Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New York, NY and Atenas

For one person, living is cheaper in Atenas: $1,552 a month against $4,906 in New York, NY, rent and utilities included – about $40,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

234

Cost of Living Index in New York, NY
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New York, NY Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Atenas
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Atenas Living Index

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New York, NY

🇺🇸 United States

$4,906

/mo nomad

Atenas

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,552

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Atenas actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $4,906 per month in New York, NY vs $1,552 in Atenas, rent included.

New York, NY $4,906
Atenas $1,552

A couple spends around $7,273 per month in New York, NY vs $2,551 in Atenas, rent included.

New York, NY $7,273
Atenas $2,551

A family of three spends $9,641 per month in New York, NY vs $3,549 in Atenas, rent included.

New York, NY $9,641
Atenas $3,549

New York, NY costs about 216% more than Atenas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both New York, NY and Atenas sit above the global median – New York, NY by 263%, Atenas by 15%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.93 $26.93

$9.97 ₡4,482

170.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$117 $117

$57.1 ₡25.7K

104.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.60 $14.60

$11.58 ₡5,209

26.08%

Cappuccino

$6.54 $6.54

$3.86 ₡1,734

69.43%

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

$3.86 $3.86

$2.69 ₡1,209

43.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 $2.95

$1.94 ₡872

52.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.08 $8.08

$3.37 ₡1,514

139.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.85 $9.85

$4.32 ₡1,943

128.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 $1.31

$2.42 ₡1,087

-45.87%

White Bread (500g)

$4.97 $4.97

$3.17 ₡1,427

56.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$7.70 $7.70

$2.25 ₡1,010

242.22%

Eggs

$6.09 $6.09

$3.60 ₡1,618

69.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.55 $19.55

$10.61 ₡4,769

84.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.59 $17.59

$9.67 ₡4,350

81.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.26 $20.26

$10.52 ₡4,732

92.59%

Apples (1kg)

$6.99 $6.99

$4.29 ₡1,927

62.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.21 $2.21

$1.59 ₡714

38.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.72 $6.72

$2.70 ₡1,215

148.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.12 $7.12

$2.40 ₡1,080

196.67%

Potato (1kg)

$4.61 $4.61

$3.66 ₡1,646

25.96%

Onion (1kg)

$4.78 $4.78

$2.59 ₡1,162

84.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.87 $2.87

$1.12 ₡502

156.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 $2.69

$3.25 ₡1,461

-17.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.14 $19.14

$5.93 ₡2,666

222.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.63 $19.63

$18.60 ₡8,363

5.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 $3.32

$2.78 ₡1,249

19.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 $4.19

$2.57 ₡1,157

63.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.02 $3.02

$2.22 ₡1,000

36.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 $139

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.04 $3.04

$2.16 ₡969

40.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.20 $2.20

$1.79 ₡803

22.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.33 $41.33

$7.75 ₡3,485

433.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 $1.13

$1.53 ₡688

-26.14%

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

$34.5K $34.5K

$33.8K ₡15.2M

2.08%

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

$25.8K $25.8K

$42.8K ₡19.2M

-39.55%

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

$232 $232

$93.2 ₡41.9K

149.44%

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

$71.0 $71.0

$35.36 ₡15.9K

100.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.7 $67.7

$51.8 ₡23.3K

30.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$115 $115

$47.68 ₡21.4K

141.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$76.8 $76.8

$11.14 ₡5,008

589.50%

Cinema Ticket

$22.41 $22.41

$7.65 ₡3,442

192.94%

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

$3,606 $3,606

$993 ₡446.6K

262.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$68.7K $68.7K

$6,647 ₡3.0M

933.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.3 $79.3

$71.5 ₡32.2K

10.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.4 $51.4

$55.7 ₡25.0K

-7.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 $121

$131 ₡58.7K

-7.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 $140

$130 ₡58.4K

8.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,555 $4,555

$652 ₡293.1K

598.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,040 $3,040

$549 ₡246.7K

454.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$9,742 $9,742

$1,527 ₡686.6K

538.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$5,331 $5,331

$1,270 ₡571.2K

319.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.2K $18.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,685 $6,685

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,096 $5,096

$1,313 ₡590.4K

288.13%

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 Atenas: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New York, NY

$3K 62%

Atenas

$549 35.4% 82% $2.5K

Groceries & Markets

New York, NY

$567 11.6%

Atenas

$361 23.2% 36.4% $207

Eating Out

New York, NY

$425 8.7%

Atenas

$205 13.2% 51.8% $220

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New York, NY

$371 7.6%

Atenas

$180 11.6% 51.4% $191

Clothing & Footwear

New York, NY

$176 3.6%

Atenas

$174 11.2% 1.2% $2.1

Getting Around

New York, NY

$165 3.4%

Atenas

$20 * 1.3% 87.9% $145

Sport & Entertainment

New York, NY

$160 3.3%

Atenas

$63 4.1% 60.7% $97

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $4,555 in New York, NY versus $652 in Atenas. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in New York, NY are about 3.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $117 in New York, NY versus $57 in Atenas. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $567 vs $361 – making Atenas the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 New York, NY

🇨🇷 Atenas

🕒 Local time

19:07 7:07 PM

18:07 6:07 PM

1 h behind New York, NY

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,804,190

7,000

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 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 = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.895 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

New York, NY Atenas 3,550 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

New York, NY
Atenas

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 Atenas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – New York, NY is pricier by about 216%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $7,358 per month in New York, NY and $2,328 in Atenas. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Atenas, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $652 there versus $4,555 in New York, NY.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $117 in New York, NY and $57 in Atenas. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 57% more in New York, NY, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,500 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $4,906 in New York, NY and $1,552 in Atenas. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Atenas – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Atenas. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, New York, NY makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.