🇨🇷 Cost of Living in Costa Rica
☝️ The essentials at a glance
- A family of four, living on $5,375.53 per month in the United States, needs $3,323.24 in Costa Rica for the same standard of living.
- A single person who needs $2,614.84 per month in the United States to live can live on $1,445.74 in Costa Rica.
- The cost of living in in Costa Rica is on average -40.31 % lower than in the United States.
| Restaurants | |
|---|---|
| 🍽️ Meal in an inexpensive restaurant | $10.02 |
| 🥂 Three-course meal for two people in a mid-range restaurant | $59.99 |
| 🍔 Meal at McDonald’s (or similar combo meal) | $10.02 |
| 🍺 Domestic beer (0.5 liters, draft) | $3.00 |
| 🍻 Imported beer (0.33-liter bottle) | $4.45 |
| 🍺 Domestic non-alcoholic beer (0.5 liters, draft) | $0.00 |
| 🍻 Imported non-alcoholic beer (0.33-liter bottle) | $0.00 |
| ☕ Cappuccino (regular) | $3.95 |
| 🥤 Coca-Cola/Pepsi (0.33-liter bottle) | $2.16 |
| 💧 Water (0.33-liter bottle) | $1.72 |
| Groceries & Consumables | |
|---|---|
| 🥛 Milk (regular), 1 liter | $2.07 |
| 🍞 Fresh white bread (500 g) | $3.25 |
| 🍚 Rice (white), (1 kg) | $2.45 |
| 🥚 Eggs (medium size), (12 pieces) | $3.37 |
| 🧀 Local cheese (1 kg) | $9.45 |
| 🐔 Chicken fillets (1 kg) | $9.50 |
| 🥩 Beef rump (1 kg) (or similar red meat) | $13.33 |
| 🥩 Buffalo rump (1 kg) (or similar red meat) | $0.00 |
| 🍎 Apples (1 kg) | $4.46 |
| 🍌 Bananas (1 kg) | $1.55 |
| 🍊 Oranges (1 kg) | $3.29 |
| 🍅 Tomatoes (1 kg) | $3.07 |
| 🥔 Potatoes (1 kg) | $3.02 |
| 🧅 Onions (1 kg) | $2.81 |
| 🥬 Lettuce (1 head) | $1.00 |
| 💧 Water (1.5-liter bottle) | $2.48 |
| 🍷 Wine (1 bottle, mid-range) | $16.03 |
| 🍺 Domestic beer (0.5-liter bottle) | $2.36 |
| 🍻 Imported beer (0.33-liter bottle) | $2.82 |
| 🍷 Non-alcoholic wine (1 bottle, mid-range) | $0.00 |
| 🍺 Domestic non-alcoholic beer (0.5-liter bottle) | $0.00 |
| 🍻 Imported non-alcoholic beer (0.33-liter bottle) | $0.00 |
| 🚬 Cigarettes 20 pack (Marlboro) | $5.01 |
| 🥤 Coca-Cola/Pepsi (2 liters) | $3.12 |
| Personal Care & Medicine | |
|---|---|
| 💊 Cold medicine (for 1 week) | $8.10 |
| 🧴 Hair shampoo | $10.10 |
| 🧻 Toilet paper (4 rolls) | $3.04 |
| 🪥 Toothpaste | $3.88 |
| 🏥 Doctor’s visit | $88.80 |
| 💇 Haircut | $17.50 |
| Transportation | |
|---|---|
| 🚎 One-way ticket on public transport | $1.00 |
| 🎟️ Monthly pass (regular price) | $58.72 |
| 🚕 Taxi base fare (normal rate) | $1.87 |
| 📏 1 kilometer in a taxi (normal rate) | $2.00 |
| ⏳ Taxi waiting fees (normal rate) | $7.70 |
| ⛽ Gasoline (1 liter) | $1.48 |
| 🚗 Volkswagen Golf Trendline, 1.4, 90 kW (or similar new car) | $36,528.22 |
| 🚙 Toyota Corolla Sedan Comfort, 1.6, 97 kW (or similar new car) | $35,547.94 |
| Utilities (monthly) | |
|---|---|
| 🔌 Utilities (electricity, heating, air conditioning, water, waste) for an 85 m² apartment | $85.80 |
| 📱 Mobile plan with calls and more than 10 GB of data | $27.15 |
| 💻 Internet plan (Unlimited + 60 Mbps or more) | $54.82 |
| Sports and Leisure | |
|---|---|
| 💪 Gym membership fee (monthly) | $56.78 |
| 🎾 Tennis court rental (1 hour) | $29.08 |
| 🍿 Cinema ticket, Hollywood production or similar | $9.01 |
| Schools and Kindergartens | |
|---|---|
| 👶 Private daycare or preschool with full-time care per month and child | $554.37 |
| 🏫 International primary school per year and child | $10,057.68 |
| Clothing | |
|---|---|
| 👖 1 pair of jeans (Levis 501 or similar) | $73.43 |
| 👗 1 summer dress from a fashion chain (e.g., Zara, H&M, etc.) | $53.75 |
| 👟 1 pair of Nike running shoes (mid-range price) | $118.76 |
| 👞 1 pair of leather business shoes for men | $102.44 |
| Monthly Rent | |
|---|---|
| 🏙️ One-bedroom apartment in the city center | $812.85 |
| 🏡 One-bedroom apartment outside the city center | $558.56 |
| 🏙️ Three-bedroom apartment in the city center | $1,505.31 |
| 🏡 Three-bedroom apartment outside the city center | $1,037.71 |
| Apartment Purchase Price | |
|---|---|
| 🏢 Price per square meter of an apartment in the city center | $2,550.70 |
| 🏘️ Price per square meter of an apartment outside the city center | $1,404.56 |
| Salaries and Financing | |
|---|---|
| 💵 Average monthly net income | $1,016.06 |
| 🏦 Annual fixed mortgage interest rate for 20 years | 10.35 % |