Cost of living comparison

Helsinki, Finland

compared to

San Jose vs. Helsinki Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 0.3% more expensive than Helsinki.

Restaurants: pay 31.1% less in San Jose
Groceries: pay 23.9% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 19.1% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 5.5% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 36.2% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.1% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 20.0% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Helsinki Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.1% less for restaurants

	Helsinki	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.76 €16.51	$10.83 CRC5,545.54	-42.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.79 €10.38	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	-17.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.14 €2.77	$1.99 CRC1,020.88	-36.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.03 €1.79	$1.46 CRC748.07	-28.1%
Average			-31.1%

Helsinki vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.9% more for groceries

	Helsinki	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$2.89 €2.54	$2.60 CRC1,329.57	-10.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.13 €3.64	$4.26 CRC2,183.73	+3.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.15 €4.53	$7.23 CRC3,703.37	+40.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.08 €2.71	$3.26 CRC1,670.54	+5.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.00 €5.28	$4.41 CRC2,256.39	-26.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 €0.98	$1.95 CRC998.78	+75.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 €0.75	$0.63 CRC322.72	-25.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.03 €0.90	$1.59 CRC814.67	+54.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 €1.50	$1.35 CRC690.28	-20.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 €0.50	$1.30 CRC665.40	+127.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.86 €0.75	$1.19 CRC609.82	+39.1%
Average			+23.9%

Helsinki vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.1% less for transportation

	Helsinki	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.50 €6.61	$5.49 CRC2,810.00	-26.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$71.38 €62.85	$38.02 CRC19,469.71	-46.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,296.42 €30,195.84	$36,925.49 CRC18,907,249.89	+7.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.79 €15.66	$15.94 CRC8,162.46	-10.4%
Average			-19.1%

Helsinki vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.5% more for housing

	Helsinki	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.48 €19.79	$53.59 CRC27,442.49	+138.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,111.66 €978.74	$742.08 CRC379,972.73	-33.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$870.64 €766.54	$463.60 CRC237,381.45	-46.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$99.35 €87.47	$63.06 CRC32,286.86	-36.5%
Average			+5.5%

Helsinki vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 36.2% more for childcare

	Helsinki	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$338.03 €297.62	$521.49 CRC267,023.44	+54.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,508.28 €9,251.88	$12,425.72 CRC6,362,438.05	+18.2%
Average			+36.2%

Helsinki vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Helsinki	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.57 €7.55	$2.92 CRC1,492.68	-66.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.76 €4.20	$3.69 CRC1,890.09	-22.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.36 €10.00	$5.05 CRC2,587.31	-55.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.76 €42.05	$59.70 CRC30,569.21	+25.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$18.22 €16.04	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	-46.7%
Average			-33.1%

Helsinki vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.0% more for clothing

	Helsinki	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$100.00 €88.04	$73.59 CRC37,678.91	-26.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.76 €27.96	$50.81 CRC26,017.87	+60.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.57 €78.86	$125.98 CRC64,508.36	+40.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.24 €97.94	$117.31 CRC60,069.07	+5.5%
Average			+20.0%

Helsinki 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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