Cost of living comparison

compared to
Arizona vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Arizona is 39.6% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants
pay 47.1% more in Arizona
Groceries
pay 17.6% more in Arizona
Transportation
pay 8.9% less in Arizona
Housing
pay 2.2 times more in Arizona
Childcare
pay 58.2% more in Arizona
Entertainment and Sports
pay 54.6% more in Arizona
Clothing
pay 10.5% less in Arizona

The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in Arizona are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Expenses including clothing and transportation are lower in Arizona. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Arizona.

Arizona vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Arizona instead of Costa Rica, you would:

pay 47.1% more for restaurants

 
Costa Rica
Arizona
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.75
CRC4,960.41
$19.56
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.08
CRC4,621.51
$10.75
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.01
CRC1,023.18
$2.58
 

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pay 17.6% more for groceries

 
Costa Rica
Arizona
Bread
1 loaf
$2.53
CRC1,288.62
$3.49
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.76
CRC1,914.83
$5.20
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.98
CRC3,550.00
$3.50
 

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pay 8.9% less for transportation

 
Costa Rica
Arizona
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.63
CRC2,863.57
$3.79
 
Monthly public transit pass $49.00
CRC24,935.34
$53.40
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,063.37
CRC17,843,584.03
$31,537.50
 

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

 
Costa Rica
Arizona
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.50
CRC24,681.64
$80.87
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $778.04
CRC395,939.69
$1,573.68
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $547.50
CRC278,621.84
$1,370.59
 

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pay 58.2% more for childcare

 
Costa Rica
Arizona
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $519.07
CRC264,151.03
$1,069.58
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,987.74
CRC5,591,610.53
$12,135.00
 

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pay 54.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Costa Rica
Arizona
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.73
CRC1,387.84
$5.76
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.65
CRC1,859.63
$5.21
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.58
CRC2,331.92
$9.94
 

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pay 10.5% less for clothing

 
Costa Rica
Arizona
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$65.32
CRC33,242.90
$52.15
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$44.54
CRC22,666.37
$41.56
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$110.39
CRC56,174.67
$86.98
 

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: January 2025
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