Cost of living comparison

Lusaka, Zambia

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 2.3 times more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 79.7% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 2.0 times more in San Jose
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2 times more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 2.4 times more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Lusaka	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW169.03	$10.83 CRC5,460.85	+50.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW89.57	$9.72 CRC4,899.60	+154.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW16.73	$1.99 CRC1,005.29	+179.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW7.76	$1.46 CRC736.64	+341.6%
Average			+181.4%

Lusaka vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 79.7% more for groceries

	Lusaka	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW17.34	$2.60 CRC1,309.26	+251.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW85.22	$4.26 CRC2,150.38	+17.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW113.73	$7.23 CRC3,646.81	+49.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW45.11	$3.26 CRC1,645.02	+69.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW42.11	$4.41 CRC2,221.92	+145.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW28.15	$1.95 CRC983.52	+62.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW14.15	$0.63 CRC317.79	+4.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW29.66	$1.59 CRC802.23	+25.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW13.20	$1.35 CRC679.74	+139.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW22.40	$1.30 CRC655.23	+36.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW15.79	$1.19 CRC600.51	+76.8%
Average			+79.7%

Lusaka vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.0 times more for transportation

	Lusaka	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW111.70	$5.49 CRC2,767.08	+15.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW868.12	$38.02 CRC19,172.34	+2.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW187,626.80	$36,925.49 CRC18,618,474.85	+361.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW284.32	$15.94 CRC8,037.79	+31.4%
Average			+102.7%

Lusaka vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Lusaka	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW2,951.56	$53.59 CRC27,023.35	-57.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW5,026.08	$742.08 CRC374,169.31	+246.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW2,694.64	$463.60 CRC233,755.86	+303.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW1,957.29	$63.06 CRC31,793.74	-24.5%
Average			+116.9%

Lusaka vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Lusaka	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,143.96	$521.49 CRC262,945.13	+195.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW154,011.28	$12,425.72 CRC6,265,262.99	+89.1%
Average			+142.1%

Lusaka vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW22.66	$2.92 CRC1,469.88	+201.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW48.60	$3.69 CRC1,861.22	+78.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW58.34	$5.05 CRC2,547.79	+103.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW966.01	$59.70 CRC30,102.32	+44.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW82.03	$9.72 CRC4,899.60	+177.7%
Average			+121.0%

Lusaka vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for clothing

	Lusaka	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW432.12	$73.59 CRC37,103.43	+299.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW440.30	$50.81 CRC25,620.49	+170.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,113.74	$125.98 CRC63,523.11	+39.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW1,939.93	$117.31 CRC59,151.62	+41.7%
Average			+137.8%

Lusaka vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: July 2025

More cost comparisons

Lusaka vs.

Manila

Lusaka vs.

Ottawa

Lusaka vs.

Moscow

Lusaka vs.

Delhi

Lusaka vs.

Quito

Lusaka vs.

Wellington

Lusaka vs.

Athens

Lusaka vs.

London

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Zambia vs. Costa Rica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Zambia and Costa Rica.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Lusaka

Add prices for San Jose

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Jose or Lusaka. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.