Cost of living comparison

compared to

British Virgin Islands vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

British Virgin Islands is 37.5% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 45.8% more in British Virgin Islands
Groceries: pay 70.2% more in British Virgin Islands
Transportation: pay 15.2% less in British Virgin Islands
Housing: pay 2.0 times more in British Virgin Islands
Childcare: pay 9.8% less in British Virgin Islands
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.1% more in British Virgin Islands
Clothing: pay 18.9% more in British Virgin Islands

The cost of housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in British Virgin Islands are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Expenses including transportation and childcare are lower in British Virgin Islands. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in British Virgin Islands.

British Virgin Islands vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in British Virgin Islands instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 45.8% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	British Virgin Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,879.78	$24.49	+150.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,761.42	$13.25	+39.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC999.79	$1.97	-1.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC785.01	$1.50	-4.6%
Average			+45.8%

Costa Rica vs. British Virgin Islands - Cost of restaurants

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pay 70.2% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	British Virgin Islands
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,268.61	$4.96	+95.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,248.26	$7.75	+72.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,757.58	$9.43	+25.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,396.14	$6.10	+118.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,911.54	$5.21	+36.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC890.90	$1.56	-12.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC307.15	$1.59	+158.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC822.78	$0.91	-45.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC620.30	$3.22	+159.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC638.17	$2.39	+87.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC549.64	$1.95	+77.5%
Average			+70.2%

Costa Rica vs. British Virgin Islands - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.2% less for transportation

	Costa Rica	British Virgin Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,731.77	$4.64	-15.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC27,262.91	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC18,201,497.07	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,830.41	??
Average			-15.2%

Costa Rica vs. British Virgin Islands - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

	Costa Rica	British Virgin Islands
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,558.78	$120.00	+144.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC402,175.48	$1,458.33	+81.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC277,623.96	$1,183.33	+112.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,748.36	$110.12	+73.2%
Average			+102.8%

Costa Rica vs. British Virgin Islands - Cost of housing

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pay 9.8% less for childcare

	Costa Rica	British Virgin Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC258,245.40	$375.00	-27.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC4,770,977.29	$10,320.00	+8.0%
Average			-9.8%

Costa Rica vs. British Virgin Islands - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	British Virgin Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,291.74	$3.75	+45.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,917.18	$6.04	+57.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,347.02	$5.00	+6.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,306.05	$120.00	+104.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,548.24	$12.50	+37.3%
Average			+50.1%

Costa Rica vs. British Virgin Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.9% more for clothing

	Costa Rica	British Virgin Islands
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC29,074.64	$47.50	-18.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC22,325.44	$55.00	+23.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC56,330.77	$155.00	+37.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC46,649.74	$125.00	+33.8%
Average			+18.9%

Costa Rica vs. British Virgin Islands - Cost of clothing

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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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