Is Costa Rica a good place to live for remote workers?

Costa Rica scores 62/100 on our equal-weighted livability composite (internet 216.8 Mbps, safety 0, healthcare 84, air quality 76; English not scored) — rank 86 of 167.

How fast is the internet in Costa Rica?

Median fixed broadband is around 216.8 Mbps.

What does $3,000/month get you in Costa Rica?

Single-person essentials run about $1,287/month at local prices, so $3,000 lives "very comfortable" (2.3× essentials).

Livability · rank 86/167

Is 🇨🇷 Costa Rica (San Jose) a good place to live?

Quality score 62/100 against essentials of $1,287/month.

The five metrics

Internet 87 216.8 Mbps median broadband, 87.2% online

Safety 0 17.7 homicides/100k (2023)

Healthcare 84 UHC service coverage 84/100 (2023)

Air quality 76 PM2.5 15.6 µg/m³ (2023)

Beside the score, not inside it

Neither of these is part of the composite above, deliberately. Folding governance into a quality-of-life number would bury a political judgement where you could not see it or argue with it, and connection price is a different question from connection speed — somewhere fast and expensive and somewhere slow and cheap are different trade-offs, not one average.

Rule of law: strong; World Bank WGI estimate 0.62 · corruption control 0.68 · stability 1.18 (2024). Scale −2.5 to +2.5, higher is better.
What connectivity costs: $41.93 /mo broadband; Mobile 10GB $22.3/month. ITU price basket. The speed above is scored; this price is not.

What your budget buys

Monthly budget	vs essentials ($1,287)	Verdict
$2,000	1.6×	very comfortable
$3,000	2.3×	very comfortable
$5,000	3.9×	like royalty

Essentials from the Pint & Property basket. Rank countries by your own priorities in the interactive matrix.

🛂 Digital Nomad Visa — income floor ≈ $3,000/month. Visa finder →

Similar value-for-money

🇮🇪 Ireland — quality 92.1, essentials $1,922/mo
🇧🇪 Belgium — quality 88.4, essentials $1,851/mo
🇲🇽 Mexico — quality 53, essentials $1,122/mo
🇸🇪 Sweden — quality 91.4, essentials $1,945/mo

Frequently asked questions

Is Costa Rica a good place to live for remote workers?: Costa Rica scores 62/100 on our equal-weighted livability composite (internet 216.8 Mbps, safety 0, healthcare 84, air quality 76; English not scored) — rank 86 of 167.
How fast is the internet in Costa Rica?: Median fixed broadband is around 216.8 Mbps.
What does $3,000/month get you in Costa Rica?: Single-person essentials run about $1,287/month at local prices, so $3,000 lives "very comfortable" (2.3× essentials).