Cost of living comparison

Santa Ana, Costa Rica

compared to

Costa Rica

Costa Rica vs. Santa Ana Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 3.3% more expensive than Santa Ana.

Restaurants: pay 2.0% more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 0.3% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 38.2% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 9.9% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 1.5% less in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.4% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 12.1% less in Costa Rica

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

Costa Rica vs. Santa Ana Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Santa Ana, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0% more for restaurants

	Santa Ana	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	$9.75 CRC4,991.04	+0.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.23 CRC4,726.81	$9.08 CRC4,650.05	-1.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.88 CRC961.95	$2.01 CRC1,029.50	+7.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.46 CRC747.46	$1.49 CRC763.73	+2.2%
Average			+2.0%

Santa Ana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.3% more for groceries

	Santa Ana	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$2.59 CRC1,327.73	$2.53 CRC1,296.57	-2.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,183.73	$3.76 CRC1,926.66	-11.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.45 CRC3,302.35	$6.98 CRC3,571.93	+8.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.26 CRC1,668.61	$3.21 CRC1,644.77	-1.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 CRC2,253.26	$3.97 CRC2,033.25	-9.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC997.69	$1.79 CRC916.23	-8.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC322.60	$0.62 CRC315.87	-2.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.76 CRC391.54	$1.22 CRC622.84	+59.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.35 CRC689.66	$1.22 CRC625.53	-9.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.25 CRC641.51	$1.09 CRC560.32	-12.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 CRC609.20	$1.11 CRC570.27	-6.4%
Average			+0.3%

Santa Ana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.2% more for transportation

	Santa Ana	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,809.26	$5.63 CRC2,881.25	+2.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$19.43 CRC9,951.18	$49.00 CRC25,089.32	+152.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,982.04 CRC17,912,131.48	$35,063.37 CRC17,953,776.85	+0.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.94 CRC8,162.46	$15.62 CRC7,999.17	-2.0%
Average			+38.2%

Santa Ana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.9% more for housing

	Santa Ana	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$47.29 CRC24,214.55	$48.50 CRC24,834.06	+2.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$831.69 CRC425,856.65	$778.04 CRC398,384.81	-6.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$586.85 CRC300,489.74	$547.50 CRC280,342.47	-6.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$45.39 CRC23,238.94	$68.26 CRC34,950.54	+50.4%
Average			+9.9%

Santa Ana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 1.5% less for childcare

	Santa Ana	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$521.49 CRC267,023.44	$519.07 CRC265,782.29	-0.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,268.88 CRC5,770,094.62	$10,987.74 CRC5,626,141.45	-2.5%
Average			-1.5%

Santa Ana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Santa Ana	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.92 CRC1,492.68	$2.73 CRC1,396.41	-6.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.69 CRC1,887.98	$3.65 CRC1,871.11	-0.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.05 CRC2,587.31	$4.58 CRC2,346.32	-9.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$97.94 CRC50,146.76	$59.46 CRC30,446.07	-39.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.72 CRC4,975.59	$8.63 CRC4,416.79	-11.2%
Average			-13.4%

Santa Ana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.1% less for clothing

	Santa Ana	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.45 CRC37,610.07	$65.32 CRC33,448.19	-11.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.76 CRC25,990.33	$44.54 CRC22,806.35	-12.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$119.85 CRC61,365.64	$110.39 CRC56,521.58	-7.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.18 CRC60,000.24	$97.22 CRC49,778.72	-17.0%
Average			-12.1%

Santa Ana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing

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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: April 2025

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