Cost of living comparison

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

compared to

San Jose vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 77.5% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 72.6% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in San Jose
Housing: pay 50.3% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 73.6% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.7% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 49.2% more in San Jose

The cost of restaurants, transportation, childcare, groceries, housing, and clothing in San Jose are more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Notably, restaurants and transportation are significantly more expensive in San Jose.

San Jose vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.54 MYR20.09	$10.83 CRC5,545.54	+138.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 MYR20.09	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	+113.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MYR3.73	$1.99 CRC1,020.88	+136.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 MYR2.36	$1.46 CRC748.07	+173.6%
Average			+140.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 72.6% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 MYR4.19	$2.60 CRC1,329.57	+174.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.58 MYR33.51	$4.26 CRC2,183.73	-43.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.22 MYR31.92	$7.23 CRC3,703.37	+0.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.36 MYR10.42	$3.26 CRC1,670.54	+38.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 MYR8.56	$4.41 CRC2,256.39	+127.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.48	$1.95 CRC998.78	+57.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR3.06	$0.63 CRC322.72	-8.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 MYR5.53	$1.59 CRC814.67	+27.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.77	$1.35 CRC690.28	+115.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 MYR2.06	$1.30 CRC665.40	+178.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.27	$1.19 CRC609.82	+132.4%
Average			+72.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.84	$5.49 CRC2,810.00	+209.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.36 MYR50.23	$38.02 CRC19,469.71	+234.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,478.71 MYR165,749.57	$36,925.49 CRC18,907,249.89	-1.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.22 MYR45.20	$15.94 CRC8,162.46	+56.0%
Average			+124.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.3% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.27 MYR111.74	$53.59 CRC27,442.49	+112.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$536.30 MYR2,371.77	$742.08 CRC379,972.73	+38.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.69 MYR1,643.80	$463.60 CRC237,381.45	+24.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.02 MYR221.23	$63.06 CRC32,286.86	+26.1%
Average			+50.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 73.6% more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 MYR1,109.18	$521.49 CRC267,023.44	+107.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,920.55 MYR39,451.14	$12,425.72 CRC6,362,438.05	+39.3%
Average			+73.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 MYR18.08	$2.92 CRC1,492.68	-28.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 MYR12.91	$3.69 CRC1,890.09	+26.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 MYR18.08	$5.05 CRC2,587.31	+23.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.75 MYR197.89	$59.70 CRC30,569.21	+33.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.77 MYR21.10	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	+103.7%
Average			+31.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 49.2% more for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.74 MYR255.35	$73.59 CRC37,678.91	+27.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00 MYR154.79	$50.81 CRC26,017.87	+45.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.75 MYR339.44	$125.98 CRC64,508.36	+64.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.25 MYR323.97	$117.31 CRC60,069.07	+60.1%
Average			+49.2%

Kuala Lumpur 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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