Cost of living comparison

compared to

United States vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

United States is 55.6% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 42.7% more in United States
Groceries: pay 29.4% more in United States
Transportation: pay 4.0% less in United States
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in United States
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.6% more in United States
Clothing: pay 5.3% less in United States

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

United States vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 42.7% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	$19.45	+99.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	$11.12	+16.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC995.21	$2.56	+27.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC781.41	$2.00	+27.5%
Average			+42.7%

Costa Rica vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.4% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	$3.56	+40.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	$6.50	+44.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	$3.97	-47.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	$4.27	+52.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	$5.41	+41.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC886.81	$2.37	+32.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC305.74	$0.78	+27.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC819.01	$2.04	+23.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC617.46	$2.21	+78.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC635.24	$1.34	+5.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC547.12	$1.38	+25.8%
Average			+29.4%

Costa Rica vs. United States - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.0% less for transportation

	Costa Rica	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	$3.41	-37.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC27,137.81	$65.85	+20.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC18,117,972.89	$32,336.38	-11.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,794.48	$17.61	+12.3%
Average			-4.0%

Costa Rica vs. United States - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Costa Rica	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	$68.97	+40.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	$1,664.59	+106.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC276,349.98	$1,416.15	+154.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	$150.19	+136.3%
Average			+109.5%

Costa Rica vs. United States - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Costa Rica	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC257,060.35	$1,387.27	+168.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC4,749,083.93	$23,196.46	+142.8%
Average			+155.6%

Costa Rica vs. United States - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	$5.84	+125.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	$5.15	+34.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	$9.90	+110.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	$51.45	-12.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	$13.64	+49.7%
Average			+61.6%

Costa Rica vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.3% less for clothing

	Costa Rica	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC28,941.22	$51.08	-12.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC22,222.99	$41.81	-6.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC56,072.28	$87.56	-22.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC46,435.67	$112.04	+19.9%
Average			-5.3%

Costa Rica vs. United States - 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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