Local Salaries · Costa Rica
What is a good salary in 🇨🇷 Costa Rica (San Jose)?
The median is about $1,061/month; top-10% earners clear $3,178/month.
The local wage ladder
| Band | Monthly | Annual | Local currency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survival floorsingle-person essentials | $1,287 | $15,444 | 648,001 CRC/mo |
| Statutory minimumILOSTAT statutory monthly minimum wage, 2024 (USD). | $696 | $8,352 | 350,434 CRC/mo |
| Median (p50)typical earner | $1,061 | $12,732 | 534,210 CRC/mo |
| Comfortable (p75)upper-middle | $1,890 | $22,680 | 951,609 CRC/mo |
| Top 10% (p90)high earner | $3,178 | $38,136 | 1,600,113 CRC/mo |
| Top 1% (p99)elite | $7,771 | $93,252 | 3,912,675 CRC/mo |
Modelled from World Bank GNI $17,930 (2025) and Gini 45.5. Check where you stand in the interactive benchmarker.
Countries with similar median pay
- 🇲🇪 Montenegro — median $1,063/mo
- 🇹🇷 Türkiye — median $1,076/mo
- 🇷🇺 Russia — median $1,020/mo
- 🇨🇱 Chile — median $993/mo
See also: what everyday life costs in Costa Rica
Frequently asked questions
- What is a good salary in Costa Rica?
- The median wage is about $1,061/month ($12,732/year). A "comfortable" p75 salary is around $1,890/month, and you'd be a top-10% earner above $3,178/month.
- What is a top 10% salary in Costa Rica?
- Roughly $3,178/month ($38,136/year) puts you in the top 10%; the top 1% starts near $7,771/month.
- What is the minimum wage in Costa Rica?
- About $696/month. ILOSTAT statutory monthly minimum wage, 2024 (USD).
- How are these Costa Rica salary figures calculated?
- A log-normal wage model calibrated from World Bank GNI per capita ($17,930, 2025) and the Gini index (45.5). Estimates for benchmarking, not payroll data.