What does Costa Rica cost?
The sourced primitives, the categories the public data could not cite, and an honest read on what the affordability grade can and cannot say yet.
On the documented formula Costa Rica lands at 41% of a comparable US city. Housing and daily living are Numbeo USD primitives; Food is the Numbeo Groceries Index (59.2) converted to dollars at the disclosed site-wide anchor; Healthcare is the WHO out-of-pocket figure ($23/mo per person) — not an insurance premium. PPP cross-check (World Bank price-level ratio, 2024) is 0.62, consistent with the read.
Numbeo "Apartment 1BR City Centre" $925.29/mo (USD-served via displayCurrency=USD).
The cross-market Food instrument is the Numbeo Groceries Index 59.2 (New York = 100), converted to a monthly USD figure by the single disclosed anchor described on the methodology page → $584/mo.
Average out-of-pocket health spending per person — WHO Global Health Expenditure Database, out-of-pocket expenditure per capita (current US$), indicator SH.XPD.OOPC.PC.CD: Costa Rica $280.66/yr (2023, latest available) ÷ 12 = $23.39/mo.
Numbeo (USD-served): basic utilities 85m² $95.80 + internet 60Mbps $60.27 + monthly transit pass $66.01 = $222.08/mo..
Five markets with the closest composite scores.
Anchors held constant across every country page.
One market read, one process explainer, one number to know.
Free, no sponsors. Cross-border property and retirement, written for North American buyers.