Cost of living comparison
Costa Rica is 87.4% more expensive than Laos.
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Laos, you would:
pay 3.3 times more for restaurants
|
Laos
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.90
LAK41,813
|
$9.75
CRC4,975.61
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.20
LAK92,668
|
$9.08
CRC4,635.67
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.69
LAK15,216
|
$2.01
CRC1,026.32
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.49
LAK10,702
|
$1.49
CRC761.37
|
|
pay 53.4% more for groceries
|
Laos
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
LAK22,092
|
$2.53
CRC1,292.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$13.03
LAK287,212
|
$3.76
CRC1,920.70
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.40
LAK141,067
|
$6.98
CRC3,560.88
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.06
LAK45,509
|
$3.21
CRC1,639.69
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.07
LAK45,625
|
$3.97
CRC2,026.96
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.75
LAK16,422
|
$1.79
CRC913.40
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
LAK16,349
|
$0.62
CRC314.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.96
LAK21,099
|
$1.22
CRC620.92
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.29
LAK28,414
|
$1.22
CRC623.60
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
LAK15,319
|
$1.09
CRC558.59
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.45
LAK9,964
|
$1.11
CRC568.50
|
|
pay 21.4% more for transportation
|
Laos
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.61
LAK101,504
|
$5.63
CRC2,872.34
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$53.85
LAK1,186,867
|
$49.00
CRC25,011.74
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,167.89
LAK620,798,336
|
$35,063.37
CRC17,898,258.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.57
LAK233,033
|
$15.62
CRC7,974.44
|
|
pay 2.0 times more for housing
|
Laos
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$8.98
LAK197,989
|
$48.50
CRC24,757.27
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$993.83
LAK21,903,194
|
$778.04
CRC397,152.88
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$809.30
LAK17,836,421
|
$547.50
CRC279,475.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$58.85
LAK1,296,909
|
$68.26
CRC34,842.46
|
|
pay 49.2% more for childcare
|
Laos
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$291.32
LAK6,420,567
|
$519.07
CRC264,960.41
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,140.14
LAK201,441,658
|
$10,987.74
CRC5,608,743.64
|
|
pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Laos
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.11
LAK24,374
|
$2.73
CRC1,392.09
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.62
LAK35,681
|
$3.65
CRC1,865.32
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.78
LAK39,327
|
$4.58
CRC2,339.06
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.31
LAK1,461,460
|
$59.46
CRC30,351.92
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$2.97
LAK65,500
|
$8.63
CRC4,403.14
|
|
pay 33.3% more for clothing
|
Laos
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$78.60
LAK1,732,244
|
$65.32
CRC33,344.76
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$61.45
LAK1,354,248
|
$44.54
CRC22,735.83
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$65.22
LAK1,437,386
|
$110.39
CRC56,346.79
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$46.67
LAK1,028,571
|
$97.22
CRC49,624.79
|
|
Change currency:
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Costa Rica or Laos. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.