Cost of living comparison

Muscat, Oman

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Muscat Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 65.0% more expensive than Muscat.

Restaurants: pay 2.6 times more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 2.0 times more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 53.8% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 2.7% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.4% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 50.5% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Muscat Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

	Muscat	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.20 OMR2.000	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	+108.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.79 OMR3.000	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+24.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 OMR0.330	$1.99 CRC996.28	+136.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 OMR0.120	$1.46 CRC730.05	+376.8%
Average			+161.6%

Muscat vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.0 times more for groceries

	Muscat	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.17 OMR0.450	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	+121.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.01 OMR0.770	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	+112.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.07 OMR2.340	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	+19.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.30 OMR0.880	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	+42.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.12 OMR0.820	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	+107.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 OMR0.410	$1.95 CRC974.72	+81.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 OMR0.300	$0.63 CRC314.94	-19.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.77 OMR0.300	$1.59 CRC795.04	+105.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 OMR0.200	$1.35 CRC673.65	+157.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 OMR0.170	$1.30 CRC649.37	+200.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.42 OMR0.160	$1.19 CRC595.13	+181.7%
Average			+100.9%

Muscat vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 53.8% more for transportation

	Muscat	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.33 OMR0.900	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	+135.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$62.34 OMR24.000	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	-39.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,858.86 OMR8,800.430	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	+61.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.13 OMR3.900	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	+57.4%
Average			+53.8%

Muscat vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.7% less for housing

	Muscat	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$69.80 OMR26.870	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	-23.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$609.46 OMR234.640	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	+21.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$409.71 OMR157.740	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	+13.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.57 OMR31.400	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	-22.7%
Average			-2.7%

Muscat vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Muscat	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$188.90 OMR72.720	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	+176.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,697.81 OMR3,348.570	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	+42.9%
Average			+109.5%

Muscat vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Muscat	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$12.99 OMR5.000	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	-77.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.85 OMR1.870	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	-24.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.97 OMR2.300	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	-15.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.34 OMR17.450	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	+31.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.39 OMR4.000	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	-6.5%
Average			-18.4%

Muscat vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 50.5% more for clothing

	Muscat	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.16 OMR16.620	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	+70.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.38 OMR14.390	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	+35.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.28 OMR29.750	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	+63.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.48 OMR34.060	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	+32.6%
Average			+50.5%

Muscat 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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