Cost of living comparison

 Rome, Italy
compared to
 San Jose, Costa Rica
San Jose vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 10.1% more expensive than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 5.7% less in San Jose
Groceries
pay 25.7% more in San Jose
Transportation
pay 2.2% more in San Jose
Housing
pay 14.2% less in San Jose
Childcare
pay 10.4% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.6% more in San Jose
Clothing
pay 38.9% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

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

pay 5.7% less for restaurants

 
Rome
San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.08
€14.78
$10.83
CRC5,411.93
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.72
€9.85
$9.72
CRC4,855.71
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.23
€2.05
$1.99
CRC996.28

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pay 25.7% more for groceries

 
Rome
San Jose
Bread
1 loaf
$1.78
€1.64
$2.60
CRC1,297.53
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.00
€6.44
$4.26
CRC2,131.12
Milk (1 gallon) $6.20
€5.70
$7.23
CRC3,614.14

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pay 2.2% more for transportation

 
Rome
San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.15
€6.57
$5.49
CRC2,742.30
Monthly public transit pass $37.51
€34.49
$38.02
CRC19,000.61
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $26,794.08
€24,637.10
$36,925.49
CRC18,451,701.73

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pay 14.2% less for housing

 
Rome
San Jose
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$29.46
€27.08
$53.59
CRC26,781.29
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,180.31
€1,085.30
$742.08
CRC370,817.73
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $763.10
€701.66
$463.60
CRC231,662.02

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pay 10.4% more for childcare

 
Rome
San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $508.83
€467.87
$521.49
CRC260,589.82
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,490.67
€9,646.15
$12,425.72
CRC6,209,142.52

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pay 13.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.36
€4.93
$2.92
CRC1,456.71
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.53
€1.40
$3.69
CRC1,844.55
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.43
€5.91
$5.05
CRC2,524.97

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pay 38.9% more for clothing

 
Rome
San Jose
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$65.43
€60.17
$73.59
CRC36,771.08
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$30.74
€28.26
$50.81
CRC25,391.00
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$77.17
€70.95
$125.98
CRC62,954.11

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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: March 2025
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