Cost of living comparison

compared to
Costa Rica vs. Florida Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 18.8% cheaper than Florida.

Restaurants
pay 27.9% less in Costa Rica
Groceries
pay 20.4% less in Costa Rica
Transportation
pay 13.7% more in Costa Rica
Housing
pay 50.9% less in Costa Rica
Childcare
pay 38.5% less in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports
pay 23.0% less in Costa Rica
Clothing
pay 15.7% more in Costa Rica

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

Costa Rica vs. Florida Cost Breakdown

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

pay 27.9% less for restaurants

 
Florida
Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.47
 
$9.75
CRC4,960.41
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.18
 
$9.08
CRC4,621.51
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.61
 
$2.01
CRC1,023.18

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pay 20.4% less for groceries

 
Florida
Costa Rica
Bread
1 loaf
$3.56
 
$2.53
CRC1,288.62
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.40
 
$3.76
CRC1,914.83
Milk (1 gallon) $4.19
 
$6.98
CRC3,550.00

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pay 13.7% more for transportation

 
Florida
Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.36
 
$5.63
CRC2,863.57
Monthly public transit pass $61.15
 
$49.00
CRC24,935.34
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,918.41
 
$35,063.37
CRC17,843,584.03

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pay 50.9% less for housing

 
Florida
Costa Rica
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$64.97
 
$48.50
CRC24,681.64
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,891.59
 
$778.04
CRC395,939.69
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,611.24
 
$547.50
CRC278,621.84

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pay 38.5% less for childcare

 
Florida
Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $923.14
 
$519.07
CRC264,151.03
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $16,426.17
 
$10,987.74
CRC5,591,610.53

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pay 23.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Florida
Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.61
 
$2.73
CRC1,387.84
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.94
 
$3.65
CRC1,859.63
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.80
 
$4.58
CRC2,331.92

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pay 15.7% more for clothing

 
Florida
Costa Rica
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$49.20
 
$65.32
CRC33,242.90
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.16
 
$44.54
CRC22,666.37
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$85.28
 
$110.39
CRC56,174.67

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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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