Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Victoria and San Jose

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose: $1,949 a month against $2,574 in Victoria, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Victoria
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Victoria Living Index
93

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index

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Victoria

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,574

/mo nomad

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,949

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,574 per month in Victoria vs $1,949 in San Jose, rent included.

Victoria $2,574
San Jose $1,949

A couple spends around $3,856 per month in Victoria vs $2,903 in San Jose, rent included.

Victoria $3,856
San Jose $2,903

A family of three spends $5,138 per month in Victoria vs $3,857 in San Jose, rent included.

Victoria $5,138
San Jose $3,857

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

Both Victoria and San Jose sit above the global median – Victoria by 92%, San Jose by 45%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.98 CA$27.06

$12.22 ₡5,510

55.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.0 CA$99.7

$60.1 ₡27.1K

16.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.84 CA$15.46

$11.77 ₡5,305

-7.90%

Cappuccino

$4.21 CA$6.00

$4.30 ₡1,939

-2.09%

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

$2.21 CA$3.15

$2.72 ₡1,226

-18.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 CA$2.57

$1.84 ₡830

-2.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.69 CA$8.11

$3.28 ₡1,480

73.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.47 CA$9.23

$4.36 ₡1,966

48.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.65 CA$3.78

$2.38 ₡1,074

11.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 CA$4.12

$3.12 ₡1,408

-7.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.96 CA$5.65

$2.41 ₡1,086

64.32%

Eggs

$4.04 CA$5.76

$3.47 ₡1,564

16.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.77 CA$38.16

$10.57 ₡4,767

153.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.55 CA$17.89

$10.56 ₡4,758

18.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.51 CA$20.68

$13.75 ₡6,196

5.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 CA$5.69

$5.04 ₡2,274

-20.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 CA$2.04

$1.61 ₡727

-11.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.82 CA$5.45

$4.59 ₡2,069

-16.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.13 CA$5.89

$3.84 ₡1,731

7.55%

Potato (1kg)

$3.54 CA$5.04

$3.77 ₡1,700

-6.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.93 CA$4.18

$3.76 ₡1,693

-22.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.18 CA$4.53

$1.12 ₡506

183.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 CA$3.63

$3.20 ₡1,441

-20.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.02 CA$21.41

$5.84 ₡2,632

157.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.86 CA$25.46

$19.73 ₡8,897

-9.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.00 CA$5.70

$2.75 ₡1,240

45.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 CA$4.89

$3.66 ₡1,650

-6.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.04 CA$2.90

$1.12 ₡503

82.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.5 CA$83.4

$65.1 ₡29.4K

-10.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 CA$3.81

$2.46 ₡1,110

8.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 CA$2.17

$1.54 ₡692

-1.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.48 CA$47.72

$8.46 ₡3,815

295.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 CA$1.93

$1.55 ₡699

-12.90%

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

$27.7K CA$39.5K

$21.7K ₡9.8M

27.85%

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

$18.5K CA$26.3K

$34.9K ₡15.7M

-47.08%

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

$105 CA$150

$94.7 ₡42.7K

11.42%

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

$44.49 CA$63.4

$35.11 ₡15.8K

26.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$61.5 CA$87.6

$58.6 ₡26.4K

4.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.45 CA$60.5

$72.2 ₡32.5K

-41.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.27 CA$24.62

$25.19 ₡11.4K

-31.44%

Cinema Ticket

$10.68 CA$15.22

$7.83 ₡3,532

36.40%

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

$878 CA$1,251

$971 ₡437.9K

-9.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K CA$33.1K

$17.0K ₡7.7M

36.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.2 CA$75.8

$71.6 ₡32.3K

-25.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.19 CA$63.0

$54.9 ₡24.7K

-19.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.8 CA$128

$129 ₡58.2K

-30.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 CA$155

$133 ₡60.0K

-18.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,522 CA$2,170

$934 ₡420.9K

63.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 CA$1,890

$770 ₡347.2K

72.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,683 CA$3,825

$1,945 ₡876.7K

37.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,261 CA$3,222

$1,316 ₡593.5K

71.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,368 CA$7,651

$2,277 ₡1.0M

135.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,469 CA$6,370

$1,795 ₡809.1K

149.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,202 CA$4,564

$1,006 ₡453.5K

218.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.31

8.62

-50.00%

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

Last update for Victoria: October 5, 2026

Last update for San Jose: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Victoria

$1.3K 51.7%

San Jose

$770 39.9% 41.9% $556

Groceries & Markets

Victoria

$461 18%

San Jose

$399 20.7% 13.4% $62

Eating Out

Victoria

$292 11.4%

San Jose

$228 11.8% 22% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Victoria

$211 8.2%

San Jose

$188 9.8% 10.9% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Victoria

$133 5.2%

San Jose

$175 9.1% 31.2% $42

Getting Around

Victoria

$77 3%

San Jose

$80 4.1% 3.6% $2.8

Sport & Entertainment

Victoria

$64 2.5%

San Jose

$88 4.6% 37.6% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,522 in Victoria versus $934 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 run about 218% higher in Victoria, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $70.0 in Victoria versus $60.0 in San Jose. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $461 vs $399 – making San Jose the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Victoria

🇨🇷 San Jose

🕒 Local time

22:46 10:46 PM

23:46 11:46 PM

1 h ahead of Victoria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

85,792

342,188 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 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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Between locations

Victoria San Jose 5,620 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Victoria
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

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

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

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,862 per month in Victoria and $2,924 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $70.0 in Victoria and $60.0 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 $2,574 in Victoria and $1,949 in San Jose. That's a gap of about 32%.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in San Jose, where all-in costs run around $1,949, than in Victoria at $2,574. In San Jose it covers expenses comfortably, while in Victoria 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, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Victoria makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.