Cost of living comparison

Stockholm, Sweden

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Stockholm Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 15.8% more expensive than Stockholm.

Restaurants: pay 20.0% less in San Jose
Groceries: pay 9.8% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 22.6% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 24.7% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.0% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 3.7% less in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Stockholm Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.0% less for restaurants

	Stockholm	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.86 SEK135.29	$10.83 CRC5,545.54	-21.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.16 SEK99.21	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	-4.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.56 SEK25.04	$1.99 CRC1,020.88	-22.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.13 SEK20.79	$1.46 CRC748.07	-31.4%
Average			-20.0%

Stockholm vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.8% more for groceries

	Stockholm	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$2.66 SEK25.93	$2.60 CRC1,329.57	-2.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.29 SEK51.66	$4.26 CRC2,183.73	-19.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.43 SEK53.05	$7.23 CRC3,703.37	+33.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.82 SEK37.34	$3.26 CRC1,670.54	-14.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.15 SEK50.24	$4.41 CRC2,256.39	-14.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.38 SEK13.52	$1.95 CRC998.78	+40.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 SEK10.72	$0.63 CRC322.72	-42.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 SEK13.30	$1.59 CRC814.67	+16.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 SEK17.40	$1.35 CRC690.28	-24.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 SEK6.92	$1.30 CRC665.40	+83.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 SEK7.70	$1.19 CRC609.82	+50.9%
Average			+9.8%

Stockholm vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.6% less for transportation

	Stockholm	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.67 SEK65.14	$5.49 CRC2,810.00	-17.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.22 SEK919.95	$38.02 CRC19,469.71	-59.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,544.48 SEK278,690.64	$36,925.49 CRC18,907,249.89	+29.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$27.62 SEK269.67	$15.94 CRC8,162.46	-42.3%
Average			-22.6%

Stockholm vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.7% less for housing

	Stockholm	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$33.49 SEK326.98	$53.59 CRC27,442.49	+60.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,542.54 SEK15,060.45	$742.08 CRC379,972.73	-51.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$965.24 SEK9,423.99	$463.60 CRC237,381.45	-52.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$139.65 SEK1,363.44	$63.06 CRC32,286.86	-54.8%
Average			-24.7%

Stockholm vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Stockholm	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$144.54 SEK1,411.21	$521.49 CRC267,023.44	+260.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,727.37 SEK55,918.51	$12,425.72 CRC6,362,438.05	+117.0%
Average			+188.9%

Stockholm vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Stockholm	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.30 SEK71.25	$2.92 CRC1,492.68	-60.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.27 SEK41.70	$3.69 CRC1,890.09	-13.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.56 SEK64.04	$5.05 CRC2,587.31	-23.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.99 SEK390.40	$59.70 CRC30,569.21	+49.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.61 SEK152.42	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	-37.8%
Average			-17.0%

Stockholm vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.7% less for clothing

	Stockholm	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$90.26 SEK881.29	$73.59 CRC37,678.91	-18.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.14 SEK421.20	$50.81 CRC26,017.87	+17.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$106.21 SEK1,036.96	$125.98 CRC64,508.36	+18.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$174.28 SEK1,701.61	$117.31 CRC60,069.07	-32.7%
Average			-3.7%

Stockholm 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: April 2025

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