Cost of living comparison

San Jose, Costa Rica

compared to

Reykjavik, Iceland

Reykjavik vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 51.6% more expensive than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 69.5% more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 33.0% more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 54.5% more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 51.8% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 33.0% more in Reykjavik

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

Reykjavik vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 69.5% more for restaurants

	San Jose	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.83 CRC5,481.76	$20.00 ISK2,557	+84.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.72 CRC4,918.36	$18.02 ISK2,304	+85.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.99 CRC1,009.13	$3.15 ISK403	+58.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.46 CRC739.46	$2.19 ISK279	+49.6%
Average			+69.5%

San Jose vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.0% more for groceries

	San Jose	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$2.60 CRC1,314.27	$3.61 ISK462	+39.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,158.61	$7.76 ISK992	+81.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 CRC3,660.77	$6.40 ISK819	-11.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.26 CRC1,651.32	$5.76 ISK736	+76.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.41 CRC2,230.43	$9.45 ISK1,208	+114.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC987.29	$1.40 ISK179	-28.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC319.01	$1.01 ISK129	+60.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 CRC805.30	$1.22 ISK156	-23.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.35 CRC682.34	$2.22 ISK284	+65.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 CRC657.74	$1.43 ISK183	+10.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 CRC602.81	$0.93 ISK119	-21.6%
Average			+33.0%

San Jose vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 54.5% more for transportation

	San Jose	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,777.68	$8.50 ISK1,087	+54.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.02 CRC19,245.76	$74.95 ISK9,583	+97.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,925.49 CRC18,689,769.59	$42,450.45 ISK5,427,290	+15.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.94 CRC8,068.57	$24.05 ISK3,075	+50.9%
Average			+54.5%

San Jose vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	San Jose	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.59 CRC27,126.83	$69.87 ISK8,932	+30.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$742.08 CRC375,602.10	$1,971.17 ISK252,014	+165.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$463.60 CRC234,650.97	$1,803.44 ISK230,570	+289.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.06 CRC31,915.48	$53.95 ISK6,898	-14.4%
Average			+117.6%

San Jose vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 51.8% less for childcare

	San Jose	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$521.49 CRC263,952.01	$252.14 ISK32,236	-51.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,425.72 CRC6,289,254.22	$5,993.99 ISK766,332	-51.8%
Average			-51.8%

San Jose vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.92 CRC1,475.51	$10.81 ISK1,382	+270.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.69 CRC1,868.35	$5.31 ISK678	+43.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.05 CRC2,557.55	$12.25 ISK1,566	+142.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.70 CRC30,217.59	$69.95 ISK8,943	+17.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.72 CRC4,918.36	$14.77 ISK1,889	+52.0%
Average			+105.2%

San Jose vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.0% more for clothing

	San Jose	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.59 CRC37,245.51	$108.97 ISK13,932	+48.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.81 CRC25,718.60	$49.72 ISK6,357	-2.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.98 CRC63,766.36	$151.85 ISK19,415	+20.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.31 CRC59,378.13	$194.16 ISK24,823	+65.5%
Average			+33.0%

San Jose vs. Reykjavik - 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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