Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cook Islands vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Cook Islands is 1.2% cheaper than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 26.1% more in Cook Islands
Groceries: pay 21.4% more in Cook Islands
Transportation: pay 24.1% less in Cook Islands
Housing: pay 9.7% more in Cook Islands
Childcare: pay 85.5% less in Cook Islands
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.2% more in Cook Islands
Clothing: pay 6.5% less in Cook Islands

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

Cook Islands vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.1% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	Cook Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	$11.54 NZ$20.12	+18.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	$7.93 NZ$13.83	-16.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC995.21	$2.88 NZ$5.03	+44.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC781.41	$2.50 NZ$4.36	+59.1%
Average			+26.1%

Costa Rica vs. Cook Islands - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.4% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	Cook Islands
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	$3.11 NZ$5.42	+22.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	$4.98 NZ$8.68	+10.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	$7.37 NZ$12.85	-2.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	$5.57 NZ$9.71	+99.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	$3.40 NZ$5.93	-11.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC886.81	$1.30 NZ$2.27	-27.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC305.74	$1.05 NZ$1.83	+70.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC819.01	$1.56 NZ$2.73	-5.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC617.46	$2.75 NZ$4.79	+121.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC635.24	$1.05 NZ$1.83	-18.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC547.12	$0.82 NZ$1.44	-25.1%
Average			+21.4%

Costa Rica vs. Cook Islands - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.1% less for transportation

	Costa Rica	Cook Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	$6.56 NZ$11.45	+20.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC27,137.81	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC18,117,972.89	$11,538.70 NZ$20,123.30	-68.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,794.48	??
Average			-24.1%

Costa Rica vs. Cook Islands - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.7% more for housing

	Costa Rica	Cook Islands
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	$105.96 NZ$184.80	+115.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	$305.77 NZ$533.27	-62.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC276,349.98	$305.77 NZ$533.27	-45.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	$82.72 NZ$144.27	+30.1%
Average			+9.7%

Costa Rica vs. Cook Islands - Cost of housing

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pay 85.5% less for childcare

	Costa Rica	Cook Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC257,060.35	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC4,749,083.93	$1,384.64 NZ$2,414.80	-85.5%
Average			-85.5%

Costa Rica vs. Cook Islands - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	Cook Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	$5.99 NZ$10.44	+131.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	$3.80 NZ$6.62	-1.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	$14.42 NZ$25.15	+206.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	$24.04 NZ$41.92	-59.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	$6.63 NZ$11.57	-27.1%
Average			+50.2%

Costa Rica vs. Cook Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.5% less for clothing

	Costa Rica	Cook Islands
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC28,941.22	$64.62 NZ$112.69	+11.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC22,222.99	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC56,072.28	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC46,435.67	$70.96 NZ$123.76	-24.0%
Average			-6.5%

Costa Rica vs. Cook 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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