Cost of living comparison
compared to
Costa Rica vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary
Costa Rica is 2.4 times more expensive than North Korea overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.2% more in Costa Rica
- Groceries
-
pay 47.7% more in Costa Rica
- Housing
-
pay 5.4 times more in Costa Rica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 73.6% more in Costa Rica
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in Costa Rica are more expensive than in North Korea. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of North Korea, you would:
pay 10.2% more for restaurants
|
North Korea
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | ?? |
$9.77
CRC4,857.39
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
?? |
$9.53
CRC4,739.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
KPW2,102
|
$2.00
CRC995.21
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$1.57
CRC781.41
|
|
North Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants
pay 47.7% more for groceries
|
North Korea
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.40
KPW2,161
|
$2.54
CRC1,262.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$4.50
CRC2,237.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
KPW3,332
|
$7.52
CRC3,740.34
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.08
KPW1,876
|
$2.80
CRC1,389.74
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | ?? |
$3.83
CRC1,902.77
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.78
CRC886.81
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.62
CRC305.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.65
CRC819.01
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.24
CRC617.46
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.28
CRC635.24
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.10
CRC547.12
|
|
North Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
North Korea
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | ?? |
$5.47
CRC2,719.23
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$54.59
CRC27,137.81
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$36,444.91
CRC18,117,972.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$15.68
CRC7,794.48
|
North Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation
pay 5.4 times more for housing
|
North Korea
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$49.17
CRC24,446.08
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$93.44
KPW84,095
|
$805.28
CRC400,329.95
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$262.80
KPW236,518
|
$555.89
CRC276,349.98
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$63.57
CRC31,602.67
|
|
North Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
North Korea
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
|
North Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare
pay 73.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
North Korea
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$14.02
KPW12,614
|
$2.59
CRC1,285.81
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$3.84
CRC1,908.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$4.70
CRC2,336.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$58.68
CRC29,171.56
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$9.11
CRC4,527.37
|
|
North Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
North Korea
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$58.22
CRC28,941.22
|
|
|
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
|
North Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing
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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