Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Virginia instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 2.0 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Virginia, that number is 78 years (77 years for men, 81 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 Virginia, the GDP per capita is $69,111 as of 2024.
be 59.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Virginia, that number is 3.4% as of 2025.
be 63.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Virginia, however, that number is 9.4% 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.
