Last update: Nov 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro: $1,714 a month against $4,906 in New York, NY, rent and utilities included – about $38,300 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
83

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro
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San Pedro Living Index

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New York, NY

🇺🇸 United States

$4,906

/mo nomad

San Pedro

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,714

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $4,906 per month in New York, NY vs $1,714 in San Pedro, rent included.

New York, NY $4,906
San Pedro $1,714

A couple spends around $7,273 per month in New York, NY vs $2,716 in San Pedro, rent included.

New York, NY $7,273
San Pedro $2,716

A family of three spends $9,641 per month in New York, NY vs $3,718 in San Pedro, rent included.

New York, NY $9,641
San Pedro $3,718

New York, NY costs about 186% more than San Pedro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both New York, NY and San Pedro sit above the global median – New York, NY by 263%, San Pedro by 27%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.93 $26.93

$12.28 ₡5,504

119.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$117 $117

$60.9 ₡27.3K

91.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.60 $14.60

$11.62 ₡5,208

25.65%

Cappuccino

$6.54 $6.54

$4.47 ₡2,002

46.31%

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

$3.86 $3.86

$2.71 ₡1,215

42.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 $2.95

$1.87 ₡837

57.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.08 $8.08

$3.22 ₡1,443

150.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.85 $9.85

$4.32 ₡1,934

128.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 $1.31

$2.31 ₡1,037

-43.29%

White Bread (500g)

$4.97 $4.97

$3.08 ₡1,380

61.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$7.70 $7.70

$2.40 ₡1,077

220.83%

Eggs

$6.09 $6.09

$3.46 ₡1,551

76.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.55 $19.55

$10.56 ₡4,735

85.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.59 $17.59

$10.28 ₡4,609

71.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.26 $20.26

$14.01 ₡6,280

44.61%

Apples (1kg)

$6.99 $6.99

$5.08 ₡2,278

37.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.21 $2.21

$1.64 ₡735

34.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.72 $6.72

$4.73 ₡2,120

42.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.12 $7.12

$3.94 ₡1,766

80.71%

Potato (1kg)

$4.61 $4.61

$3.80 ₡1,702

21.32%

Onion (1kg)

$4.78 $4.78

$3.76 ₡1,685

27.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.87 $2.87

$1.07 ₡482

168.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 $2.69

$3.12 ₡1,398

-13.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.14 $19.14

$5.76 ₡2,582

232.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.63 $19.63

$19.79 ₡8,873

-0.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 $3.32

$2.81 ₡1,260

18.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 $4.19

$3.68 ₡1,649

13.86%

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

$2.40 ₡1,077

26.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.20 $2.20

$1.57 ₡706

40.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.33 $41.33

$8.58 ₡3,844

381.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 $1.13

$1.53 ₡684

-26.14%

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

$34.5K $34.5K

$34.1K ₡15.3M

1.15%

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

$25.8K $25.8K

$41.2K ₡18.5M

-37.33%

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

$232 $232

$93.6 ₡41.9K

148.34%

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

$71.0 $71.0

$35.72 ₡16.0K

98.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.7 $67.7

$59.5 ₡26.7K

13.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$115 $115

$68.5 ₡30.7K

68.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$76.8 $76.8

Cinema Ticket

$22.41 $22.41

$7.72 ₡3,460

190.28%

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

$3,606 $3,606

$976 ₡437.6K

269.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$68.7K $68.7K

$17.1K ₡7.7M

302.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.3 $79.3

$72.4 ₡32.4K

9.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.4 $51.4

$56.6 ₡25.4K

-9.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 $121

$128 ₡57.6K

-5.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 $140

$132 ₡59.1K

6.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,555 $4,555

$818 ₡366.7K

456.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,040 $3,040

$623 ₡279.2K

388.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$9,742 $9,742

$1,869 ₡838.0K

421.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$5,331 $5,331

$1,242 ₡556.6K

329.37%

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

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 San Pedro: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New York, NY

$3K 62%

San Pedro

$623 36.3% 79.5% $2.4K

Groceries & Markets

New York, NY

$567 11.6%

San Pedro

$398 23.2% 29.9% $169

Eating Out

New York, NY

$425 8.7%

San Pedro

$230 13.4% 46% $195

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New York, NY

$371 7.6%

San Pedro

$189 11% 49.1% $182

Clothing & Footwear

New York, NY

$176 3.6%

San Pedro

$175 10.2% 0.8% $1.3

Getting Around

New York, NY

$165 3.4%

San Pedro

$16 * 0.9% 90.6% $150

Sport & Entertainment

New York, NY

$160 3.3%

San Pedro

$84 4.9% 47.6% $76

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 $818 in San Pedro. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $117 in New York, NY versus $61 in San Pedro. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $567 vs $398 – making San Pedro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 New York, NY

🇨🇷 San Pedro

🕒 Local time

13:13 1:13 PM

12:13 12:13 PM

1 h behind New York, NY

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,804,190

27,477

💱 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

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

New York, NY
San Pedro

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 San Pedro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

New York, NY costs about 186% more than San Pedro, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $7,358 per month in New York, NY and $2,571 in San Pedro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Pedro, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $818 there versus $4,555 in New York, NY.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $4,906 in New York, NY and $1,714 in San Pedro. That makes San Pedro about 65% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $3,606 per month in New York, NY and $976 in San Pedro. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in San Pedro, where all-in costs run around $1,714, than in New York, NY at $4,906. In San Pedro it covers expenses comfortably, while in New York, NY it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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