Country Guide » Living and Working
Costa Rica is no longer dirt cheap. Taxes on imported goods put prices higher than one would expect for a developing country, but with domestic food/goods, there are still bargains to be had! Please see below a “shopping basket” of items and how they cost here in Costa Rica, to give you a comparison:
Gasoline (per gallon of regular): $5
Movie ticket: $5
Haircut (in a beauty salon): $3
Meal in inexpensive restaurant (per person): $7
Meal in midrange restaurant (per person): $16-$20
Domestic beer in bar/restaurant: $2-$3 per bottle
Domestic beer in supermarket/store: $1.50-$2 per bottle
Can of Coke: $1
Bottle of wine (imported from Chile/Argentina): $9
Box of breakfast cereal: $7
Whole chicken: $9
Carton of milk: $1.50
Domestic cheese: $5
Imported cheese: $10
Loaf of bread: $2.50
Pack of cigarettes: $2
Kilo of potatoes: $1.50
As stated above, sticking to domestic items will certainly save you money – anything imported is considered “luxury” and has the price tag to prove it. Not mentioned in the list above are fruit and vegetables, which are, on the whole, extremely cheap, given Costa Rica’s incredible fertility (pretty much anything will grow here!). Larger durable goods such as cars, TV’s etc are always at least 25% more expensive than even the neighboring countries of Nicaragua and Panama due to import taxes.
