Cost of living comparison

San Jose, Costa Rica

compared to

Baghdad, Iraq

Baghdad vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Baghdad is 48.0% cheaper than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 59.7% less in Baghdad
Groceries: pay 56.9% less in Baghdad
Transportation: pay 52.8% less in Baghdad
Housing: pay 9.6% less in Baghdad
Childcare: pay 70.6% less in Baghdad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.1% less in Baghdad
Clothing: pay 52.6% less in Baghdad

Expenses including childcare, restaurants, groceries, transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Baghdad.

Baghdad vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 59.7% less for restaurants

	San Jose	Baghdad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.83 CRC5,460.85	$5.31 IQD6,959	-51.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.72 CRC4,899.60	$7.59 IQD9,941	-21.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.99 CRC1,005.29	$0.42 IQD552	-78.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.46 CRC736.64	$0.19 IQD249	-87.0%
Average			-59.7%

San Jose vs. Baghdad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 56.9% less for groceries

	San Jose	Baghdad
Bread 1 loaf	$2.60 CRC1,309.26	$0.88 IQD1,148	-66.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,150.38	$2.38 IQD3,116	-44.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 CRC3,646.81	$5.13 IQD6,718	-29.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.26 CRC1,645.02	$1.82 IQD2,384	-44.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.41 CRC2,221.92	$2.22 IQD2,907	-49.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC983.52	$0.51 IQD673	-73.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC317.79	$0.51 IQD674	-18.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 CRC802.23	$0.46 IQD609	-70.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.35 CRC679.74	$0.31 IQD403	-77.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 CRC655.23	$0.30 IQD389	-77.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 CRC600.51	$0.29 IQD379	-75.7%
Average			-56.9%

San Jose vs. Baghdad - Cost of groceries

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pay 52.8% less for transportation

	San Jose	Baghdad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,767.08	$1.78 IQD2,337	-67.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.02 CRC19,172.34	$22.77 IQD29,824	-40.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,925.49 CRC18,618,474.85	$18,213.31 IQD23,859,432	-50.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.94 CRC8,037.79	$15.94 IQD20,877
Average			-52.8%

San Jose vs. Baghdad - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.6% less for housing

	San Jose	Baghdad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.59 CRC27,023.35	$35.21 IQD46,126	-34.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$742.08 CRC374,169.31	$443.62 IQD581,148	-40.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$463.60 CRC233,755.86	$264.28 IQD346,204	-43.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.06 CRC31,793.74	$113.01 IQD148,037	+79.2%
Average			-9.6%

San Jose vs. Baghdad - Cost of housing

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pay 70.6% less for childcare

	San Jose	Baghdad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$521.49 CRC262,945.13	$162.43 IQD212,780	-68.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,425.72 CRC6,265,262.99	$3,438.23 IQD4,504,076	-72.3%
Average			-70.6%

San Jose vs. Baghdad - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.1% less for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Baghdad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.92 CRC1,469.88	$2.28 IQD2,982	-21.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.69 CRC1,861.22	$2.89 IQD3,790	-21.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.05 CRC2,547.79	$2.28 IQD2,982	-54.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.70 CRC30,102.32	$29.60 IQD38,782	-50.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.72 CRC4,899.60	$7.59 IQD9,941	-21.9%
Average			-34.1%

San Jose vs. Baghdad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 52.6% less for clothing

	San Jose	Baghdad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.59 CRC37,103.43	$28.72 IQD37,628	-61.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.81 CRC25,620.49	$34.03 IQD44,581	-33.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.98 CRC63,523.11	$61.01 IQD79,920	-51.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.31 CRC59,151.62	$41.35 IQD54,172	-64.8%
Average			-52.6%

San Jose vs. Baghdad - 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: July 2025

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