Cost of living comparison

compared to
Minnesota vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Minnesota is 46.0% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants
pay 38.4% more in Minnesota
Groceries
pay 34.0% more in Minnesota
Transportation
pay 0.5% more in Minnesota
Housing
pay 66.9% more in Minnesota
Childcare
pay 2.3 times more in Minnesota
Entertainment and Sports
pay 61.3% more in Minnesota
Clothing
pay 7.3% less in Minnesota

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and transportation in Minnesota are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Minnesota.

Minnesota vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

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

pay 38.4% more for restaurants

 
Costa Rica
Minnesota
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.75
CRC4,960.41
$17.25
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.08
CRC4,621.51
$10.44
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.01
CRC1,023.18
$2.57
 

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pay 34.0% more for groceries

 
Costa Rica
Minnesota
Bread
1 loaf
$2.53
CRC1,288.62
$3.24
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.76
CRC1,914.83
$4.95
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.98
CRC3,550.00
$3.64
 

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pay 0.5% more for transportation

 
Costa Rica
Minnesota
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.63
CRC2,863.57
$3.27
 
Monthly public transit pass $49.00
CRC24,935.34
$75.17
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,063.37
CRC17,843,584.03
$32,650.12
 

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pay 66.9% more for housing

 
Costa Rica
Minnesota
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.50
CRC24,681.64
$66.32
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $778.04
CRC395,939.69
$1,195.42
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $547.50
CRC278,621.84
$1,106.51
 

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

 
Costa Rica
Minnesota
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $519.07
CRC264,151.03
$1,324.96
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,987.74
CRC5,591,610.53
$22,140.67
 

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pay 61.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Costa Rica
Minnesota
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.73
CRC1,387.84
$5.62
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.65
CRC1,859.63
$5.50
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.58
CRC2,331.92
$9.80
 

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pay 7.3% less for clothing

 
Costa Rica
Minnesota
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$65.32
CRC33,242.90
$52.74
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$44.54
CRC22,666.37
$47.94
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$110.39
CRC56,174.67
$84.66
 

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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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