Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and Perez Zeledon

For one person, living is cheaper in Perez Zeledon: $1,328 a month against $2,698 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Perez Zeledon
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Perez Zeledon Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,698

/mo nomad

Perez Zeledon

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,328

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Austin, TX and in Perez Zeledon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Austin, TX and in Perez Zeledon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,698 in Austin, TX versus $1,328 in Perez Zeledon.

Austin, TX $2,698
Perez Zeledon $1,328

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,160 in Austin, TX versus $2,371 in Perez Zeledon.

Austin, TX $4,160
Perez Zeledon $2,371

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,622 in Austin, TX versus $3,414 in Perez Zeledon.

Austin, TX $5,622
Perez Zeledon $3,414

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 103% more expensive than in Perez Zeledon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 99% above, Perez Zeledon is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.63 $20.63

$9.34 ₡4,188

120.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 $84.6

$36.62 ₡16.4K

130.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.07 $12.07

$8.23 ₡3,689

46.66%

Cappuccino

$5.48 $5.48

$2.70 ₡1,210

102.96%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 $3.80

$1.96 ₡880

93.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 $2.47

$1.71 ₡766

44.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.05 $8.05

$1.79 ₡804

349.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.88 $8.88

$3.08 ₡1,380

188.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 $1.11

$1.64 ₡735

-32.32%

White Bread (500g)

$3.72 $3.72

$3.03 ₡1,357

22.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.37 $3.37

$2.47 ₡1,109

36.44%

Eggs

$4.32 $4.32

$2.48 ₡1,113

74.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.13 $13.13

$10.62 ₡4,763

23.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.15 $14.15

$10.36 ₡4,646

36.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.33 $16.33

$13.82 ₡6,196

18.16%

Apples (1kg)

$4.55 $4.55

$4.99 ₡2,238

-8.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 $1.46

$1.08 ₡483

35.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.71 $4.71

$4.85 ₡2,174

-2.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.15 $4.15

$3.96 ₡1,777

4.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 $2.58

$3.86 ₡1,730

-33.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$3.78 ₡1,693

-37.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.77 $1.77

$0.46 ₡205

284.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.14 $2.14

$3.21 ₡1,441

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.10 $10.10

$5.76 ₡2,582

75.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.19 $15.19

$19.78 ₡8,870

-23.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 $2.82

$2.77 ₡1,240

1.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.44 $3.44

$3.50 ₡1,572

-1.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 $1.54

$0.77 ₡344

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.99 $40.99

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.80 $2.80

$2.51 ₡1,125

11.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 $1.60

$1.61 ₡720

-0.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.34 $34.34

$8.81 ₡3,952

289.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 $0.94

$1.54 ₡689

-38.96%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.0K $34.0K

$22.3K ₡10.0M

52.30%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.8K $26.8K

$34.8K ₡15.6M

-23.01%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$223 $223

$92.9 ₡41.7K

139.69%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$58.9 $58.9

$23.91 ₡10.7K

146.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.6 $70.6

$58.7 ₡26.3K

20.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.7 $57.7

$72.4 ₡32.5K

-20.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.53 $16.53

Cinema Ticket

$14.26 $14.26

$7.46 ₡3,346

91.15%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,511 $1,511

$508 ₡227.7K

197.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.9K $20.9K

$16.9K ₡7.6M

23.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.3 $51.3

$72.9 ₡32.7K

-29.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.17 $44.17

$56.8 ₡25.5K

-22.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.0 $87.0

$129 ₡58.0K

-32.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 $104

$130 ₡58.1K

-19.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,940 $1,940

$401 ₡180.0K

383.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,316 $1,316

$333 ₡149.4K

295.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,664 $3,664

$1,898 ₡851.1K

93.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,565 $2,565

$1,258 ₡564.0K

103.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,354 $7,354

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,129 $3,129

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,286 $5,286

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

8.62

-21.23%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Austin, TX: October 19, 2026

Last update for Perez Zeledon: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 48.8%

Perez Zeledon

$333 25.1% 74.7% $983

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$406 15.1%

Perez Zeledon

$382 28.8% 5.9% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$352 13.1%

Perez Zeledon

$176 13.2% 50.2% $177

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$350 13%

Perez Zeledon

$162 12.2% 53.9% $189

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$129 4.8%

Perez Zeledon

$175 13.2% 35.5% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.2%

Perez Zeledon

$87 6.6% 1.3% $1.1

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$58 2.2%

Perez Zeledon

$14 * 1% 76.5% $44

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,940 in Austin, TX and $401 in Perez Zeledon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Austin, TX vs $37.00 in Perez Zeledon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $406 vs $382 per month, with Perez Zeledon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇨🇷 Perez Zeledon

🕒 Local time

19:10 7:10 PM

18:10 6:10 PM

1 h behind Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

135,000

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Austin, TX Perez Zeledon 2,760 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
Perez Zeledon

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Austin, TX vs Perez Zeledon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Perez Zeledon wins on cost – living expenses run 103% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Perez Zeledon the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $4,046 in Austin, TX and $1,992 in Perez Zeledon to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,940 in Austin, TX versus $401 in Perez Zeledon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,511 in Austin, TX versus $508 in Perez Zeledon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Perez Zeledon – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $85.0 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,328 in Perez Zeledon versus $2,698 in Austin, TX, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Perez Zeledon but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Perez Zeledon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Perez Zeledon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 103% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.