K

-16.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 CA$151

$131 ₡58.8K

-17.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 CA$2,514

$1,170 ₡525.9K

53.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,370 CA$1,920

$943 ₡424.1K

45.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,453 CA$4,840

$1,984 ₡892.0K

74.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,769 CA$3,881

$1,400 ₡629.5K

97.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,939 CA$11.1K

$2,681 ₡1.2M

196.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,462 CA$7,657

$2,037 ₡915.8K

168.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,072 CA$4,307

$987 ₡443.6K

211.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.26

8.62

-38.98%

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

Last update for Vaughan: November 3, 2026

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Vaughan

$1.4K 55.3%

San Jose

$943 44.8% 31.1% $427

Groceries & Markets

Vaughan

$329 13.3%

San Jose

$403 19.1% 22.5% $74

Eating Out

Vaughan

$271 10.9%

San Jose

$232 11% 14.1% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vaughan

$191 7.7%

San Jose

$190 9% 0.3% $0.6

Clothing & Footwear

Vaughan

$136 5.5%

San Jose

$174 8.3% 28.2% $38

Getting Around

Vaughan

$131 5.3%

San Jose

$81 3.8% 38.4% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Vaughan

$52 2.1%

San Jose

$84 4% 63.1% $33

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,794 in Vaughan 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 Vaughan are about 3.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in Vaughan versus $62 in San Jose. Groceries tell a different story – $329 in Vaughan vs $403 in San Jose – so Vaughan wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Vaughan

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

23:30 11:30 PM

22:30 10:30 PM

1 h behind Vaughan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

323,103

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.635 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 = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.635 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).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Vaughan San Jose 3,790 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Vaughan
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

Vaughan vs San Jose: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Vaughan is pricier by about 18%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,717 per month in Vaughan 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 $1,794 in Vaughan.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in Vaughan and $62 in San Jose. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,478 in Vaughan and $2,107 in San Jose. That makes San Jose about 15% cheaper.

It depends on your priorities. San Jose has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $2,107 in San Jose to $2,478 in Vaughan. 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, Vaughan makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.