How Much Does it Cost to Live in Costa Rica?

An important factor that determines the cost of living for foreigners in Costa Rica is their lifestyle. If you are used to a wealthy lifestyle, you’ll spend more than someone accustomed to living frugally. But either way, you will still find Costa Rica to be a bargain.

Despite having one of the highest standards of living in Latin America, purchasing power is greater in Costa Rica than in the United States or Canada. The country is really a bargain compared to most places. We will explain the things that make this statement true.

San Jose’s cost of living, ranks close to the middle when compared to 118 cities worldwide. The cost of living in Guatemala City or Panama City is about 14% higher than in San José. Corporate Resource Consulting firm that compares costs of goods and services rates San José among the least expensive cost-of -living cities in the world and second to Quito, Ecuador in the Americas.

In most areas housing costs less than what it does in the U. S. and hired help is a steal. Utilities—telephone service, electricity, and water— are cheaper than in North America. You never need to heat your home or apartment because of Costa Rica’s warm climate. You need not cook with gas, since most stoves are electric. These services cost about 30% of what they do at home. Bills for heating in the winter and air conditioning in the summer can cost hundreds of dollars in the States. Public transportation is also inexpensive. San José and surrounding suburbs occupy a very small area. A bus ride across town or to the suburbs usually costs from 25 -50¢. Bus fares to the provinces cost no more than $10 to the farthest part in the country (see Chapter 8). Taxi travel around San José is also inexpensive.

A gallon of regular gasoline of gas costs about $2.00, making Costa Rica’s gasoline prices among the lowest in the Americas. Only oil-exporting countries like Mexico and Venezuela have cheaper gasoline. However, you don’t really need a car because public transportation is so inexpensive. If you must have a new car, remember that new cars are very expensive due to high import duties. Because of this, people keep their cars for a long time and take good care of them. We recommend buying used cars since they are usually in good mechanical condition and their resale value is excellent. Food, continuing education, entertainment (movies cost about $3.00) and, above all, health care, are surprisingly affordable. Both new and second-hand furniture is priced very low. You’ll find more about these benefits later on.

When you have lived in Costa Rica a while, learned the ins-and- outs and made some friends and contacts, you can cut your living costs more by sharing a house or apartment, house-sitting in exchange for free rent, investing in high-interest yielding accounts in one of Costa Rica’s many banks, working full or part-time (if you can find legal work), starting a small business or bartering within the expatriate community, doing without packaged and canned imported brand-name foods and buying local products, eating in small cafes or sodas instead of expensive restaurants, or buying fresh foods in bulk at the Central Market like Costa Ricans do. You can also help yourself by learning how to get a better rate of exchange on your money and by learning Spanish so you can bargain and get lower prices when shopping.

If you take lessons from the locals and live a modest tico lifestyle, you can save a lot of money and still enjoy yourself. By not following a U.S.-”shop-till-you-drop” mentality you can live reasonably. Taking all of the aforementioned and personal lifestyles into consideration, the minimum needed for a decent standard of living for a single person ranges from $1200 to $1500 monthly. A person can indeed live for as little as $35 a day excluding housing. Some single people scrape by on considerably less and others spend hundreds of dollars more, again depending on what one is accustomed. A couple can live well on $1500 per month, and live in luxury for $2000. Couples with husband and wife both receiving good pensions can live even better. Remember, two in Costa Rica, can often live as cheaply as one. Any way you look at it, you will enjoy a higher standard of living in Costa Rica and get more for your money. Consider that the average Costa Rican earns only $250-$350 a month. When you take into account all these factors and such intangibles as: good year-round weather, the friendly Costa Rican people, the lack of political strife and a more peaceful way of life—no price is too high to pay for living in a unique, tropical paradise like Costa Rica.

Before closing this section, we want to emphasize that you should not be alarmed by high real estate prices you may hear about or see advertised in the Tico Times or Central America Weekly. This recent rise in land prices results from the current land boom and increasing popularity of Costa Rica. Inflated real estate prices do not reflect the real cost of living in Costa Rica, which is still relatively low when compared to Canada, Europe and the U.S. Even more important, the Costa Rican government must keep the cost of goods and services affordable for the Costa Rican people in order to avoid the social problems found in most other Latin American Countries.

Approximate Cost of Living and Prices as of June 2002 in Dollars*
Rentals - Monthly
House (small, unfurnished) $400
House (large, luxurious) $1000–1500
Apartment (small, 1–2 bedrooms, unfurnished $300+
Apartment (large, luxurious) $700+
Property Taxes $100 a year on a small home
Home Prices
House (small) $40,000+
House (large) $80,000+
Miscellaneous Monthly
Electric Bill (apt.) $15–25
Water-Sewage (apt.) $8
Telephone (calls within the country) $10
Cable TV $30
Taxi .¢210 first kilometer, and ¢95 thereafter per kilometer
Bus Fares (around city) $.45
Gasoline (regular gas) $2.00 per gallon
Gasoline (super) $2.25 per gallon
Gasoline (diesel) $1.75 per gallon
Maid/Gardener $1.25 per hour
Restaurant Meal (inexpensive) $5.00+
Soda (a diner or coffee shop) Meal $2.00
Restaurant (mid-range) $10.00
Banana $.05
Soft drink $.50
Pineapple $1.00
Papaya $.70
Avocado (large) $.50
Lettuce $.30
Cereal (large box of corn flakes) $3.50
Bread (loaf) $1.00
Tuna (small can) $.75
Orange $.08
Rice (1lb.) $.45
Steak $4.60 lb.
Quart of Milk $.95
Beer $.75
Airmail Letter around $.33 to the U.S.
Doctor’s Visit $25–35
National Health Insurance $450.00 yearly for permanent residents
New Automobile $15,000–$50,000

* These prices are subject to fluctuations.