Cost of living comparison

Kingston, Jamaica

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Kingston Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 57.2% more expensive than Kingston.

Restaurants: pay 41.1% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 13.6% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 9.7% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 12.9% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 4.1 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.8% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Kingston Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 41.1% more for restaurants

	Kingston	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.52 JMD1,198.39	$10.83 CRC5,499.19	+44.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.62 JMD1,373.16	$9.72 CRC4,934.00	+12.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 JMD225.08	$1.99 CRC1,012.34	+41.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 JMD139.81	$1.46 CRC741.82	+66.5%
Average			+41.1%

Kingston vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.6% less for groceries

	Kingston	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$3.54 JMD564.47	$2.60 CRC1,318.45	-26.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.58 JMD1,047.96	$4.26 CRC2,165.48	-35.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$15.26 JMD2,431.66	$7.23 CRC3,672.41	-52.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.27 JMD680.75	$3.26 CRC1,656.57	-23.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.97 JMD473.07	$4.41 CRC2,237.52	+48.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.70 JMD430.59	$1.95 CRC990.43	-27.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 JMD220.88	$0.63 CRC320.02	-54.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.82 JMD290.59	$1.59 CRC807.86	-12.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.59 JMD253.91	$1.35 CRC684.51	-15.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 JMD166.09	$1.30 CRC659.83	+24.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.95 JMD151.17	$1.19 CRC604.73	+25.6%
Average			-13.6%

Kingston vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.7% less for transportation

	Kingston	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 JMD770.43	$5.49 CRC2,786.51	+13.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.59 JMD5,991.95	$38.02 CRC19,306.95	+1.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,920.30 JMD6,840,813.68	$36,925.49 CRC18,749,195.70	-14.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.32 JMD4,194.37	$15.94 CRC8,094.23	-39.4%
Average			-9.7%

Kingston vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.9% less for housing

	Kingston	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.89 JMD8,429.49	$53.59 CRC27,213.08	+1.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$874.50 JMD139,381.55	$742.08 CRC376,796.37	-15.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$425.21 JMD67,771.09	$463.60 CRC235,397.07	+9.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.83 JMD18,939.27	$63.06 CRC32,016.96	-46.9%
Average			-12.9%

Kingston vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 4.1 times more for childcare

	Kingston	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$227.66 JMD36,284.61	$521.49 CRC264,791.27	+129.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,105.29 JMD335,549.40	$12,425.72 CRC6,309,251.58	+490.2%
Average			+309.6%

Kingston vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Kingston	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.13 JMD499.33	$2.92 CRC1,480.20	-6.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.28 JMD682.63	$3.69 CRC1,874.29	-13.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.77 JMD1,398.12	$5.05 CRC2,565.68	-42.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.97 JMD11,151.69	$59.70 CRC30,313.67	-14.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.16 JMD2,097.18	$9.72 CRC4,934.00	-26.1%
Average			-20.8%

Kingston vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	Kingston	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.32 JMD4,194.37	$73.59 CRC37,363.93	+179.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$25.59 JMD4,077.86	$50.81 CRC25,800.37	+98.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.01 JMD11,318.13	$125.98 CRC63,969.11	+77.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$68.92 JMD10,985.25	$117.31 CRC59,566.93	+70.2%
Average			+106.5%

Kingston 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: June 2025

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