Cost of living comparison

Rhode Island, USA

compared to

Costa Rica

Costa Rica vs. Rhode Island Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 25.2% cheaper than Rhode Island.

Restaurants: pay 33.3% less in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 27.4% less in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 1.5% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 55.3% less in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 65.0% less in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.3% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 39.2% more in Costa Rica

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

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Costa Rica vs. Rhode Island Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Rhode Island, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 33.3% less for restaurants

	Rhode Island	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.33	$9.77 CRC4,429.12	-51.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.33	$9.53 CRC4,321.69	-28.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.65	$2.00 CRC907.46	-24.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.19	$1.57 CRC712.52	-28.4%
Average			-33.3%

Rhode Island vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 27.4% less for groceries

	Rhode Island	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$3.99	$2.54 CRC1,151.45	-36.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.34	$4.50 CRC2,040.62	-29.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.86	$7.52 CRC3,410.56	+54.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.99	$2.80 CRC1,267.21	-44.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.50	$3.83 CRC1,735.00	-30.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.68	$1.78 CRC808.62	-33.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.16	$0.62 CRC278.78	-46.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.23	$1.65 CRC746.79	-26.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.51	$1.24 CRC563.02	-50.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.69	$1.28 CRC579.24	-24.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.70	$1.10 CRC498.88	-35.1%
Average			-27.4%

Rhode Island vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.5% more for transportation

	Rhode Island	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.21	$5.47 CRC2,479.48	+70.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$70.00	$54.59 CRC24,745.11	-22.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,181.63	$36,444.91 CRC17M	+0.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$27.61	$15.68 CRC7,107.25	-43.2%
Average			+1.5%

Rhode Island vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 55.3% less for housing

	Rhode Island	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.25	$49.17 CRC22,290.72	-24.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,195.21	$805.28 CRC365K	-63.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,880.56	$555.89 CRC252K	-70.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$171.52	$63.57 CRC28,816.32	-62.9%
Average			-55.3%

Rhode Island vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 65.0% less for childcare

	Rhode Island	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,353.94	$517.09 CRC234K	-61.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,000.00	$9,552.94 CRC4M	-68.2%
Average			-65.0%

Rhode Island vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Rhode Island	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.42	$2.59 CRC1,172.44	-59.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.71	$3.84 CRC1,740.12	-18.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.17	$4.70 CRC2,130.27	-61.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.00	$58.68 CRC26,599.56	-5.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.42	$9.11 CRC4,128.20	-36.8%
Average			-36.3%

Rhode Island vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.2% more for clothing

	Rhode Island	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.10	$58.22 CRC26,389.52	+35.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.67	$44.70 CRC20,263.63	+50.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$73.83	$112.79 CRC51,128.49	+52.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.89	$93.41 CRC42,341.52	+18.4%
Average			+39.2%

Rhode Island vs. Costa Rica - 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: July 2026

Compare further: Rhode Island vs. Costa Rica

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