Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Rica vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 26.8% cheaper than Washington.

Restaurants: pay 29.8% less in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 16.4% less in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 1.3% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 51.0% less in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 65.8% less in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.7% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 9.5% more in Costa Rica

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

Costa Rica vs. Washington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Washington, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 29.8% less for restaurants

	Washington	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.22	$9.77 CRC4,772.77	-51.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$9.53 CRC4,657.00	-20.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.63	$2.00 CRC977.87	-23.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.05	$1.57 CRC767.80	-23.3%
Average			-29.8%

Washington vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.4% less for groceries

	Washington	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$3.94	$2.54 CRC1,240.79	-35.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.07	$4.50 CRC2,198.95	-36.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.20	$7.52 CRC3,675.18	+79.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.68	$2.80 CRC1,365.53	-40.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.75	$3.83 CRC1,869.62	-33.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.30	$1.78 CRC871.36	-22.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86	$0.62 CRC300.41	-28.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.02	$1.65 CRC804.74	-18.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.09	$1.24 CRC606.70	-40.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.20	$1.28 CRC624.18	+6.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.24	$1.10 CRC537.59	-10.9%
Average			-16.4%

Washington vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.3% more for transportation

	Washington	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.20	$5.47 CRC2,671.86	+30.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.70	$54.59 CRC26,665.03	-19.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,322.93	$36,444.91 CRC17,802,336.11	+6.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.81	$15.68 CRC7,658.69	-12.0%
Average			+1.3%

Washington vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 51.0% less for housing

	Washington	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.42	$49.17 CRC24,020.20	-32.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,724.04	$805.28 CRC393,355.72	-53.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,522.88	$555.89 CRC271,535.63	-63.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$141.51	$63.57 CRC31,052.11	-55.1%
Average			-51.0%

Washington vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 65.8% less for childcare

	Washington	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,634.82	$517.09 CRC252,582.05	-68.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,866.06	$9,552.94 CRC4,666,349.20	-63.1%
Average			-65.8%

Washington vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Washington	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.54	$2.59 CRC1,263.41	-60.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.33	$3.84 CRC1,875.13	-28.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.03	$4.70 CRC2,295.55	-57.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$56.25	$58.68 CRC28,663.36	+4.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.46	$9.11 CRC4,448.49	-37.0%
Average			-35.7%

Washington vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.5% more for clothing

	Washington	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.71	$58.22 CRC28,437.03	+17.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.67	$44.70 CRC21,835.84	+7.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.77	$112.79 CRC55,095.43	+27.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.22	$93.41 CRC45,626.70	-13.7%
Average			+9.5%

Washington 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: December 2025

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