Cost of living comparison

Beijing, China

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 75.6% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 3.3 times more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 93.9% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 91.0% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 81.8% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 38.8% less in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.5% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 31.0% more in San Jose

The cost of restaurants, groceries, transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in San Jose are more expensive than in Beijing. Notably, restaurants, groceries, and transportation are significantly more expensive in San Jose.

San Jose vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.17 CN¥30.32	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	+159.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.57 CN¥40.43	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+74.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 CN¥3.60	$1.99 CRC996.28	+301.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.25	$1.46 CRC730.05	+372.6%
Average			+227.1%

Beijing vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 93.9% more for groceries

	Beijing	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.43 CN¥10.42	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	+81.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.31 CN¥53.08	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	-41.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.17 CN¥52.08	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	+0.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.74 CN¥12.63	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	+87.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥11.12	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	+187.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.92 CN¥6.66	$1.95 CRC974.72	+112.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥5.17	$0.63 CRC314.94	-11.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 CN¥6.44	$1.59 CRC795.04	+79.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 CN¥4.23	$1.35 CRC673.65	+131.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 CN¥2.68	$1.30 CRC649.37	+252.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 CN¥3.42	$1.19 CRC595.13	+152.9%
Average			+93.9%

Beijing vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 91.0% more for transportation

	Beijing	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.36 CN¥31.67	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	+25.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.40 CN¥242.57	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	+13.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,872.18 CN¥151,607.16	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	+76.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.59 CN¥33.35	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	+247.2%
Average			+91.0%

Beijing vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 81.8% more for housing

	Beijing	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.28 CN¥96.49	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	+303.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$929.88 CN¥6,754.26	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	-20.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$492.44 CN¥3,576.90	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	-5.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.04 CN¥305.36	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	+50.0%
Average			+81.8%

Beijing vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 38.8% less for childcare

	Beijing	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$763.49 CN¥5,545.72	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	-31.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,913.01 CN¥166,430.97	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	-45.8%
Average			-38.8%

Beijing vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.11 CN¥8.09	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	+161.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥26.17	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	+2.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.48 CN¥25.27	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	+45.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.46 CN¥475.45	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	-8.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.35 CN¥60.64	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+16.4%
Average			+43.5%

Beijing vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 31.0% more for clothing

	Beijing	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.65 CN¥455.10	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	+17.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.69 CN¥251.95	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	+46.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.45 CN¥606.17	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	+51.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$107.64 CN¥781.83	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	+9.0%
Average			+31.0%

Beijing 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: March 2025

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