Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New York, NY and Costa Rica

Name: Costa Rica
Address: CR

For one person, living is cheaper in Costa Rica: $1,830 a month against $4,906 in New York, NY, rent and utilities included – about $36,900 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
87

Cost of Living Index in Costa Rica
Learn more

Costa Rica Living Index

Jump to prices

New York, NY

🇺🇸 United States

$4,906

/mo nomad

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,830

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: New York, NY is 59.3% more expensive than Costa Rica without rent, and 168.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: New York, NY is 67.5% more expensive than Costa Rica without rent, and 158.3% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.93 $26.93

$11.72 ₡5,252

129.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$117 $117

$56.0 ₡25.1K

108.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.60 $14.60

$11.18 ₡5,013

30.59%

Cappuccino

$6.54 $6.54

$4.63 ₡2,076

41.25%

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

$3.86 $3.86

$2.34 ₡1,050

64.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 $2.95

$1.85 ₡830

59.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.08 $8.08

$3.24 ₡1,451

149.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.85 $9.85

$4.57 ₡2,048

115.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 $1.31

$2.41 ₡1,078

-45.64%

White Bread (500g)

$4.97 $4.97

$3.59 ₡1,610

38.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$7.70 $7.70

$2.79 ₡1,252

175.99%

Eggs

$6.09 $6.09

$3.87 ₡1,735

57.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.55 $19.55

$10.38 ₡4,652

88.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.59 $17.59

$10.01 ₡4,486

75.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.26 $20.26

$13.77 ₡6,174

47.13%

Apples (1kg)

$6.99 $6.99

$4.76 ₡2,135

46.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.21 $2.21

$1.71 ₡768

29.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.72 $6.72

$3.42 ₡1,534

96.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.12 $7.12

$3.23 ₡1,449

120.43%

Potato (1kg)

$4.61 $4.61

$3.29 ₡1,475

40.12%

Onion (1kg)

$4.78 $4.78

$3.13 ₡1,403

52.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.87 $2.87

$1.09 ₡491

163.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 $2.69

$2.75 ₡1,235

-2.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.14 $19.14

$5.34 ₡2,396

258.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.63 $19.63

$16.23 ₡7,274

20.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 $3.32

$2.63 ₡1,179

26.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 $4.19

$3.25 ₡1,459

28.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.02 $3.02

$1.08 ₡482

179.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 $139

$67.1 ₡30.1K

107.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.04 $3.04

$2.18 ₡979

39.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.20 $2.20

$2.01 ₡900

9.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.33 $41.33

$8.08 ₡3,621

411.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 $1.13

$1.55 ₡694

-27.10%

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

$34.5K $34.5K

$33.9K ₡15.2M

1.62%

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

$25.8K $25.8K

$37.5K ₡16.8M

-31.05%

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

$232 $232

$98.2 ₡44.0K

136.71%

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

$71.0 $71.0

$30.64 ₡13.7K

131.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.7 $67.7

$59.7 ₡26.8K

13.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$115 $115

$65.1 ₡29.2K

77.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$76.8 $76.8

$22.65 ₡10.2K

239.12%

Cinema Ticket

$22.41 $22.41

$8.17 ₡3,661

174.30%

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

$3,606 $3,606

$733 ₡328.6K

391.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$68.7K $68.7K

$17.7K ₡7.9M

287.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.3 $79.3

$74.7 ₡33.5K

6.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.4 $51.4

$55.9 ₡25.1K

-8.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 $121

$130 ₡58.5K

-7.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 $140

$108 ₡48.6K

29.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,555 $4,555

$933 ₡418.1K

388.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,040 $3,040

$706 ₡316.6K

330.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$9,742 $9,742

$1,763 ₡790.1K

452.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$5,331 $5,331

$1,201 ₡538.3K

343.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.2K $18.2K

$2,692 ₡1.2M

576.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,685 $6,685

$1,834 ₡822.1K

264.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,096 $5,096

$1,076 ₡482.2K

373.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.89

9.56

-27.93%

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 Costa Rica: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New York, NY

$3K 62%

Costa Rica

$706 38.6% 76.8% $2.3K

Groceries & Markets

New York, NY

$567 11.6%

Costa Rica

$379 20.7% 33.2% $189

Eating Out

New York, NY

$425 8.7%

Costa Rica

$225 12.3% 47.1% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New York, NY

$371 7.6%

Costa Rica

$189 10.3% 49.2% $183

Clothing & Footwear

New York, NY

$176 3.6%

Costa Rica

$166 9.1% 5.8% $10

Getting Around

New York, NY

$165 3.4%

Costa Rica

$84 4.6% 49.4% $82

Sport & Entertainment

New York, NY

$160 3.3%

Costa Rica

$81 4.5% 49.2% $79

Good to know

🇺🇸 New York, NY

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

🕒 Local time

19:37 7:37 PM

18:37 6:37 PM

1 h behind New York, NY

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,804,190

5,044,197

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.895 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 = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.895 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 501 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

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

From you

New York, NY
Costa Rica

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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