Cost of living comparison

Singapore, Singapore

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Singapore Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 17.5% cheaper than Singapore.

Restaurants: pay 24.4% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 6.2% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 23.9% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 37.4% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 55.4% less in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.1% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 15.2% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Singapore Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 24.4% more for restaurants

	Singapore	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.16 SGD13.07	$10.83 CRC5,510.80	+6.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.52 SGD9.68	$9.72 CRC4,944.42	+29.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.52 SGD1.96	$1.99 CRC1,014.48	+31.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.12 SGD1.44	$1.46 CRC743.38	+30.5%
Average			+24.4%

Singapore vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.2% less for groceries

	Singapore	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$2.11 SGD2.71	$2.60 CRC1,321.24	+23.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.41 SGD10.83	$4.26 CRC2,170.05	-49.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.38 SGD13.37	$7.23 CRC3,680.17	-30.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.30 SGD4.25	$3.26 CRC1,660.07	-1.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.50 SGD5.79	$4.41 CRC2,242.25	-2.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 SGD2.32	$1.95 CRC992.52	+8.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.36 SGD1.75	$0.63 CRC320.70	-53.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.80 SGD2.32	$1.59 CRC809.57	-11.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.27 SGD1.63	$1.35 CRC685.96	+6.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 SGD1.32	$1.30 CRC661.23	+27.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04 SGD1.34	$1.19 CRC606.00	+14.8%
Average			-6.2%

Singapore vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.9% less for transportation

	Singapore	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.18 SGD10.54	$5.49 CRC2,792.39	-33.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$90.29 SGD116.22	$38.02 CRC19,347.72	-57.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$135,434.68 SGD174,327.05	$36,925.49 CRC18,788,782.18	-72.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.48 SGD12.20	$15.94 CRC8,111.32	+68.1%
Average			-23.9%

Singapore vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.4% less for housing

	Singapore	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.16 SGD46.54	$53.59 CRC27,270.54	+48.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,745.11 SGD3,533.42	$742.08 CRC377,591.92	-73.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,988.78 SGD2,559.89	$463.60 CRC235,894.08	-76.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$121.43 SGD156.31	$63.06 CRC32,084.56	-48.1%
Average			-37.4%

Singapore vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 55.4% less for childcare

	Singapore	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,189.74 SGD1,531.40	$521.49 CRC265,350.34	-56.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,370.99 SGD35,231.04	$12,425.72 CRC6,322,572.74	-54.6%
Average			-55.4%

Singapore vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Singapore	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.73 SGD8.67	$2.92 CRC1,483.32	-56.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.71 SGD6.06	$3.69 CRC1,878.25	-21.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.64 SGD16.27	$5.05 CRC2,571.10	-60.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$105.20 SGD135.41	$59.70 CRC30,377.67	-43.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.29 SGD14.53	$9.72 CRC4,944.42	-13.9%
Average			-39.1%

Singapore vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.2% more for clothing

	Singapore	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.32 SGD85.36	$73.59 CRC37,442.82	+11.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.36 SGD57.10	$50.81 CRC25,854.84	+14.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.71 SGD124.48	$125.98 CRC64,104.17	+30.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.62 SGD143.68	$117.31 CRC59,692.70	+5.1%
Average			+15.2%

Singapore vs. San Jose - 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: May 2025

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