Colombia vs Costa Rica

Compare PPP-adjusted average wages, long-term wage trends and consumer price levels using consistent OECD data.

Country A

Country B

Wage data: 2024 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Colombia

Average wage (2024)

$30,133

1-year change: +1.9%
5-year change: −3.9%

Overall price level (2024)

32.6 (United States = 100)

Costa Rica's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 47.4% higher than Colombia's.

Costa Rica

Average wage (2024)

$44,431

1-year change: 0.0%
5-year change: +4.9%

Overall price level (2024)

61.3 (United States = 100)

Costa Rica has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 47.4% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Costa Rica shows the stronger change (+4.9% against −3.9%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Costa Rica, at 61.3 against 32.6 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +28.7 index points. Both wage figures are for 2024 and the price levels for 2024, so the two economies are read at the same point in each series.

Wage History

See how PPP-adjusted average annual wages have changed in both economies.

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)

ColombiaCosta Rica

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Colombia	Costa Rica
Latest wage	$30,133	$44,431
Latest year	2024	2024
1-year change	+1.9%	0.0%
5-year change	−3.9%	+4.9%
10-year change	+2.4%	+21.9%
Historical peak	$35,659	$46,398
Peak year	2020	2020
Change from peak	−15.5%	−4.2%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Costa Rica records the higher figure: $44,431 against $30,133, a gap of 47.4%. A difference of that size is one of the wider ones in this dataset, and it holds after the PPP adjustment has already removed price level differences between the two.

Both figures are for 2024, so this is a like-for-like comparison of the same year rather than of two different latest points.

Both use the same basis: PPP-adjusted US dollars at constant prices. That conversion strips out the price level differences between the two economies, which is what makes the two figures comparable at all — neither is a local-currency salary, and neither is what an employer in that country would write on a contract.

Recent Momentum

Colombia had the stronger latest year (+1.9% against 0.0%).

Both moved up in the latest year, which leaves the ordering between them unchanged.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Costa Rica: +4.9% against −3.9%.

For both, the latest year runs against the five-year direction — a short-term move that the medium-term series does not yet reflect.

Long-Term Direction

Across ten years both series are up — +2.4% for Colombia and +21.9% for Costa Rica. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

Neither is at its peak: Colombia is 15.5% from its 2020 high and Costa Rica 4.2% from its 2020 high. Both series have retreated from an earlier maximum.

The gap has been widening rather than closing over the five-year window: the economy that already reported the higher wage is also the one growing faster.

Consumer Price Level Comparison

Compare eight consumer price categories with the United States benchmark of 100.

United States = 100
Missing values are shown as -

All differences are shown in index points. United States = 100.

Category	Colombia	Costa Rica	Difference (COL − CRI)	COL vs U.S.	CRI vs U.S.
Overall	32.6	61.3	−28.7	−67.4	−38.7
Food	65.4	107	−41.6	−34.6	+7.0
Clothing	60.4	78.4	−18.0	−39.6	−21.6
Housing	26.6	30.5	−3.9	−73.4	−69.5
Health	18.6	67	−48.4	−81.4	−33.0
Transport	49.8	86.3	−36.5	−50.2	−13.7
Recreation	47.8	79.2	−31.4	−52.2	−20.8
Restaurants & Accommodation	40.5	73.8	−33.3	−59.5	−26.2

Overall
Colombia32.6
Costa Rica61.3
Difference−28.7
COL vs U.S.−67.4
CRI vs U.S.−38.7
Food
Colombia65.4
Costa Rica107
Difference−41.6
COL vs U.S.−34.6
CRI vs U.S.+7.0
Clothing
Colombia60.4
Costa Rica78.4
Difference−18.0
COL vs U.S.−39.6
CRI vs U.S.−21.6
Housing
Colombia26.6
Costa Rica30.5
Difference−3.9
COL vs U.S.−73.4
CRI vs U.S.−69.5
Health
Colombia18.6
Costa Rica67
Difference−48.4
COL vs U.S.−81.4
CRI vs U.S.−33.0
Transport
Colombia49.8
Costa Rica86.3
Difference−36.5
COL vs U.S.−50.2
CRI vs U.S.−13.7
Recreation
Colombia47.8
Costa Rica79.2
Difference−31.4
COL vs U.S.−52.2
CRI vs U.S.−20.8
Restaurants & Accommodation
Colombia40.5
Costa Rica73.8
Difference−33.3
COL vs U.S.−59.5
CRI vs U.S.−26.2

Colombia and Costa Rica in Detail

Current Wage Position

Colombia reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $30,133 for 2024, and Costa Rica $44,431 for 2024. That puts Costa Rica ahead by 47.4%.

Both figures are PPP-adjusted: converted using purchasing power parities rather than market exchange rates, and expressed in constant prices so different years stay comparable.

This matters for reading the gap. A market-rate conversion would move with currency markets and would not reflect what the money buys in each economy. These figures are built to compare purchasing power, not to tell you what a currency transfer would be worth.

Recent Wage Momentum

In the latest reported year Colombia changed by +1.9% and Costa Rica by 0.0%. A single year is a narrow window, so it is worth reading alongside the five-year figure rather than on its own.

Over five years, Costa Rica records the larger change at +4.9%, against −3.9% for Colombia. That is the difference in how far each series has travelled over the medium term, in real PPP-adjusted terms.

Short-term and five-year movement point the same way for both economies, so neither is currently being pulled against its own medium-term direction.

Long-Term Wage Direction

Across ten years the changes are +2.4% for Colombia and +21.9% for Costa Rica. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Colombia reached its highest recorded value of $35,659 in 2020, and the latest figure sits 15.5% from that high.

Costa Rica peaked at $46,398 in 2020, leaving its latest value 4.2% away from that point.

Both long-term series move the same way, so the difference between these two economies is one of degree over ten years rather than of direction.

Consumer Price Profile

Against the United States benchmark of 100, overall consumption sits at 32.6 in Colombia and 61.3 in Costa Rica — −28.7 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Health (−48.4) and Food (−41.6).

Housing is where they are nearest, at 26.6 and 30.5.

Across the categories with data, Costa Rica is the more expensive of the two more often than not.

How to Interpret the Comparison

These are average wages, not median wages, and not take-home pay. An average is pulled by the whole distribution, so it does not describe a typical individual, occupation, city or employer in either economy.

The wage figures are already PPP-adjusted and in constant prices. They are not local-currency salaries and not amounts convertible at a market exchange rate.

The price levels are relative indices against United States = 100. They describe how price levels compare, not what a household actually spends.

Wages and price levels should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better. This page is for understanding how the two wage trends and price structures differ — nothing further follows from it.