Cost of living comparison

Lima, Peru

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 68.2% more expensive than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 91.0% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 24.9% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 50.4% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.3% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 47.4% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Lima	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.23 PEN19.02	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	+107.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.10 PEN22.19	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+59.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.83 PEN3.01	$1.99 CRC996.28	+140.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 PEN1.85	$1.46 CRC730.05	+187.1%
Average			+123.6%

Lima vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 91.0% more for groceries

	Lima	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$2.42 PEN8.82	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	+7.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.22 PEN15.37	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	+1.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.95 PEN18.03	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	+46.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.70 PEN9.85	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	+20.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.25 PEN8.18	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	+96.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.87 PEN3.18	$1.95 CRC974.72	+122.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 PEN1.83	$0.63 CRC314.94	+25.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.48 PEN1.75	$1.59 CRC795.04	+230.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 PEN1.90	$1.35 CRC673.65	+157.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 PEN1.94	$1.30 CRC649.37	+143.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 PEN1.73	$1.19 CRC595.13	+150.0%
Average			+91.0%

Lima vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.9% more for transportation

	Lima	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.39 PEN19.60	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	+1.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.85 PEN86.83	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	+59.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,163.52 PEN84,317.77	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	+59.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.14 PEN73.32	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	-20.9%
Average			+24.9%

Lima vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.4% more for housing

	Lima	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.56 PEN96.69	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	+101.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.58 PEN2,095.17	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	+28.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$363.71 PEN1,323.93	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	+27.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.01 PEN160.19	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	+43.3%
Average			+50.4%

Lima vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Lima	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$213.68 PEN777.82	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	+144.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,818.35 PEN28,459.66	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	+58.9%
Average			+101.5%

Lima vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Lima	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.12 PEN7.72	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	+37.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.62 PEN9.53	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	+40.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.30 PEN19.29	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	-4.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.52 PEN111.08	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	+95.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.95 PEN28.94	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+22.2%
Average			+38.3%

Lima vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.4% more for clothing

	Lima	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$42.79 PEN155.77	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	+72.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.98 PEN127.34	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	+45.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$85.21 PEN310.16	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	+47.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.35 PEN343.45	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	+24.3%
Average			+47.4%

Lima 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: March 2025

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