Cost of living comparison

compared to

Northern Mariana Islands vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Northern Mariana Islands is 13.2% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.7% more in Northern Mariana Islands
Groceries: pay 45.2% more in Northern Mariana Islands
Transportation: pay 12.8% more in Northern Mariana Islands
Housing: pay 70.2% more in Northern Mariana Islands
Childcare: pay 37.2% less in Northern Mariana Islands
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.5% more in Northern Mariana Islands
Clothing: pay 34.5% less in Northern Mariana Islands

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

Northern Mariana Islands vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.7% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	Northern Mariana Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,880.19	$11.50	+17.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,761.82	$12.00	+25.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC999.88	$1.67	-16.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC785.08	$1.32	-16.2%
Average			+2.7%

Costa Rica vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.2% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	Northern Mariana Islands
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,268.71	$3.33	+31.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,248.44	??
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,757.90	$8.44	+12.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,396.26	$6.33	+126.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,911.70	$6.00	+56.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC890.98	$2.99	+67.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC307.17	$1.00	+62.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC822.85	$2.99	+81.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC620.36	??
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC638.23	$0.95	-25.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC549.69	$1.03	-6.0%
Average			+45.2%

Costa Rica vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.8% more for transportation

	Costa Rica	Northern Mariana Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,732.00	$5.49	+0.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC27,265.20	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC18,203,023.60	$36,999.00	+1.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,831.07	$21.41	+36.6%
Average			+12.8%

Costa Rica vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.2% more for housing

	Costa Rica	Northern Mariana Islands
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,560.84	$60.00	+22.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC402,209.21	$625.00	-22.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC277,647.24	$450.00	-19.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,751.02	$254.42	+300.2%
Average			+70.2%

Costa Rica vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of housing

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pay 37.2% less for childcare

	Costa Rica	Northern Mariana Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC258,267.06	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC4,771,377.42	$6,000.00	-37.2%
Average			-37.2%

Costa Rica vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	Northern Mariana Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,291.85	$6.00	+132.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,917.34	$5.12	+33.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,347.22	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,308.50	$47.50	-19.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,548.62	$8.00	-12.2%
Average			+33.5%

Costa Rica vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 34.5% less for clothing

	Costa Rica	Northern Mariana Islands
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC29,077.08	$30.00	-48.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC22,327.31	$40.00	-10.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC56,335.50	$70.00	-37.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC46,653.65	$55.00	-41.1%
Average			-34.5%

Costa Rica vs. Northern Mariana 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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