Cost of living comparison
Costa Rica is 87.3% more expensive than Nicaragua.
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Nicaragua, you would:
pay 2.1 times more for restaurants
|
Nicaragua
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.15
NIO152.75
|
$9.75
CRC4,963.74
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.48
NIO201.51
|
$9.08
CRC4,624.61
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.95
NIO35.01
|
$2.01
CRC1,023.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.66
NIO24.10
|
$1.49
CRC759.55
|
|
pay 35.6% more for groceries
|
Nicaragua
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.43
NIO52.74
|
$2.53
CRC1,289.48
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$2.35
NIO86.56
|
$3.76
CRC1,916.12
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.24
NIO155.98
|
$6.98
CRC3,552.39
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.88
NIO69.13
|
$3.21
CRC1,635.78
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.20
NIO81.10
|
$3.97
CRC2,022.13
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.80
NIO102.97
|
$1.79
CRC911.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
NIO22.13
|
$0.62
CRC314.14
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.72
NIO63.26
|
$1.22
CRC619.44
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.65
NIO24.09
|
$1.22
CRC622.11
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.08
NIO39.74
|
$1.09
CRC557.26
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.97
NIO35.79
|
$1.11
CRC567.15
|
|
pay 88.4% more for transportation
|
Nicaragua
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.15
NIO189.38
|
$5.63
CRC2,865.49
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.05
NIO1,105.50
|
$49.00
CRC24,952.10
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$18,168.72
NIO668,368.97
|
$35,063.37
CRC17,855,577.21
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.42
NIO199.28
|
$15.62
CRC7,955.42
|
|
pay 71.1% more for housing
|
Nicaragua
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$44.72
NIO1,645.24
|
$48.50
CRC24,698.23
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$308.00
NIO11,330.41
|
$778.04
CRC396,205.81
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$281.86
NIO10,368.82
|
$547.50
CRC278,809.11
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$52.83
NIO1,943.31
|
$68.26
CRC34,759.38
|
|
pay 2.9 times more for childcare
|
Nicaragua
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$112.78
NIO4,148.73
|
$519.07
CRC264,328.57
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,900.00
NIO364,189.26
|
$10,987.74
CRC5,595,368.81
|
|
pay 76.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Nicaragua
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.22
NIO44.79
|
$2.73
CRC1,388.77
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.28
NIO83.87
|
$3.65
CRC1,860.88
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.97
NIO109.12
|
$4.58
CRC2,333.48
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$26.12
NIO961.05
|
$59.46
CRC30,279.55
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.30
NIO268.44
|
$8.63
CRC4,392.64
|
|
pay 43.8% more for clothing
|
Nicaragua
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$42.40
NIO1,559.84
|
$65.32
CRC33,265.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.36
NIO1,484.67
|
$44.54
CRC22,681.61
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$58.79
NIO2,162.75
|
$110.39
CRC56,212.43
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$79.04
NIO2,907.56
|
$97.22
CRC49,506.45
|
|
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