Cost of living comparison

Costa Rica

compared to

West Virginia, USA

West Virginia vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

West Virginia is 16.1% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 17.2% more in West Virginia
Groceries: pay 0.6% more in West Virginia
Transportation: pay 9.2% less in West Virginia
Housing: pay 48.4% more in West Virginia
Childcare: pay 48.3% more in West Virginia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.2% more in West Virginia
Clothing: pay 26.2% less in West Virginia

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

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West Virginia vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in West Virginia instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 17.2% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	West Virginia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.15 CRC5,073.49	$16.33	+46.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.85 CRC4,937.06	$10.12	-6.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.43 CRC1,106.42	$2.54	+4.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.79 CRC813.02	$1.92	+7.5%
Average			+17.2%

Costa Rica vs. West Virginia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.6% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	West Virginia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.77 CRC1,261.89	$2.58	-7.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 CRC2,192.99	$4.87	+1.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.37 CRC3,808.87	$3.03	-63.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.63 CRC1,653.83	$3.36	-7.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 CRC2,002.78	$6.70	+52.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.20 CRC1,003.04	$2.16	-1.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 CRC329.98	$0.75	+3.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.67 CRC758.13	$1.98	+19.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 CRC652.25	$2.29	+59.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 CRC655.18	$1.44	+0.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.33 CRC603.93	$1.52	+14.7%
Average			+0.6%

Costa Rica vs. West Virginia - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.2% less for transportation

	Costa Rica	West Virginia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.78 CRC2,631.55	$3.54	-38.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$66.80 CRC30,402.28	$58.75	-12.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,830.95 CRC10M	$30,056.00	+31.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.71 CRC7,149.33	$20.22	+28.7%
Average			-9.2%

Costa Rica vs. West Virginia - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.4% more for housing

	Costa Rica	West Virginia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.66 CRC23,510.13	$62.40	+20.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$834.08 CRC380K	$1,057.15	+26.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$597.43 CRC272K	$810.03	+35.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.56 CRC31,201.98	$210.74	+207.4%
Average			+48.4%

Costa Rica vs. West Virginia - Cost of housing

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pay 48.3% more for childcare

	Costa Rica	West Virginia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$742.27 CRC338K	$992.44	+33.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,434.66 CRC6M	$22,084.33	+64.4%
Average			+48.3%

Costa Rica vs. West Virginia - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	West Virginia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.91 CRC1,323.10	$5.58	+92.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.06 CRC1,847.37	$4.07	+0.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.29 CRC2,409.48	$8.60	+62.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.37 CRC30,203.17	$31.48	-52.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.92 CRC3,603.80	$13.38	+68.9%
Average			+13.2%

Costa Rica vs. West Virginia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.2% less for clothing

	Costa Rica	West Virginia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.50 CRC30,717.09	$44.42	-34.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.52 CRC22,538.15	$39.78	-19.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$122.64 CRC55,811.48	$72.50	-40.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.52 CRC49,389.03	$103.12	-5.0%
Average			-26.2%

Costa Rica vs. West Virginia - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Costa Rica vs. West Virginia

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Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

Costa Rica is about 1.2 times smaller than West Virginia.

Moving from Costa Rica to West Virginia · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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