QCOSTARICA – With 111 points, Costa Rica’s capital city, San José, is ranked sixth with the highest cost of living in Latin America in the Expatistan Cost of Living Index.
To calculate each city’s Price Index value, Expatistan starts by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city (that happens to be Prague). Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
To do this, prices of everyday products and services such as food, housing, clothing, transportation, personal care, entertainment, and public services are analyzed.
In the case of Costa Rica, the estimated cost of living, current as of Dec 2022, in the capital city is just over ¢798,000 colones for a single person and ¢1.8 million colones (US$1,338 and US$3,020, respectively at the current exchange rate) for a family of four.
This makes the cost of living in San José more expensive than in 84% of the 32 Latin American cities analyzed.
In this sense, it is 28% more expensive than Mexico City, Mexico, and 97% more expensive than Bogotá, Colombia, but less expensive than Panama City (Panama).
However, the cost of living in San José, Costa Rica, is cheaper than in 57% of cities in the World.
The Cayman Islands, Bahamas, and Barbados have the cities with the highest cost of living in the region, while Brazil and Colombia have the cheapest cities to live in.
The cities with the highest cost of living in Expatistan’s Latin America:
- Grand Cayman (Cayman Islands) 259
- Nassau (Bahamas) 185
- Bridgetown (Barbados) 144
- Montevideo (Uruguay) 131
- Panama City (Panama) 117
- San Jose, (Costa Rica) 111
- Caracas (Venezuela) 98
- Santiago (Chile) 96
- Guatemala City (Guatemala) 95
- Monterrey (Mexico) 95
- São Paulo (Brazil) 93
- San Salvador (El Salvador) 92
- Georgetown (Guyana) 90
- Quito (Ecuador) 89
- Mexico City (Mexico) 88
- Brasília (Brazil) 87
- Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 87
- Guayaquil (Ecuador) 82
- Queretaro (Mexico) 82
- Belo Horizonte (Brazil) 81
- Lima (Peru) 79
- Curitiba (Brazil) 79
- Guadalajara (Mexico) 78
- Barquisimeto (Venezuela) 75
- Puebla (Mexico) 74
- La Paz (Bolivia) 67
- Piracicaba (Brazil) 66
- Veracruz (Mexico) 65
- Guarulhos (Brazil) 62
- Asunción (Paraguay) 62
- Bogotá (Colombia) 58
- Cali (Colombia) 54
What is Expatistan?
Expatistan is a cost of living calculator that allows you to compare the cost of living between cities around the world. The comparisons allow you to get a better understanding of the cost of living of any city before you move there.
Click here for the list of all the cities in Expatistan.