Cost of living comparison

Oranjestad, Aruba

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Oranjestad Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 1.9% more expensive than Oranjestad.

Restaurants: pay 2.0% less in San Jose
Groceries: pay 10.1% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 17.8% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 35.4% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 99.8% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.1% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 0.7% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Oranjestad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0% less for restaurants

	Oranjestad	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.00 AWG34.25	$10.83 CRC5,545.54	-43.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.27 AWG18.51	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	-5.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.33 AWG2.40	$1.99 CRC1,020.88	+49.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.61 AWG2.90	$1.46 CRC748.07	-9.2%
Average			-2.0%

Oranjestad vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.1% less for groceries

	Oranjestad	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$3.05 AWG5.50	$2.60 CRC1,329.57	-15.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.00 AWG10.81	$4.26 CRC2,183.73	-28.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 AWG11.54	$7.23 CRC3,703.37	+13.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.00 AWG9.01	$3.26 CRC1,670.54	-34.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.21 AWG9.39	$4.41 CRC2,256.39	-15.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.79 AWG3.22	$1.95 CRC998.78	+9.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.91 AWG1.64	$0.63 CRC322.72	-30.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.81 AWG3.27	$1.59 CRC814.67	-12.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.72 AWG4.91	$1.35 CRC690.28	-50.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.06 AWG1.91	$1.30 CRC665.40	+22.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.91 AWG1.64	$1.19 CRC609.82	+31.3%
Average			-10.1%

Oranjestad vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.8% less for transportation

	Oranjestad	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.66 AWG10.20	$5.49 CRC2,810.00	-3.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$40.00 AWG72.10	$38.02 CRC19,469.71	-4.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,000.00 AWG63,087.50	$36,925.49 CRC18,907,249.89	+5.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$51.10 AWG92.10	$15.94 CRC8,162.46	-68.8%
Average			-17.8%

Oranjestad vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.4% less for housing

	Oranjestad	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$91.80 AWG165.47	$53.59 CRC27,442.49	-41.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$810.73 AWG1,461.33	$742.08 CRC379,972.73	-8.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$655.25 AWG1,181.08	$463.60 CRC237,381.45	-29.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$167.08 AWG301.16	$63.06 CRC32,286.86	-62.3%
Average			-35.4%

Oranjestad vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 99.8% more for childcare

	Oranjestad	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$225.00 AWG405.56	$521.49 CRC267,023.44	+131.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,404.07 AWG13,345.83	$12,425.72 CRC6,362,438.05	+67.8%
Average			+99.8%

Oranjestad vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Oranjestad	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 AWG5.41	$2.92 CRC1,492.68	-2.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.72 AWG6.70	$3.69 CRC1,890.09	-0.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.00 AWG18.02	$5.05 CRC2,587.31	-49.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$131.44 AWG236.93	$59.70 CRC30,569.21	-54.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.00 AWG18.02	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	-2.8%
Average			-22.1%

Oranjestad vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.7% more for clothing

	Oranjestad	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$80.00 AWG144.20	$73.59 CRC37,678.91	-8.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.37 AWG103.42	$50.81 CRC26,017.87	-11.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$116.59 AWG210.15	$125.98 CRC64,508.36	+8.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.90 AWG185.47	$117.31 CRC60,069.07	+14.0%
Average			+0.7%

Oranjestad 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: April 2025

More cost comparisons

Oranjestad vs.

Dodoma

Oranjestad vs.

Hong Kong

Oranjestad vs.

Lima

Oranjestad vs.

Paris

Oranjestad vs.

Bangkok

Oranjestad vs.

Madrid

Oranjestad vs.

Rome

Oranjestad vs.

Cairo

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Add prices for San Jose

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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

Ask a question about Oranjestad

Ask a question about San Jose