Cost Of Living In Costa Rica
How much does it cost to live in Costa Rica?
Plan to spend $1,100 for very tight budgets, up to $4,000 for mid-range expats. This averages living costs across many months—you may spend more getting set up. An expat can average $1,100 per month on a tight budget, but even the most budget-conscious retirees and digital nomads will do best with a $2,000+ a month budget for a couple.
Cost of Living in Costa
Rica:
4 Basic Budgets
$1,000/Month Both for legal residency (specifically, pensionado, residency for retirees and other pension recipients) and for general cost of living purposes, $1,000/ month is about as rock bottom a budget as you can reasonably expect. A budget of $1,000/month. You can rent in a very modest (and likely, rural) home, groceries (which you’ll have to plan wisely) a public CCSS (Caja) healthcare payment (but no private insurance) and modest utilities: electricity (but don’t use air conditioning or a dryer) internet.
$1,500-$2,500/month.This budget transitions you into the middle-class category: Depending on the size of your family, you can probably afford extras and some little luxuries, but you won’t be living large. It’s also a minimum budget for families: If there are more than two people in your household, you’ll really want to hit at least the $1,500/month minimum to cover your needs.
For $1,500-$2,500/month, you can rent a more spacious home (Central Valley or rural) or a beach condo, and you can afford to splash out on your pick of imported groceries, dining out, and frequent recreation/local travel. You may buy a car, but it’s probably an older model. You can run your a/c and dry your clothes in the dryer.
$2,500-$4,000/Month This is what most Costa Rican residents would call a happy medium, especially for social butterflies and families with school-age children. In other words, if you love to dine out frequently, enjoy drinks + live music, and spend your weekends exploring, or if you have growing mouths to feed (and educate), then this budget range is where you begin to feel like you can breathe a little.
$2,500-$4,000 a month, you can more easily rent a spacious home or luxury beach condo, can up your food budget to include restaurant meals and imported groceries, and won’t worry about paying utilities. You can also buy a car.
$5,000-$7,500+/month. The hard truth is that cost of living in Costa Rica isn’t as low as it used to be. What’s more, depending on where you’re from and your lifestyle, the cost of living may be higher than “back home.” By way of example, while many English-speaking families send their kids public schools “back home,” they often opt for bilingual private schools in Costa Rica, to ease their children’s transition to a new country, language, and culture. This very understandable choice will add $500-$1,000/month, per child, to the monthly budget.
This is where you get into truly comfortable lifestyle territory.You can afford everything you need a lot of what you want, including large homes, even at the beach. Your utilities and healthcare are covered. You own a car (or two). You can pay for private school and extracurriculars and groceries for voracious teenagers. You can travel around Costa Rica and fly “home” for special occasions.
The price of accommodation is highly dependent on what level of comfort you are looking for, alongside its vicinity to the attractions.
