Cost of living comparison

Nuku'alofa, Tonga

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Nuku'alofa Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 5.6 times more expensive than Nuku'alofa.

Restaurants: pay 10.6% less in San Jose
Groceries: pay 16.1% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in San Jose
Housing: pay 57.0% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 26.3 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.2% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 7.6 times more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Nuku'alofa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Nuku'alofa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.6% less for restaurants

	Nuku'alofa	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.40 TOP20.23	$10.83 CRC5,545.54	+28.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.50 TOP25.29	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	-7.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.66 TOP6.41	$1.99 CRC1,020.88	-25.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.38 TOP5.73	$1.46 CRC748.07	-38.6%
Average			-10.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.1% more for groceries

	Nuku'alofa	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 TOP2.53	$2.60 CRC1,329.57	+147.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.55 TOP10.96	$4.26 CRC2,183.73	-6.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.99 TOP14.42	$7.23 CRC3,703.37	+20.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.15 TOP12.41	$3.26 CRC1,670.54	-36.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.70 TOP6.50	$4.41 CRC2,256.39	+63.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.27 TOP3.06	$1.95 CRC998.78	+53.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 TOP3.06	$0.63 CRC322.72	-50.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 TOP3.21	$1.59 CRC814.67	+19.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.71 TOP4.13	$1.35 CRC690.28	-21.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.46 TOP3.52	$1.30 CRC665.40	-11.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.21 TOP2.91	$1.19 CRC609.82	-1.3%
Average			+16.1%

Nuku'alofa vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Nuku'alofa	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.57 TOP13.40	$5.49 CRC2,810.00	-1.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.01 TOP101.15	$38.02 CRC19,469.71	-9.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,881.34 TOP14,160.85	$36,925.49 CRC18,907,249.89	+527.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$69.32 TOP166.90	$15.94 CRC8,162.46	-77.0%
Average			+110.0%

Nuku'alofa vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 57.0% less for housing

	Nuku'alofa	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$126.03 TOP303.45	$53.59 CRC27,442.49	-57.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	??	$742.08 CRC379,972.73
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$463.60 CRC237,381.45
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.56 TOP348.07	$63.06 CRC32,286.86	-56.4%
Average			-57.0%

Nuku'alofa vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 26.3 times more for childcare

	Nuku'alofa	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$159.64 TOP384.37	$521.49 CRC267,023.44	+226.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$252.06 TOP606.89	$12,425.72 CRC6,362,438.05	+4829.7%
Average			+2528.2%

Nuku'alofa vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Nuku'alofa	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.36 TOP8.09	$2.92 CRC1,492.68	-13.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.94 TOP7.08	$3.69 CRC1,890.09	+25.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.29 TOP24.78	$5.05 CRC2,587.31	-50.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.51 TOP75.86	$59.70 CRC30,569.21	+89.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$42.01 TOP101.15	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	-76.9%
Average			-5.2%

Nuku'alofa vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.6 times more for clothing

	Nuku'alofa	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$4.20 TOP10.11	$73.59 CRC37,678.91	+1651.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.85 TOP42.99	$50.81 CRC26,017.87	+184.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$21.00 TOP50.57	$125.98 CRC64,508.36	+499.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.41 TOP70.80	$117.31 CRC60,069.07	+298.9%
Average			+658.8%

Nuku'alofa 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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