Cost of living comparison

Monrovia, Liberia

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Monrovia Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 2.5 times more expensive than Monrovia.

Restaurants: pay 3.9% less in San Jose
Groceries: pay 3.4% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 3.0 times more in San Jose
Housing: pay 78.5% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 7.7 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 2.4 times more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Monrovia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.9% less for restaurants

	Monrovia	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.25 LRD1,646.70	$10.83 CRC5,463.44	+31.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.00 LRD2,195.60	$9.72 CRC4,901.92	-11.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.88 LRD374.25	$1.99 CRC1,005.76	+6.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.50 LRD499.00	$1.46 CRC736.99	-41.6%
Average			-3.9%

Monrovia vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.4% less for groceries

	Monrovia	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 LRD330.03	$2.60 CRC1,309.88	+57.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.91 LRD1,178.72	$4.26 CRC2,151.40	-27.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.08 LRD1,214.21	$7.23 CRC3,648.54	+18.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.63 LRD724.15	$3.26 CRC1,645.80	-10.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.48 LRD893.50	$4.41 CRC2,222.98	-1.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 LRD148.18	$1.95 CRC983.99	+162.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$2.58 LRD514.69	$0.63 CRC317.94	-75.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.95 LRD789.14	$1.59 CRC802.61	-59.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.18 LRD634.81	$1.35 CRC680.06	-57.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 LRD205.57	$1.30 CRC655.55	+26.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$3.88 LRD773.45	$1.19 CRC600.79	-69.3%
Average			-3.4%

Monrovia vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.0 times more for transportation

	Monrovia	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.03 LRD804.67	$5.49 CRC2,768.40	+36.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.00 LRD3,992.00	$38.02 CRC19,181.44	+90.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,069.87 LRD1,011,946.38	$36,925.49 CRC18,627,306.47	+628.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.69 LRD2,533.31	$15.94 CRC8,041.60	+25.6%
Average			+195.0%

Monrovia vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 78.5% more for housing

	Monrovia	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$93.25 LRD18,612.68	$53.59 CRC27,036.17	-42.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.67 LRD133,066.63	$742.08 CRC374,346.80	+11.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$90.00 LRD17,963.99	$463.60 CRC233,866.75	+415.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$208.46 LRD41,608.02	$63.06 CRC31,808.82	-69.8%
Average			+78.5%

Monrovia vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 7.7 times more for childcare

	Monrovia	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$74.33 LRD14,836.41	$521.49 CRC263,069.85	+601.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,500.00 LRD299,399.91	$12,425.72 CRC6,268,234.89	+728.4%
Average			+665.0%

Monrovia vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Monrovia	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.50 LRD499.00	$2.92 CRC1,470.58	+16.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.12 LRD623.75	$3.69 CRC1,862.10	+18.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.00 LRD998.00	$5.05 CRC2,549.00	+1.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.25 LRD15,219.50	$59.70 CRC30,116.60	-21.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.75 LRD1,946.05	$9.72 CRC4,901.92	-0.3%
Average			+2.8%

Monrovia vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.4 times more for clothing

	Monrovia	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.41 LRD3,675.12	$73.59 CRC37,121.03	+299.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.75 LRD6,736.50	$50.81 CRC25,632.64	+50.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.25 LRD11,227.50	$125.98 CRC63,553.24	+124.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$68.75 LRD13,722.50	$117.31 CRC59,179.68	+70.6%
Average			+136.2%

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

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