Cost of living comparison

San Jose, Costa Rica

compared to

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Ashgabat vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Ashgabat is 66.2% more expensive than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 71.2% more in Ashgabat
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Ashgabat
Transportation: pay 42.4% less in Ashgabat
Housing: pay 3.0 times more in Ashgabat
Childcare: pay 95.6% less in Ashgabat
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.6 times more in Ashgabat
Clothing: pay 57.5% more in Ashgabat

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

Ashgabat vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 71.2% more for restaurants

	San Jose	Ashgabat
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	$34.54 TMT120.90	+219.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	$12.82 TMT44.87	+31.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.99 CRC996.28	$3.24 TMT11.34	+62.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.46 CRC730.05	$1.04 TMT3.66	-28.5%
Average			+71.2%

San Jose vs. Ashgabat - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	San Jose	Ashgabat
Bread 1 loaf	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	$2.39 TMT8.35	-8.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	$17.90 TMT62.65	+319.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	$16.12 TMT56.43	+122.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	$6.84 TMT23.93	+109.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	$5.38 TMT18.85	+22.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC974.72	$2.71 TMT9.50	+39.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC314.94	$4.01 TMT14.02	+535.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 CRC795.04	$3.65 TMT12.78	+129.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.35 CRC673.65	$1.71 TMT5.99	+27.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 CRC649.37	$1.03 TMT3.62	-20.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 CRC595.13	$0.84 TMT2.94	-29.5%
Average			+113.4%

San Jose vs. Ashgabat - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.4% less for transportation

	San Jose	Ashgabat
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	$1.56 TMT5.47	-71.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	$8.55 TMT29.91	-77.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	$43,803.42 TMT153,311.97	+18.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	$9.69 TMT33.90	-39.2%
Average			-42.4%

San Jose vs. Ashgabat - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

	San Jose	Ashgabat
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	$94.97 TMT332.38	+77.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	$1,125.36 TMT3,938.75	+51.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	$747.86 TMT2,617.52	+61.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	$435.73 TMT1,525.05	+591.0%
Average			+195.3%

San Jose vs. Ashgabat - Cost of housing

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pay 95.6% less for childcare

	San Jose	Ashgabat
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	$22.79 TMT79.77	-95.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	??
Average			-95.6%

San Jose vs. Ashgabat - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.6 times more for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Ashgabat
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	$5.06 TMT17.70	+73.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	$6.98 TMT24.43	+89.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	$28.49 TMT99.72	+463.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	$147.20 TMT515.19	+146.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	$14.25 TMT49.86	+46.6%
Average			+163.9%

San Jose vs. Ashgabat - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 57.5% more for clothing

	San Jose	Ashgabat
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	$85.47 TMT299.15	+16.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	$121.08 TMT423.79	+138.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	$163.82 TMT573.36	+30.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	$170.94 TMT598.29	+45.7%
Average			+57.5%

San Jose vs. Ashgabat - 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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