Quality of life comparison
If you lived in New Jersey instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 2.1 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In New Jersey, that number is 78 years (78 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2020.
Economy
make 2.7 times more money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $25,800 as of 2023, while in New Jersey, the GDP per capita is $70,788 as of 2024.
be 45.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In New Jersey, that number is 4.5% as of 2025.
be 63.5% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In New Jersey, however, that number is 9.3% as of 2023.
Basic Needs
be 10.7% more likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In New Jersey, about 91.9% do as of 2023.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, OECD Regional Demography, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey), Bureau of Economic Analysis.
