Cost of living comparison

Escazu, Costa Rica

compared to

Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington vs. Escazu Cost of Living Summary

Wellington is 35.6% more expensive than Escazu.

Restaurants: pay 26.8% more in Wellington
Groceries: pay 15.9% more in Wellington
Transportation: pay 15.7% more in Wellington
Housing: pay 45.4% more in Wellington
Childcare: pay 34.5% more in Wellington
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Wellington
Clothing: pay 4.3% more in Wellington

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

Wellington vs. Escazu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Wellington instead of Escazu, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.8% more for restaurants

	Escazu	Wellington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.80 CRC5,468.15	$14.93 NZ$25.03	+38.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.72 CRC4,918.36	$8.96 NZ$15.02	-7.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.99 CRC1,008.19	$2.57 NZ$4.31	+29.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.46 CRC738.86	$2.15 NZ$3.61	+47.6%
Average			+26.8%

Escazu vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.9% more for groceries

	Escazu	Wellington
Bread 1 loaf	$2.59 CRC1,312.46	$1.96 NZ$3.29	-24.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,158.61	$4.15 NZ$6.95	-2.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.21 CRC3,649.13	$6.98 NZ$11.70	-3.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.26 CRC1,649.42	$6.84 NZ$11.47	+109.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 CRC2,227.34	$5.06 NZ$8.48	+15.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC986.21	$1.40 NZ$2.34	-28.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC318.89	$1.09 NZ$1.83	+73.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 CRC804.89	$1.48 NZ$2.47	-7.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.35 CRC681.72	$2.61 NZ$4.38	+93.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 CRC656.92	$1.01 NZ$1.70	-21.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 CRC602.19	$0.84 NZ$1.41	-29.5%
Average			+15.9%

Escazu vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.7% more for transportation

	Escazu	Wellington
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,776.95	$6.42 NZ$10.76	+17.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$127.57 NZ$213.82
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,123.42 CRC15,246,917.30	$34,339.84 NZ$57,559.24	+14.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.70 CRC7,948.07	$18.22 NZ$30.53	+16.0%
Average			+15.7%

Escazu vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.4% more for housing

	Escazu	Wellington
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.56 CRC27,109.33	$54.27 NZ$90.96	+1.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,054.33 CRC533,649.68	$1,487.35 NZ$2,493.04	+41.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,054.33 CRC533,649.68	$1,335.17 NZ$2,237.97	+26.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.04 CRC31,907.48	$134.11 NZ$224.78	+112.7%
Average			+45.4%

Escazu vs. Wellington - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.5% more for childcare

	Escazu	Wellington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$521.49 CRC263,952.01	$871.44 NZ$1,460.67	+67.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,409.58 CRC6,281,089.04	$12,649.75 NZ$21,203.07	+1.9%
Average			+34.5%

Escazu vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Escazu	Wellington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.92 CRC1,475.51	$7.17 NZ$12.01	+145.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.69 CRC1,866.27	$3.41 NZ$5.72	-7.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.86 CRC2,459.18	$24.46 NZ$40.99	+403.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$113.37 CRC57,380.87	$39.85 NZ$66.79	-64.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.77 CRC3,934.69	$12.24 NZ$20.52	+57.5%
Average			+106.9%

Escazu vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.3% more for clothing

	Escazu	Wellington
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.45 CRC37,177.46	$75.78 NZ$127.02	+3.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.76 CRC25,691.38	$55.09 NZ$92.35	+8.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.81 CRC63,678.87	$119.44 NZ$200.21	-5.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.18 CRC59,310.09	$129.60 NZ$217.22	+10.6%
Average			+4.3%

Escazu vs. Wellington - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: April 2025

More cost comparisons

Escazu vs.

Kiev

Escazu vs.

Ottawa

Escazu vs.

Dodoma

Escazu vs.

Canberra

Escazu vs.

Prague

Escazu vs.

Hong Kong

Escazu vs.

Phnom Penh

Escazu vs.

Mexico City

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Costa Rica vs. New Zealand. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Costa Rica and New Zealand.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Escazu

Add prices for Wellington

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Wellington or Escazu. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.