Cost of living comparison
compared to
Costa Rica vs. Colorado Cost of Living Summary
Costa Rica is 25.3% cheaper than Colorado.
- Restaurants
-
pay 32.0% less in Costa Rica
- Groceries
-
pay 12.7% less in Costa Rica
- Transportation
-
pay 11.9% more in Costa Rica
- Housing
-
pay 52.9% less in Costa Rica
- Childcare
-
pay 57.5% less in Costa Rica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 33.6% less in Costa Rica
- Clothing
-
pay 0.2% less in Costa Rica
Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica vs. Colorado Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Colorado, you would:
pay 32.0% less for restaurants
|
Colorado
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.33
|
$9.77
CRC4,772.77
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.50
|
$9.53
CRC4,657.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.78
|
$2.00
CRC977.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.28
|
$1.57
CRC767.80
|
|
Colorado vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.7% less for groceries
|
Colorado
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.51
|
$2.54
CRC1,240.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.35
|
$4.50
CRC2,198.95
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.88
|
$7.52
CRC3,675.18
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.83
|
$2.80
CRC1,365.53
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.70
|
$3.83
CRC1,869.62
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.28
|
$1.78
CRC871.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.62
CRC300.41
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$1.65
CRC804.74
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.18
|
$1.24
CRC606.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.28
CRC624.18
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.23
|
$1.10
CRC537.59
|
|
Colorado vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries
pay 11.9% more for transportation
|
Colorado
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.09
|
$5.47
CRC2,671.86
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$87.89
|
$54.59
CRC26,665.03
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,264.77
|
$36,444.91
CRC17,802,336.11
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.83
|
$15.68
CRC7,658.69
|
|
Colorado vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation
pay 52.9% less for housing
|
Colorado
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.31
|
$49.17
CRC24,020.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,998.04
|
$805.28
CRC393,355.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,754.04
|
$555.89
CRC271,535.63
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$134.17
|
$63.57
CRC31,052.11
|
|
Colorado vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing
pay 57.5% less for childcare
|
Colorado
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,452.57
|
$517.09
CRC252,582.05
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,338.92
|
$9,552.94
CRC4,666,349.20
|
|
Colorado vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare
pay 33.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Colorado
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.42
|
$2.59
CRC1,263.41
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.34
|
$3.84
CRC1,875.13
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.12
|
$4.70
CRC2,295.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$53.97
|
$58.68
CRC28,663.36
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.12
|
$9.11
CRC4,448.49
|
|
Colorado vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.2% less for clothing
|
Colorado
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.93
|
$58.22
CRC28,437.03
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.63
|
$44.70
CRC21,835.84
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.36
|
$112.79
CRC55,095.43
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.50
|
$93.41
CRC45,626.70
|
|
Colorado vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
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