Cost of living comparison

Thimphu, Bhutan

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 4.6 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 4.6 times more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 2.8 times more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 3.4 times more in San Jose
Housing: pay 4.3 times more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 10.2 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 62.9% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 4.9 times more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.6 times more for restaurants

	Thimphu	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.95 BTN251.80	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	+267.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.95 BTN251.80	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+229.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 BTN47.34	$1.99 CRC996.28	+259.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.19 BTN15.95	$1.46 CRC730.05	+682.8%
Average			+360.0%

Thimphu vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.8 times more for groceries

	Thimphu	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$0.94 BTN80.58	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	+175.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.68 BTN143.53	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	+153.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 BTN270.70	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	+128.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.20 BTN188.35	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	+48.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.74 BTN148.48	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	+153.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 BTN91.37	$1.95 CRC974.72	+82.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 BTN55.97	$0.63 CRC314.94	-3.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 BTN70.36	$1.59 CRC795.04	+93.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 BTN31.52	$1.35 CRC673.65	+265.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 BTN19.65	$1.30 CRC649.37	+465.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN21.93	$1.19 CRC595.13	+364.1%
Average			+175.1%

Thimphu vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.4 times more for transportation

	Thimphu	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.93 BTN335.48	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	+39.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$3.97 BTN338.95	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	+858.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,215.98 BTN1,812,972.62	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	+74.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.09 BTN1,289.22	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	+5.7%
Average			+244.5%

Thimphu vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.3 times more for housing

	Thimphu	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.25 BTN2,670.03	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	+71.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$124.45 BTN10,634.76	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	+496.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$79.38 BTN6,783.46	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	+484.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$16.69 BTN1,425.97	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	+277.9%
Average			+332.4%

Thimphu vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 10.2 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$246.05 BTN21,025.45	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	+111.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$677.73 BTN57,914.40	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	+1733.4%
Average			+922.7%

Thimphu vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 62.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.43 BTN549.59	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	-54.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.53 BTN130.94	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	+140.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.83 BTN327.34	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	+31.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.11 BTN4,196.70	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	+21.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.54 BTN302.16	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+174.8%
Average			+62.9%

Thimphu vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.9 times more for clothing

	Thimphu	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$9.43 BTN805.77	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	+680.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$11.79 BTN1,007.21	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	+331.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$32.41 BTN2,769.82	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	+288.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$32.41 BTN2,769.82	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	+261.9%
Average			+390.5%

Thimphu 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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