Cost of living comparison

compared to
Costa Rica vs. Texas Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 17.3% cheaper than Texas.

Restaurants
pay 22.1% less in Costa Rica
Groceries
pay 8.7% less in Costa Rica
Transportation
pay 14.7% more in Costa Rica
Housing
pay 47.6% less in Costa Rica
Childcare
pay 50.3% less in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports
pay 19.8% less in Costa Rica
Clothing
pay 12.4% more in Costa Rica

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

Costa Rica vs. Texas Cost Breakdown

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

pay 22.1% less for restaurants

 
Texas
Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.27
 
$9.75
CRC4,960.41
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.75
 
$9.08
CRC4,621.51
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.43
 
$2.01
CRC1,023.18

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pay 8.7% less for groceries

 
Texas
Costa Rica
Bread
1 loaf
$3.09
 
$2.53
CRC1,288.62
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.03
 
$3.76
CRC1,914.83
Milk (1 gallon) $3.67
 
$6.98
CRC3,550.00

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pay 14.7% more for transportation

 
Texas
Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.93
 
$5.63
CRC2,863.57
Monthly public transit pass $63.02
 
$49.00
CRC24,935.34
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,552.44
 
$35,063.37
CRC17,843,584.03

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pay 47.6% less for housing

 
Texas
Costa Rica
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$72.55
 
$48.50
CRC24,681.64
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,374.92
 
$778.04
CRC395,939.69
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,217.13
 
$547.50
CRC278,621.84

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pay 50.3% less for childcare

 
Texas
Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,230.53
 
$519.07
CRC264,151.03
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $19,254.84
 
$10,987.74
CRC5,591,610.53

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pay 19.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Texas
Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.20
 
$2.73
CRC1,387.84
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.04
 
$3.65
CRC1,859.63
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.80
 
$4.58
CRC2,331.92

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pay 12.4% more for clothing

 
Texas
Costa Rica
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.31
 
$65.32
CRC33,242.90
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.62
 
$44.54
CRC22,666.37
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.49
 
$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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