Cost of living comparison

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Ashgabat Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 4.1 times more expensive than Ashgabat.

Restaurants: pay 22.8% less in San Jose
Groceries: pay 28.7% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 2.6 times more in San Jose
Housing: pay 50.3% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 22.9 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.6% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 31.6% less in San Jose

The cost of childcare and transportation in San Jose are more expensive than in Ashgabat. Expenses including entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, groceries, and restaurants are lower in San Jose. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in San Jose.

San Jose vs. Ashgabat Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Ashgabat, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 22.8% less for restaurants

	Ashgabat	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$34.54 TMT120.90	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	-68.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.82 TMT44.87	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	-24.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.24 TMT11.34	$1.99 CRC996.28	-38.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 TMT3.66	$1.46 CRC730.05	+39.9%
Average			-22.8%

Ashgabat vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.7% less for groceries

	Ashgabat	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$2.39 TMT8.35	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	+8.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$17.90 TMT62.65	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	-76.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$16.12 TMT56.43	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	-55.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.84 TMT23.93	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	-52.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.38 TMT18.85	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	-18.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.71 TMT9.50	$1.95 CRC974.72	-28.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$4.01 TMT14.02	$0.63 CRC314.94	-84.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.65 TMT12.78	$1.59 CRC795.04	-56.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.71 TMT5.99	$1.35 CRC673.65	-21.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 TMT3.62	$1.30 CRC649.37	+25.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 TMT2.94	$1.19 CRC595.13	+41.8%
Average			-28.7%

Ashgabat vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.6 times more for transportation

	Ashgabat	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.56 TMT5.47	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	+250.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.55 TMT29.91	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	+344.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,803.42 TMT153,311.97	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	-15.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.69 TMT33.90	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	+64.6%
Average			+161.2%

Ashgabat vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.3% less for housing

	Ashgabat	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$94.97 TMT332.38	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	-43.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,125.36 TMT3,938.75	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	-34.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$747.86 TMT2,617.52	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	-38.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$435.73 TMT1,525.05	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	-85.5%
Average			-50.3%

Ashgabat vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 22.9 times more for childcare

	Ashgabat	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$22.79 TMT79.77	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	+2188.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52
Average			+2188.0%

Ashgabat vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 52.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Ashgabat	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.06 TMT17.70	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	-42.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.98 TMT24.43	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	-47.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$28.49 TMT99.72	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	-82.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$147.20 TMT515.19	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	-59.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.25 TMT49.86	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	-31.8%
Average			-52.6%

Ashgabat vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 31.6% less for clothing

	Ashgabat	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$85.47 TMT299.15	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	-13.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$121.08 TMT423.79	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	-58.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$163.82 TMT573.36	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	-23.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$170.94 TMT598.29	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	-31.4%
Average			-31.6%

Ashgabat vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025

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