Retirement

Cost of Living

Planning on moving or retiring to Costa Rica? This peaceful tropical paradise offers affordable living, but it is not necessarily the place to look for bargain-basement living.

It is however possible to live quite nicely on a more modest monthly budget than in the U.S. Just to put it in perspective, San José is ranked the 9th (out of 144) least expensive city to live in the world (The Worldwide 2005 Cost of Living Survey). Washington DC is ranked the 66th least expensive city.

The following table includes cost comparisons of the basic expenditures one would have on a monthly basis. The figures provided below are from our own original, up-to date research.

To sum it up, if you were living in Costa Rica:

Cost of Living Comparison:

United States v/s Costa Rica

United States
Average ($)

Costa Rica
Average ($)

Average Gross National Income (per capita)
(More Info...)

$33,070*1

$4153*1

Housing (comparable 3 bedroom, 2 bath houses) (More Info...)

$ 600-1000*2

$800-1200*2

Gasoline (per gallon of regular) (national averages as of 1/07) (More Info...)

$ 2.14

$3.25

ADSL Internet (256/128 kb/sec) (per month) (UNLIMITED) (More Info...)

$47.49

$28.25

Home Phone Service (More Info...)

$14.00

$5.25 *6

Cell Phone (400 anytime minutes, plus taxes) (More Info... )

$39.95 *3

$26.45

Cable TV (basic /monthly) (More Info...)

$40.11

$30.00

Water (per unit m3) (More Info....)

$.61

$.48

Electricity (average cost per kWh)
(More Info...)

$.0973 (*5)

$.061

Private Health Care (average annual cost of individual health plan for male 55-59 yrs)
(More Info...)

$3695.00

$

Car (purchase price for new 2008 Toyota RAV4)

$26,520.00

$34,545.00

Car Insurance (comprehensive for above car) (More Info...)

$406.20/6 months

$1270.00 / 6 months

Groceries (click here for Sample Grocery Bill)

Harris Teeter
$ 312.35*2

Auto Mercado
$ 281.03 *2

Entertainment & Misc. Expenses
(More....)

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Housekeeper or Gardener (minimum pay / hour)

$5.15

$2.00

Haircut (in a beauty salon)

$18.00 & up

$ 2.00 & up

Movies

$8.00

$3.50


*1- Based on CIA World Fact Book

*2 - costarica.com research team calculations

*3 - VeriSign Market Survey

*4- American Housing Survey

*5- Energy Information Administration

*6- Only includes 60 minutes. Additional minutes are billed at $.013

Want more detailed information on the cost of living in Costa Rica?

Household Expenses (includes Home Phones, Internet Service, & a Sample Grocery Bill)

Cell Phones

Health Care

Auto Expenses

Entertainment & Misc. Expenses

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