Cost of living comparison

San Jose, Costa Rica

compared to

Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Vancouver is 43.6% more expensive than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 24.0% more in Vancouver
Groceries: pay 18.4% more in Vancouver
Transportation: pay 29.5% more in Vancouver
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Vancouver
Childcare: pay 67.7% more in Vancouver
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.3% more in Vancouver
Clothing: pay 13.2% less in Vancouver

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

Vancouver vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 24.0% more for restaurants

	San Jose	Vancouver
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.83 CRC5,463.44	$17.96 CA$24.41	+65.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.72 CRC4,901.92	$10.78 CA$14.65	+10.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.99 CRC1,005.76	$1.94 CA$2.64	-2.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.46 CRC736.99	$1.78 CA$2.42	+22.0%
Average			+24.0%

San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.4% more for groceries

	San Jose	Vancouver
Bread 1 loaf	$2.60 CRC1,309.88	$2.90 CA$3.94	+11.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,151.40	$6.55 CA$8.90	+53.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 CRC3,648.54	$6.81 CA$9.26	-5.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.26 CRC1,645.80	$3.89 CA$5.29	+19.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.41 CRC2,222.98	$6.64 CA$9.02	+50.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC983.99	$1.98 CA$2.69	+1.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC317.94	$0.58 CA$0.79	-7.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 CRC802.61	$1.73 CA$2.35	+8.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.35 CRC680.06	$2.16 CA$2.93	+60.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 CRC655.55	$1.37 CA$1.87	+5.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 CRC600.79	$1.24 CA$1.69	+4.2%
Average			+18.4%

San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.5% more for transportation

	San Jose	Vancouver
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,768.40	$5.12 CA$6.96	-6.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.02 CRC19,181.44	$100.59 CA$136.70	+164.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,925.49 CRC18,627,306.47	$24,412.64 CA$33,178.00	-33.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.94 CRC8,041.60	$14.97 CA$20.35	-6.1%
Average			+29.5%

San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	San Jose	Vancouver
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.59 CRC27,036.17	$57.25 CA$77.80	+6.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$742.08 CRC374,346.80	$2,033.97 CA$2,764.26	+174.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$463.60 CRC233,866.75	$1,688.88 CA$2,295.27	+264.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.06 CRC31,808.82	$78.42 CA$106.57	+24.4%
Average			+117.4%

San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of housing

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pay 67.7% more for childcare

	San Jose	Vancouver
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$521.49 CRC263,069.85	$1,092.52 CA$1,484.79	+109.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,425.72 CRC6,268,234.89	$15,627.02 CA$21,237.90	+25.8%
Average			+67.7%

San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.3% more for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Vancouver
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.92 CRC1,470.58	$6.47 CA$8.79	+121.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.69 CRC1,862.10	$4.19 CA$5.70	+13.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.05 CRC2,549.00	$14.37 CA$19.53	+184.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.70 CRC30,116.60	$36.41 CA$49.48	-39.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.72 CRC4,901.92	$12.21 CA$16.60	+25.7%
Average			+61.3%

San Jose vs. Vancouver - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.2% less for clothing

	San Jose	Vancouver
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.59 CRC37,121.03	$66.41 CA$90.25	-9.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.81 CRC25,632.64	$38.77 CA$52.69	-23.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.98 CRC63,553.24	$95.07 CA$129.21	-24.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.31 CRC59,179.68	$123.58 CA$167.95	+5.3%
Average			-13.2%

San Jose vs. Vancouver - 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: June 2025

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