Cost of living comparison

San Jose, Costa Rica

compared to

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 1.8% more expensive than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 51.6% less in Addis Ababa
Groceries: pay 19.1% less in Addis Ababa
Transportation: pay 48.5% less in Addis Ababa
Housing: pay 73.9% more in Addis Ababa
Childcare: pay 84.5% more in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.0% less in Addis Ababa
Clothing: pay 0.4% more in Addis Ababa

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

Addis Ababa vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Addis Ababa instead of San Jose, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.6% less for restaurants

	San Jose	Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	$6.00 ETB788.24	-44.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	$6.24 ETB819.15	-35.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.99 CRC996.28	$0.78 ETB103.13	-60.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.46 CRC730.05	$0.50 ETB65.97	-65.6%
Average			-51.6%

San Jose vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.1% less for groceries

	San Jose	Addis Ababa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	$1.20 ETB157.85	-53.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	$4.85 ETB637.61	+13.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	$6.08 ETB798.56	-16.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	$2.65 ETB348.03	-18.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	$5.65 ETB741.75	+28.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC974.72	$3.30 ETB433.71	+69.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC314.94	$0.51 ETB66.52	-19.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 CRC795.04	$1.08 ETB141.65	-32.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.35 CRC673.65	$0.39 ETB50.78	-71.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 CRC649.37	$0.31 ETB40.89	-76.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 CRC595.13	$0.79 ETB104.33	-33.3%
Average			-19.1%

San Jose vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of groceries

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pay 48.5% less for transportation

	San Jose	Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	$4.88 ETB641.06	-11.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	$10.00 ETB1,313.73	-73.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	$25,000.00 ETB3,284,315.50	-32.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	$3.67 ETB481.48	-77.0%
Average			-48.5%

San Jose vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of transportation

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pay 73.9% more for housing

	San Jose	Addis Ababa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	$171.17 ETB22,486.61	+219.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	$645.10 ETB84,748.48	-13.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	$422.74 ETB55,536.76	-8.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	$124.84 ETB16,400.33	+98.0%
Average			+73.9%

San Jose vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of housing

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pay 84.5% more for childcare

	San Jose	Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	$81.47 ETB10,703.36	-84.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	$43,916.67 ETB5,769,447.56	+253.4%
Average			+84.5%

San Jose vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.0% less for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	$1.00 ETB131.37	-65.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	$1.15 ETB151.04	-68.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	$4.00 ETB525.49	-20.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	$90.59 ETB11,901.70	+51.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	$6.70 ETB880.20	-31.1%
Average			-27.0%

San Jose vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.4% more for clothing

	San Jose	Addis Ababa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	$48.33 ETB6,349.68	-34.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	$75.17 ETB9,874.84	+47.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	$108.84 ETB14,298.96	-13.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	$119.32 ETB15,675.61	+1.7%
Average			+0.4%

San Jose vs. Addis Ababa - 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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