Cost of living comparison

Dakar, Senegal

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Dakar Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 45.4% more expensive than Dakar.

Restaurants: pay 59.4% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 67.6% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 11.2% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 0.9% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 96.0% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.1% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 32.4% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Dakar Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 59.4% more for restaurants

	Dakar	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.54 F CFA3,942	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	+65.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.99 F CFA5,420	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+8.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.93 F CFA558	$1.99 CRC996.28	+115.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.98 F CFA593	$1.46 CRC730.05	+48.5%
Average			+59.4%

Dakar vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 67.6% more for groceries

	Dakar	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 F CFA333	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	+370.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.75 F CFA4,069	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	-36.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.56 F CFA6,368	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	-31.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 F CFA1,456	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	+35.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.39 F CFA2,646	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	+0.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 F CFA614	$1.95 CRC974.72	+91.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 F CFA492	$0.63 CRC314.94	-22.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.99 F CFA596	$1.59 CRC795.04	+61.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.88 F CFA531	$1.35 CRC673.65	+53.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 F CFA387	$1.30 CRC649.37	+102.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.54 F CFA326	$1.19 CRC595.13	+120.1%
Average			+67.6%

Dakar vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.2% more for transportation

	Dakar	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.12 F CFA3,693	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	-10.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.51 F CFA14,782	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	+55.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,959.22 F CFA16,260,482	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	+37.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.33 F CFA15,275	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	-37.1%
Average			+11.2%

Dakar vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.9% less for housing

	Dakar	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.58 F CFA29,302	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	+10.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$932.62 F CFA562,509	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	-20.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$326.78 F CFA197,097	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	+41.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$97.46 F CFA58,781	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	-35.3%
Average			-0.9%

Dakar vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 96.0% more for childcare

	Dakar	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$249.17 F CFA150,286	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	+109.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,796.99 F CFA4,099,613	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	+82.8%
Average			+96.0%

Dakar vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 52.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Dakar	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.45 F CFA1,478	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	+18.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.23 F CFA2,552	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	-12.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.47 F CFA887	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	+243.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$64.81 F CFA39,091	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	-7.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.17 F CFA4,927	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+18.9%
Average			+52.1%

Dakar vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.4% more for clothing

	Dakar	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.82 F CFA35,477	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	+25.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.58 F CFA22,666	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	+35.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.23 F CFA53,217	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	+42.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.72 F CFA55,926	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	+26.5%
Average			+32.4%

Dakar 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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See the cost of living in Senegal vs. Costa Rica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Senegal and Costa Rica.

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