Cost of living comparison

Kuwait City, Kuwait

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Kuwait City Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 57.6% more expensive than Kuwait City.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 88.1% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 81.8% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 26.5% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 45.6% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.5% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 33.0% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Kuwait City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Kuwait City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Kuwait City	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.75 KWD3.010	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	+11.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.13 KWD2.510	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+19.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.67 KWD0.210	$1.99 CRC996.28	+198.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 KWD0.130	$1.46 CRC730.05	+250.7%
Average			+119.9%

Kuwait City vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 88.1% more for groceries

	Kuwait City	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 KWD0.310	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	+158.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.63 KWD0.810	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	+62.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.77 KWD1.780	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	+25.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.35 KWD0.720	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	+38.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KWD0.900	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	+51.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.05 KWD0.320	$1.95 CRC974.72	+85.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.84 KWD0.260	$0.63 CRC314.94	-25.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.77 KWD0.240	$1.59 CRC795.04	+107.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 KWD0.220	$1.35 CRC673.65	+88.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KWD0.150	$1.30 CRC649.37	+163.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.38 KWD0.120	$1.19 CRC595.13	+212.6%
Average			+88.1%

Kuwait City vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 81.8% more for transportation

	Kuwait City	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.28 KWD0.400	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	+327.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.77 KWD15.030	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	-22.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,111.30 KWD6,815.590	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	+67.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 KWD9.020	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	-45.5%
Average			+81.8%

Kuwait City vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.5% more for housing

	Kuwait City	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.66 KWD8.220	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	+101.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$879.86 KWD271.210	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	-15.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$681.04 KWD209.920	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	-31.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.34 KWD12.740	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	+52.5%
Average			+26.5%

Kuwait City vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 45.6% more for childcare

	Kuwait City	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$464.57 KWD143.200	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	+12.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,942.30 KWD2,139.890	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	+79.0%
Average			+45.6%

Kuwait City vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuwait City	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.63 KWD0.500	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	+79.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.99 KWD1.850	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	-38.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.09 KWD0.950	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	+63.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$113.29 KWD34.920	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	-47.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.38 KWD3.510	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	-14.6%
Average			+8.5%

Kuwait City vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.0% more for clothing

	Kuwait City	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$42.27 KWD13.030	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	+74.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$51.44 KWD15.850	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	-1.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.02 KWD28.670	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	+35.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.84 KWD29.230	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	+23.7%
Average			+33.0%

Kuwait City 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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