Cost of living comparison

Panama City, Panama

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 14.0% more expensive than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 3.5% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 9.8% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 45.8% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 24.2% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 20.9% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.4% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 30.7% more in San Jose

The cost of transportation, clothing, childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in San Jose are more expensive than in Panama City.

San Jose vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.5% more for restaurants

	Panama City	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.25 PAB13.25	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	-18.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+21.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$1.99 CRC996.28	+7.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 PAB1.41	$1.46 CRC730.05	+3.5%
Average			+3.5%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.8% more for groceries

	Panama City	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$2.51 PAB2.51	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	+3.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.39 PAB6.39	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	-33.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.80 PAB6.80	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	+6.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.68 PAB2.68	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	+21.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.41 PAB3.41	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	+29.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.48 PAB1.48	$1.95 CRC974.72	+31.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 PAB0.72	$0.63 CRC314.94	-12.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.24 PAB1.24	$1.59 CRC795.04	+28.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.40 PAB1.40	$1.35 CRC673.65	-3.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 PAB0.98	$1.30 CRC649.37	+32.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.15 PAB1.15	$1.19 CRC595.13	+3.9%
Average			+9.8%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.8% more for transportation

	Panama City	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.69 PAB3.69	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	+48.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.00 PAB25.00	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	+52.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	+87.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.71 PAB16.71	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	-4.6%
Average			+45.8%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.2% less for housing

	Panama City	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.10 PAB52.10	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	+2.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,023.81 PAB1,023.81	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	-27.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$755.88 PAB755.88	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	-38.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.84 PAB94.84	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	-33.5%
Average			-24.2%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.9% more for childcare

	Panama City	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$439.17 PAB439.17	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	+18.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,092.67 PAB10,092.67	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	+23.1%
Average			+20.9%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 PAB3.00	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	-2.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.59 PAB3.59	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	+2.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.50 PAB5.50	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	-8.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.27 PAB47.27	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	+26.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.00 PAB7.00	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+38.8%
Average			+11.4%

Panama City vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.7% more for clothing

	Panama City	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.91 PAB53.91	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	+36.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.78 PAB37.78	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	+34.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.62 PAB87.62	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	+43.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.75 PAB108.75	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	+7.9%
Average			+30.7%

Panama City 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

Panama City vs.

Wellington

Panama City vs.

Delhi

Panama City vs.

Hong Kong

Panama City vs.

Dublin

Panama City vs.

Singapore

Panama City vs.

Vienna

Panama City vs.

Mexico City

Panama City vs.

Kiev

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Add prices for San Jose

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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