Cost of living comparison
Costa Rica is 25.8% cheaper than Virginia.
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Virginia, you would:
pay 27.4% less for restaurants
Virginia
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.31
|
$9.42
₡4,732
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
|
$8.16
₡4,102
|
|
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
|
$1.73
₡868
|
|
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.96
|
$1.50
₡756
|
|
pay 23.0% less for groceries
Virginia
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.18
|
$1.87
₡940
|
|
Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.96
|
$4.15
₡2,086
|
|
Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.96
|
$6.45
₡3,242
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.87
|
$2.63
₡1,322
|
|
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.16
|
$3.92
₡1,969
|
|
Apples (1 lb) |
$2.27
|
$1.85
₡928
|
|
Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.72
|
$0.66
₡332
|
|
Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.15
|
$1.26
₡631
|
|
Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$0.97
₡485
|
|
Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.37
|
$0.92
₡464
|
|
Onions (1 lb) |
$1.49
|
$1.08
₡543
|
|
pay 0.5% less for transportation
Virginia
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.37
|
$5.58
₡2,806
|
|
Monthly public transit pass |
$111.31
|
$44.09
₡22,156
|
|
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,932.76
|
$25,829.98
₡12,980,676
|
|
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.06
|
$13.39
₡6,727
|
|
pay 49.5% less for housing
Virginia
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$73.88
|
$53.15
₡26,708
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,780.82
|
$813.71
₡408,925
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,318.30
|
$522.16
₡262,410
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$144.26
|
$64.83
₡32,580
|
|
pay 64.8% less for childcare
Virginia
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,242.29
|
$366.72
₡184,291
|
|
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,459.85
|
$8,358.53
₡4,200,519
|
|
pay 34.4% less for entertainment and sports
Virginia
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.89
|
$2.88
₡1,448
|
|
Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.89
|
$2.93
₡1,470
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.44
|
$4.48
₡2,253
|
|
Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.59
|
$55.95
₡28,118
|
|
Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.69
|
$7.18
₡3,607
|
|
pay 19.2% more for clothing
Virginia
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.43
|
$66.61
₡33,473
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.83
|
$44.99
₡22,612
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$78.57
|
$101.09
₡50,804
|
|
Men's business shoes (leather) |
$107.39
|
$77.50
₡38,946
|
|
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