San Jose

Life quality score

City ranking

Housing

8
74/265
Details
Large apartment$940.00
Medium apartment$830.00
Rent index [score]0.85
Small apartment$730.00

Cost of Living

7
84/248
Details
5km taxi ride$5.40
A Cappuccino$2.80
A beer$1.50
A kilogram of Apples$4.00
Bread$0.63
Inflation [score]0.67
Lunch$8.50
Monthly fitness club membership$62.00
Monthly public transport$40.00
Movie ticket$6.80
Price of a meal at a restaurant$49.97

Startups

4
155/264
Details
Average monthly increase in number of startups2
Average monthly increase in number of startups [score]0.27
Coworking spaces [score]0.10
Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co8
Meetups [score]0.24
Meetups groups52
Meetups members19473
Number of investors3
Number of startup events in the last 12 months38
Number of upcoming meetup events7
Startup climate scene [score]0.39
Startup events5
Startup events [score]0.25
Startups [score]0.49
Total number of startups29

Venture Capital

N/A
Details

Travel Connectivity

1
243/266
Details
Airport hub39
Airport hub [score]0.24

Commute

4
222/255
Details
Traffic handling [score]0.10

Business Freedom

6
196/264
Details
Business freedom68.60
Business freedom [score]0.53
Freedom from corruption54.00
Freedom from corruption [score]0.51
Lack of labor restrictions53.80
Lack of labor restrictions [score]0.34
Time to open a business22.50
Time to open a business [score]0.75

Safety

7
173/266
Details
Crime rate [score]0.39
Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year8
Guns per 100 residents10
Lack of gun related deaths [score]0.80
Lack of guns [score]0.95
Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score]0.87

Healthcare

6
180/265
Details
Healthcare expenditure [score]0.55
Healthcare quality [score]0.62
Life expectancy (years)79.61
Life expectancy [score]0.78

Education

1
212/240
Details
Country mean scores in PISA math test406.48
Country mean scores in PISA reading test440.55
Country mean scores in PISA science test429.35
PISA math ranking (high school)47
PISA ranking46
PISA ranking (high school) [score]0.24
PISA reading (high school)39
PISA science (high school)44
Percent of happy students0.89
Percent of low performers in PISA math test0.60
Percent of low performers in PISA reading test0.32
Percent of low performers in PISA science test0.39
Percent of top performers in PISA math test0.01
Percent of top performers in PISA reading test0.01
Percent of top performers in PISA science test0.00

Environmental Quality

5
173/266
Details
Air quality [score]0.59
Cleanliness [score]0.25
Drinking water quality [score]0.73
Urban greenery [score]0.54

Economy

4
204/263
Details
Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area574.06
Currency for urban areaCRC
GDP growth rate0.04
GDP growth rate [score]0.56
GDP per capita$14864.27
GDP per capita [score]0.25

Taxation

6
88/266
Details
Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score]0.28
Income tax level [score]0.87
Profit tax (% of profit)0.58
Time overhead to file company taxes151
VAT (Sales Tax)0.13

Internet Access

2
259/266
Details
Download speed (Mbps)8.11
Internet access (download) [score]0.18
Internet access (upload) [score]0.12
Upload speed (Mbps)3.38

Leisure & Culture

7
78/264
Details
Art galleries139
Art galleries [score]0.63
Cinemas139
Cinemas [score]0.87
Comedy clubs26
Comedy clubs [score]0.73
Concert venues157
Concerts [score]0.73
Historical sites100
Historical sites [score]0.76
Museums56
Museums [score]0.62
Performing art venues201
Performing arts [score]0.75
Sport venues101
Sports [score]0.86
Zoos8
Zoos [score]0.75

Tolerance

9
19/266
Details
LGBT Equality Index77.43
LGBT Equality Index [score]0.79
LGBT adoption rights✖ Single only
LGBT age of consent✔ Equal
LGBT blood donation regulations✔ Legal
LGBT conversion therapy regulations✖ Not banned
LGBT discrimination legalityIllegal in some contexts
LGBT employment discrimination legality✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
LGBT gender changing rights✖ Illegal
LGBT homosexuality rights✔ Legal
LGBT housing discrimination legality✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
LGBT marriage rights✖ Unrecognized
Tolerance towards minorities [score]1.00

Outdoors

3
228/266
Details
Elevation (hills or mountains) [score]0.46
Median peak in meters1435.50
Presence of hills in city1.00
Presence of mountains in city1.00
Urban area elevation (meters)1154.00
Water access [score]0.10
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Cost of living

Costs of living in San José are in the 84th place of all 248 Teleport cities. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international  cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.

Housing costs (USD)

$680$1,200
$940
Median rent for
apartments in city center

Daily living costs (USD)

Monthly fitness club membership$62
Movie ticket$7
Broadband internet connection$46
Monthly public transport$40
Lunch$9
-41%
compared to
San Francisco
See more prices and detailed cost of living data in San Jose

Job salary calculator

Software Engineer salaries in San Jose are below average. For this job type, San Jose ranks 152nd for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in San Jose.

Estimated annual salary (in USD)

$37,001
Median salary
See more details and salary rankings for all job types in San Jose

Locals review San Jose

Do locals recommend living in San Jose?

What could San Jose do better?#improveSanJose

How could San Jose improve to make it a more liveable city? We will make sure that the local government will know about the suggestions that reach enough votes*.
*Suggestions will be delivered to: Mayor of San Jose - Johnny Araya Monge
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something that can be improved about your city.

What makes San Jose a special place?#praiseSanJose

Is San Jose a great place to live? What makes it special for you? What makes it liveable? What should others know about? Why should they move here? Why do you love it?
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something nice about your city.
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Safety

Gun crimes & Ownership

9.90
Guns per 100 people
7.50
Gun deaths per 100k people / year
HIGH GUN CRIMELOW GUN CRIMEFEW GUNSMANY GUNS
North America
Europe
Asia
South America
Africa
Oceania

Overall crime rate city ranking

The overall crime rate puts San Jose in position 206 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.

WORSTBEST
See more details on gun crime and safety in San Jose

Visa

For visits up to 90 days

Required with citizenship of
Get more information about visas in San Jose here
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People in San Jose

Population of San Jose

1,140,100
1,871 /km²
69/264
Density (people per unit of area)
3%
Growth in 2015-2020
San Jose

Demographics of Costa Rica

Median age
31
Elderly people
8%
Life expectancy at birth
79
GDP per capita (in USD)
$14,864
217/263
Unemployment
9%
198/264

Languages

English proficiency score
51
194/228
Common spoken languages
Spanish

Friends living in San Jose

Find out which of your friends are living in San Jose. Nothing is better than knowing a local 😉

Teleport Users  X  San Jose

Teleport users who are      San Jose

Work in:

Software Engineer
5.45%
Business Analyst
3.64%
Data Analyst
3.64%
Project Manager
3.64%
Financial Analyst
3.64%
IT Manager
1.82%
Marketing Manager
1.82%
Other
76.36%

Come from:

Climate

Average number of days per year without rain

271

Climate type

Tropical Monsoon

Average daily maximum temperature

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On living in San Jose

San José (literally meaning "Saint Joseph", pronounced [saŋ hoˈse]) is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the mid-west of the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation. The population of San José Canton was 288,054 in 2011, and San José’s municipal land area measures 44.2 square kilometers (17.2 square miles), and an estimated 333,980 residents in 2015. The metropolitan area stretches beyond the canton limits and has an estimated population of over 2 million in 2017. The city is named in honor of Joseph of Nazareth.

Though few people live in the city center, it is the most important working area of the country, which brings in more than a million people daily. Despite its problems, according to studies in Latin America, San José is still one of the safest and least violent cities in the region. In 2006, the city was appointed Ibero-American Capital of Culture.

San José is the sixth-most important destination in Latin America, according to The MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index 2012. San José ranked 15th in the world’s fastest-growing destination cities by visitor cross-border spending.

Read more

Good Country Index

Every city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.

Overall ranking

Costa Rica
48th from a total of 163 countries

World Order

23rd

Refugees hosted

Refugees generated

Charity giving

Birth rate

UN Treaties signed

International Peace & Security

40th

Dues in arrears to UN peace keeping budgets

International violent conflict

Peacekeeping troops

Arms exports

Internet security (2014)

Planet & Climate

85th

Ecological footprint

Reforestation since 1992

Hazardous pesticides exports

CO2 emissions

Ozone

Prosperity & Equality

47th

Development assistance

FDI outflows

Fairtrade market size

UN volunteers abroad

Open trading

Culture

47th

Freedom of movement

Press freedom

Creative services exports

UNESCO dues in arrears as % of contribution

Creative goods exports

Science & Technology

79th

Nobel prizes

Patents

Journal exports

International publications

International Students

Health & Wellbeing

101st

Pharmaceutical exports

Voluntary excess donations to the WHO

Food aid

Humanitarian aid donations

International Health Regulations Compliance

See details ▽

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