Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New York, NY and Acosta

For one person, living is cheaper in Acosta: $1,672 a month against $4,906 in New York, NY, rent and utilities included – about $38,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

234

Cost of Living Index in New York, NY
Learn more

New York, NY Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Acosta
Learn more

Acosta Living Index

Jump to prices

New York, NY

🇺🇸 United States

$4,906

/mo nomad

Acosta

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,672

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in New York, NY and in Acosta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,906 in New York, NY versus $1,672 in Acosta.

New York, NY $4,906
Acosta $1,672

Estimated couple costs with rent: $7,273 in New York, NY versus $2,657 in Acosta.

New York, NY $7,273
Acosta $2,657

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $9,641 in New York, NY versus $3,642 in Acosta.

New York, NY $9,641
Acosta $3,642

Living in New York, NY is roughly 193% more expensive than in Acosta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: New York, NY 263% above, Acosta 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.93 $26.93

$11.97 ₡5,365

124.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$117 $117

$58.9 ₡26.4K

98.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.60 $14.60

$11.77 ₡5,275

24.04%

Cappuccino

$6.54 $6.54

$4.30 ₡1,930

52.09%

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

$3.86 $3.86

$2.54 ₡1,138

51.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 $2.95

$1.91 ₡857

54.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.08 $8.08

$3.37 ₡1,510

139.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.85 $9.85

$4.47 ₡2,002

120.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 $1.31

$2.44 ₡1,093

-46.31%

White Bread (500g)

$4.97 $4.97

$2.71 ₡1,216

83.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$7.70 $7.70

$2.44 ₡1,096

215.57%

Eggs

$6.09 $6.09

$3.60 ₡1,612

69.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.55 $19.55

$10.74 ₡4,813

82.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.59 $17.59

$10.22 ₡4,583

72.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.26 $20.26

$13.95 ₡6,255

45.23%

Apples (1kg)

$6.99 $6.99

$5.16 ₡2,313

35.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.21 $2.21

$1.57 ₡706

40.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.72 $6.72

$3.33 ₡1,493

101.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.12 $7.12

$3.45 ₡1,548

106.38%

Potato (1kg)

$4.61 $4.61

$3.02 ₡1,354

52.65%

Onion (1kg)

$4.78 $4.78

$3.23 ₡1,448

47.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.87 $2.87

$1.03 ₡461

178.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 $2.69

$2.60 ₡1,167

3.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.14 $19.14

$5.75 ₡2,578

232.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.63 $19.63

$16.66 ₡7,470

17.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 $3.32

$2.61 ₡1,169

27.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 $4.19

$2.64 ₡1,185

58.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.02 $3.02

$1.33 ₡597

127.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 $139

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.04 $3.04

$2.51 ₡1,124

21.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.20 $2.20

$1.56 ₡701

41.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.33 $41.33

$8.49 ₡3,805

386.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 $1.13

$1.53 ₡685

-26.14%

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

$34.5K $34.5K

$34.1K ₡15.3M

1.06%

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

$25.8K $25.8K

$41.1K ₡18.4M

-37.05%

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

$232 $232

$95.2 ₡42.7K

143.99%

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

$71.0 $71.0

$30.00 ₡13.4K

136.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.7 $67.7

$58.8 ₡26.3K

15.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$115 $115

$67.5 ₡30.3K

70.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$76.8 $76.8

Cinema Ticket

$22.41 $22.41

$7.59 ₡3,404

195.26%

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

$3,606 $3,606

$837 ₡375.1K

330.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$68.7K $68.7K

$17.4K ₡7.8M

295.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.3 $79.3

$71.3 ₡32.0K

11.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.4 $51.4

$56.6 ₡25.4K

-9.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 $121

$128 ₡57.5K

-5.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 $140

$131 ₡58.9K

6.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,555 $4,555

$793 ₡355.3K

474.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,040 $3,040

$620 ₡277.8K

390.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$9,742 $9,742

$1,924 ₡862.6K

406.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$5,331 $5,331

$1,256 ₡562.8K

324.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.2K $18.2K

$1,921 ₡860.9K

848.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,685 $6,685

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,096 $5,096

$1,506 ₡675.2K

238.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.89

8.62

-20.07%

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

Last update for New York, NY: November 1, 2026

Last update for Acosta: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New York, NY

$3K 62%

Acosta

$620 37.1% 79.6% $2.4K

Groceries & Markets

New York, NY

$567 11.6%

Acosta

$369 22.1% 34.9% $198

Eating Out

New York, NY

$425 8.7%

Acosta

$226 13.5% 46.8% $199

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New York, NY

$371 7.6%

Acosta

$184 11% 50.4% $187

Clothing & Footwear

New York, NY

$176 3.6%

Acosta

$174 10.4% 1.2% $2

Getting Around

New York, NY

$165 3.4%

Acosta

$16 * 0.9% 90.5% $150

Sport & Entertainment

New York, NY

$160 3.3%

Acosta

$83 4.9% 48.4% $78

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 $4,555 in New York, NY and $793 in Acosta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New York, NY pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $117 in New York, NY vs $59 in Acosta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $567 vs $369 per month, with Acosta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 New York, NY

🇨🇷 Acosta

🕒 Local time

12:46 12:46 PM

11:46 11:46 AM

1 h behind New York, NY

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,804,190

3,072

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.897 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 2 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 November 7, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.897 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 500 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

New York, NY Acosta 3,570 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

New York, NY
Acosta

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

New York, NY vs Acosta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $4,906 in New York, NY and $1,672 in Acosta, so Acosta is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in New York, NY is about 3.4 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $4,555 in New York, NY versus $793 in Acosta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in New York, NY. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $4,906 per month in New York, NY versus $1,672 in Acosta – Acosta is about 66% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,672 in Acosta versus $4,906 in New York, NY, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Acosta but tight or insufficient in New York, NY. The gap between the two cities makes Acosta 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.

It comes down to priorities – Acosta wins on affordability, New York, NY on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.