Costa Rica, San Jose

Overview

Costa Rica, San Jose San Jose is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. San Jose is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of Costa Rica.

Costa Rica is in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama. The climate is tropical and subtropical but cooler in the highlands.

The official language is Spanish. Many business people and officials speak English. For business dealings visitors may require fluent Spanish or need to use an interpreter. The main religion is Christianity.

The economy of Costa Rica heavily depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been reduced over the past 15 years, and a social safety net put into place.

Costa Ricans generally welcome expatriates, especially related to foreign investment. It is advisable to address people using their professional title, or by either Senor (Mr), Senora (Mrs), or Senorita (Ms) and their surname. Expatriate business dress tends to be conservative. Men mostly wear darker shade suits, and women usually wear either a dress or a long skirt with a blouse. Women are prominent at all levels of business and public life.

The security risk for expatriates in Costa Rica is low, but medium for Limón province and along the Nicaraguan border. Risks include petty crime such as pickpocketing and mugging, as well as house and car related theft. Crime in Costa Rica carries the additional risk of violence involving firearms and less often kidnapping, particularly of wealthy nationals.

The currency of Costa Rica is the Costa Rican Colon (CRC).

Medical facilities are generally good, however emergency services in remote areas may vary. Emergency medical treatment is provided without charge for visitors, however any other treatment is charged. Cases of Chikungunya virus and Zika virus have been reported. Dengue is present.

The population of San Jose is 2.2 Million (Metro) (2019 est.), while the inflation rate (CPI) is 2.07% for Costa Rica as at October 2019.

Xpatulator Hypothetical Tax for Costa Rica is based on the current personal income tax rates which are progressive up to 25%.

Cost Of Living

The cost of living for expatriates / professional migrants in San Jose as at 1 October 2019 is average in comparison to other places in the world.

We have collected prices for the same items, world wide, and converted them to $USD so that we can compare the cost of 13 different baskets in 780 global locations. For each basket, compared to New York, the equivalent cost in San Jose is as follows:
1) Alcohol (where available) & Tobacco: for items such as beer, spirits, wine and tobacco related products such as cigarettes. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$780
2) Clothing: for items such as business, casual and children's clothing and footwear. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$850
3) Communication: for various communication costs such as home telephone rental, internet subscription, mobile service provider tariff and data costs. A basket costing USD$200 in New York costs USD$152
4) Education: for items such as creche / pre-school fees, primary school fees, high school fees and tertiary study fees. A basket costing USD$30000 in New York costs USD$19800
5) Furniture & Appliances: for items such as dining table and chairs, home entertainment, kitchen appliances, and sofas. A basket costing USD$2500 in New York costs USD$2475
6) Groceries: for items such as consumables, cleaning products, dairy, fresh fruit & vegetables, general food products, snacks, soft drinks. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$730
7) Healthcare: for general heath care, doctor visits, hospital stays, non-prescription medicine, and medical insurance. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$650
8) Household Accommodation: for items such as apartment rent, house rent, property purchase, mortgage rate, and utilities. A basket costing USD$5000 in New York costs USD$3100
9) Miscellaneous: for items such as dry cleaning, linen, magazines, newspapers, office supplies, and postage stamps. A basket costing USD$500 in New York costs USD$375
10) Personal Care: for items such as cosmetics, hair care, and toiletries. A basket costing USD$500 in New York costs USD$300
11) Recreation & Culture: for items such as books, cinema, sport and theatre tickets. A basket costing USD$500 in New York costs USD$365
12) Restaurants Meals Out and Hotels: for items such as hotel daily room rates, meals and beverages in a restaurant, and take away food and beverages. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$590
13) Transport: for items such as fuel (petrol/gasoline), car hire, public transport, vehicle purchase and maintenance. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$700

San Jose is 13.9% more expensive than Houston TX for groceries, 44.5% more expensive for household costs than Kuala Lumpur, and 18.1% more expensive for transport costs than Dubai.

San Jose is ranked as a high degree of hardship location.

The hardship premium for San Jose for an expat from Perth, is for example 20%, i.e. host location (San Jose) premium of 30% minus home (Perth) location premium of 10%.

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The cost of living for expatriates / professional migrants in San Jose as at 1 October 2019 is average in comparison to other places in the world.

San Jose is ranked as a high degree of hardship location.