Cost of living comparison

 Paramaribo, Suriname
compared to
 San Jose, Costa Rica
San Jose vs. Paramaribo Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 4.3 times more expensive than Paramaribo.

Restaurants
pay 67.8% more in San Jose
Groceries
pay 32.5% more in San Jose
Transportation
pay 2.0% less in San Jose
Housing
pay 77.3% more in San Jose
Childcare
pay 20.5 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.1 times more in San Jose
Clothing
pay 63.6% more in San Jose

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, clothing, and groceries in San Jose are more expensive than in Paramaribo. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in San Jose.

San Jose vs. Paramaribo Cost Breakdown

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

pay 67.8% more for restaurants

 
Paramaribo
San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.97
SRD257.52
$10.83
CRC5,520.16
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.16
SRD338.47
$9.72
CRC4,952.82
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.29
SRD47.82
$1.99
CRC1,016.20

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pay 32.5% more for groceries

 
Paramaribo
San Jose
Bread
1 loaf
$1.23
SRD45.31
$2.60
CRC1,323.48
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.24
SRD230.33
$4.26
CRC2,173.74
Milk (1 gallon) $5.52
SRD203.96
$7.23
CRC3,686.42

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pay 2.0% less for transportation

 
Paramaribo
San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.14
SRD152.76
$5.49
CRC2,797.14
Monthly public transit pass $90.00
SRD3,324.78
$38.02
CRC19,380.59
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $25,000.00
SRD923,550.00
$36,925.49
CRC18,820,706.48

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pay 77.3% more for housing

 
Paramaribo
San Jose
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$31.02
SRD1,146.10
$53.59
CRC27,316.87
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $516.42
SRD19,077.46
$742.08
CRC378,233.49
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $194.83
SRD7,197.38
$463.60
CRC236,294.89

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pay 20.5 times more for childcare

 
Paramaribo
San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $63.03
SRD2,328.33
$521.49
CRC265,801.21
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $380.51
SRD14,056.98
$12,425.72
CRC6,333,315.52

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Paramaribo
San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.00
SRD73.88
$2.92
CRC1,485.85
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.25
SRD83.23
$3.69
CRC1,881.44
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.04
SRD223.25
$5.05
CRC2,575.47

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pay 63.6% more for clothing

 
Paramaribo
San Jose
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$36.30
SRD1,340.84
$73.59
CRC37,506.44
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$28.44
SRD1,050.69
$50.81
CRC25,898.78
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$75.41
SRD2,785.97
$125.98
CRC64,213.09

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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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