Cost of living comparison

San Jose, Costa Rica

compared to

Singapore, Singapore

Singapore vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Singapore is 65.6% more expensive than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 19.0% less in Singapore
Groceries: pay 18.7% more in Singapore
Transportation: pay 2.0 times more in Singapore
Housing: pay 2.6 times more in Singapore
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Singapore
Entertainment and Sports: pay 80.2% more in Singapore
Clothing: pay 12.7% less in Singapore

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

Singapore vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 19.0% less for restaurants

	San Jose	Singapore
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.83 CRC5,398.07	$10.16 SGD13.59	-6.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.72 CRC4,843.27	$7.52 SGD10.06	-22.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.99 CRC993.73	$1.52 SGD2.03	-23.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.46 CRC728.17	$1.12 SGD1.50	-23.4%
Average			-19.0%

San Jose vs. Singapore - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.7% more for groceries

	San Jose	Singapore
Bread 1 loaf	$2.60 CRC1,294.21	$2.11 SGD2.82	-18.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,125.66	$8.41 SGD11.26	+97.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 CRC3,604.88	$10.38 SGD13.89	+43.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.26 CRC1,626.11	$3.30 SGD4.41	+1.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.41 CRC2,196.38	$4.50 SGD6.01	+2.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC972.22	$1.80 SGD2.41	-7.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC314.13	$1.36 SGD1.82	+115.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 CRC793.01	$1.80 SGD2.41	+13.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.35 CRC671.92	$1.27 SGD1.69	-6.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 CRC647.70	$1.02 SGD1.37	-21.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 CRC593.61	$1.04 SGD1.39	-12.9%
Average			+18.7%

San Jose vs. Singapore - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.0 times more for transportation

	San Jose	Singapore
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,735.27	$8.18 SGD10.95	+49.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.02 CRC18,951.93	$90.29 SGD120.76	+137.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,925.49 CRC18,404,426.11	$135,434.68 SGD181,143.88	+266.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.94 CRC7,945.38	$9.48 SGD12.68	-40.5%
Average			+103.2%

San Jose vs. Singapore - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.6 times more for housing

	San Jose	Singapore
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.59 CRC26,712.67	$36.16 SGD48.36	-32.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$742.08 CRC369,867.65	$2,745.11 SGD3,671.59	+269.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$463.60 CRC231,068.47	$1,988.78 SGD2,659.99	+329.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.06 CRC31,428.22	$121.43 SGD162.42	+92.6%
Average			+164.8%

San Jose vs. Singapore - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	San Jose	Singapore
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$521.49 CRC259,922.16	$1,189.74 SGD1,591.28	+128.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,425.72 CRC6,193,233.90	$27,370.99 SGD36,608.70	+120.3%
Average			+124.2%

San Jose vs. Singapore - Cost of childcare

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pay 80.2% more for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Singapore
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.92 CRC1,452.98	$6.73 SGD9.01	+131.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.69 CRC1,839.82	$4.71 SGD6.30	+27.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.05 CRC2,518.50	$12.64 SGD16.91	+150.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.70 CRC29,756.25	$105.20 SGD140.70	+76.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.72 CRC4,843.27	$11.29 SGD15.10	+16.1%
Average			+80.2%

San Jose vs. Singapore - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.7% less for clothing

	San Jose	Singapore
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.59 CRC36,676.87	$66.32 SGD88.70	-9.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.81 CRC25,325.94	$44.36 SGD59.34	-12.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.98 CRC62,792.81	$96.71 SGD129.34	-23.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.31 CRC58,471.58	$111.62 SGD149.29	-4.9%
Average			-12.7%

San Jose vs. Singapore - 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: March 2025

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