Points Frog guide
Costa Rica vs United States
The United States' GDP per person at PPP is 2.7 times Costa Rica's, and a dollar goes 69% further in Costa Rica.
Compare two countries
A UN member state, or a continent's average.
The page updates.
In US dollars, spent in each country.
$100 spent in Costa Rica buys about what
$169
buys in the United States, at purchasing power parity
And $100 in the United States buys what $59.06 buys in Costa Rica. Prices across Costa Rica's economy average 59% of the United States', so a dollar goes 69% further in Costa Rica.
| Measure | Costa Rica | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | ||
| Population | 5.15 million | 341.8 million |
| GDPUS dollars, market exchange rates | $103 billion | $30.8 trillion |
| GDP per personUS dollars | $19,970 | $90,027 |
| GDP per person at PPPInternational dollars | $33,815 | $90,027 |
| Prices | ||
| Price levelUS prices = 100% | 59% | 100% |
| A US dollar goes as far as | $1.69 in the US | $1.00 in the US |
| Income | ||
| Median income or consumptionPer person, international dollars | $23.39 a day2025 survey · $8,537 a year · income | $72.07 a day2024 survey · $26,306 a year · income |
More figures: GDP at PPP, conversion factor and GNI
| Measure | Costa Rica | United States |
|---|---|---|
| GDP at PPPInternational dollars | $174 billion | $30.8 trillion |
| PPP conversion factorLocal currency per international dollar | 297.4Costa Rican colon | 1.000U.S. dollar |
| GNI per person, Atlas methodUS dollars | $17,930 | $88,810 |
| GNI per person at PPPInternational dollars | $30,760 | $89,490 |
World Bank income groups: Costa Rica, high income; United States, high income.
- Costa Rica
- United States
Year-by-year table
| Year | Costa Rica | United States |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $28,443 | $76,931 |
| 2024 | $27,325 | $75,698 |
| 2023 | $26,379 | $74,352 |
| 2022 | $25,290 | $72,829 |
| 2021 | $24,084 | $71,441 |
| 2020 | $22,368 | $67,407 |
| 2019 | $23,497 | $69,121 |
| 2018 | $23,070 | $67,728 |
| 2017 | $22,634 | $66,164 |
| 2016 | $21,936 | $65,026 |
| 2015 | $21,265 | $64,368 |
| 2014 | $20,735 | $63,027 |
| 2013 | $20,242 | $61,967 |
| 2012 | $19,971 | $61,142 |
| 2011 | $19,264 | $60,253 |
| 2010 | $18,670 | $59,797 |
| 2009 | $17,942 | $58,722 |
| 2008 | $18,343 | $60,806 |
| 2007 | $17,752 | $61,314 |
| 2006 | $16,628 | $60,684 |
| 2005 | $15,712 | $59,612 |
| 2004 | $15,331 | $58,139 |
| 2003 | $14,899 | $56,505 |
| 2002 | $14,503 | $55,443 |
| 2001 | $14,258 | $55,024 |
| 2000 | $14,026 | $55,046 |
World Bank figures, updated October 8, 2026. An educational estimate, not financial advice.
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<script async src="https://www.pointsfrog.com/embed.js"></script>Costa Rica vs United States: questions
Is Costa Rica richer than the United States?
Costa Rica's GDP per person at purchasing power parity was $33,815 in 2025, 38% of the United States' $90,027, so the United States is the richer of the two by this measure. At market exchange rates, GDP per person was $19,970 in Costa Rica and $90,027 in the United States. Costa Rica ranks 65th and the United States 9th of the 186 countries with figures.
How far does a dollar go in Costa Rica compared with the United States?
Prices across Costa Rica's economy averaged 59% of the United States' in 2025, so $100 spent in Costa Rica buys about what $169 buys in the United States, and a dollar goes 69% further in Costa Rica. The World Bank's PPP conversion factor was 297.4 (Costa Rican colon) per international dollar in Costa Rica and 1.000 (U.S. dollar) in the United States.
How big is Costa Rica's economy compared with the United States'?
In 2025, Costa Rica's GDP was $103 billion at market exchange rates and $174 billion at PPP; the United States' GDP was $30.8 trillion at market exchange rates and $30.8 trillion at PPP. At market rates Costa Rica's economy is 0% of the United States', and at PPP 1%. Costa Rica has 5.15 million people and the United States 341.8 million.
Do people earn more in Costa Rica or the United States?
In 2025, gross national income per person by the World Bank's Atlas method was $17,930 in Costa Rica and $88,810 in the United States; at PPP it was $30,760 and $89,490. The World Bank classes both as high income. In household surveys, the median person's income was $23.39 a day ($8,537 a year) in Costa Rica, from a 2025 survey, and $72.07 a day ($26,306 a year) in the United States, from a 2024 survey, in 2021 international dollars.
How has GDP per person changed since 2000?
After inflation, GDP per person at PPP grew 103% in Costa Rica from 2000 to 2025, 2.9% a year, and grew 40% in the United States, 1.3% a year. Costa Rica's was 25% of the United States' in 2000 and 37% in 2025.
What is purchasing power parity (PPP)?
A rate that converts money between countries by what it buys rather than by the exchange rate. An international dollar buys in any country what a US dollar buys in the United States. The World Bank's International Comparison Program prices the same goods and services around the world to set these rates, so GDP at PPP compares how much economies actually produce, without exchange rate swings or price gaps.
What's the difference between GDP and GNI?
GDP is the value of everything produced inside a country. GNI, gross national income, adds income residents earn abroad and takes away income sent to foreign owners and workers. They differ most where foreign companies or workers take a large share, as in Ireland or Luxembourg, so GNI per person is closer to what a country's residents earn.
What is the World Bank Atlas method?
A way of converting GNI to US dollars that averages a country's exchange rate over three years, adjusted for inflation, so one year's currency swing doesn't jump it from one income group to another. The World Bank uses it to sort countries into low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high income each July.
Why is the median income missing or old for some countries?
Median income or consumption comes from household surveys, which most countries run every few years and some haven't run in a long time. Many lower-income countries measure what households spend rather than what they earn. This page shows the latest survey from the past 15 years in the World Bank's Poverty and Inequality Platform, with its year, and says when there isn't one.
Where do these figures come from?
From the World Bank's World Development Indicators, last updated October 8, 2026, with figures through 2025, and median income or consumption from its Poverty and Inequality Platform (September 22, 2026 release). Each figure is the latest the World Bank has for that country, from 2015 on; an older one is left out. The IMF publishes its own estimates, which usually differ by a few percent.
Is this comparison financial advice?
No. It's an educational comparison of official statistics. A country's average price level covers its whole economy, so your own costs in either place depend on where you live and what you buy.
How does the comparison work?
- GDP and GNI in US dollars use market exchange rates; at PPP they use the World Bank's purchasing power parities, in international dollars.
- The price level is a country's GDP at market rates divided by its GDP at PPP: its prices against US prices, across the whole economy, not just what households buy. What $100 buys elsewhere is $100 times the ratio of the two price levels.
- GNI per person uses the Atlas method, the measure behind the World Bank's income groups.
- The chart is GDP per person at PPP in constant 2021 international dollars, so it shows growth after inflation.
- Figures: World Development Indicators, updated October 8, 2026; median income or consumption: Poverty and Inequality Platform, September 22, 2026 release. Series: GDP, GDP at PPP, GDP per person at PPP, PPP conversion factor, GNI per person (Atlas), GNI per person at PPP.