Costa Rica vs Chile

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

Country A

Country B

Costa Rica wage data: 2024 · Chile wage data: 2023 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

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's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 9.4% higher than Chile's.

Latest available wage years differ.

Chile

Average wage (2023)

$40,626

1-year change: +1.3%
5-year change: +6.1%

Overall price level (2024)

42.9 (United States = 100)

Costa Rica has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 9.4% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Chile shows the stronger change (+6.1% against +4.9%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Costa Rica, at 61.3 against 42.9 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +18.4 index points. The wage figures come from different years (2024 and 2023) and the price levels from 2024, so each economy is shown at its own latest available point.

Wage History

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

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)

Costa RicaChile

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Costa Rica	Chile
Latest wage	$44,431	$40,626
Latest year	2024	2023
1-year change	0.0%	+1.3%
5-year change	+4.9%	+6.1%
10-year change	+21.9%	−6.1%
Historical peak	$46,398	$45,670
Peak year	2020	2016
Change from peak	−4.2%	−11.1%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Costa Rica records the higher figure: $44,431 against $40,626, a gap of 9.4%. The gap is clear enough to rank the two, though it says nothing about how the figure is distributed within either economy.

The two are measured in different years — Costa Rica in 2024, Chile in 2023 — so this compares each economy's latest available point rather than a single common year. Where a strict same-year ranking is needed, the all-countries table uses the latest year for which every economy reports.

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

Chile had the stronger latest year (+1.3% 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 Chile: +6.1% against +4.9%.

This is where the two separate: Costa Rica's latest year runs against its own five-year direction, while Chile's does not. Short-term and medium-term signals agree for one and conflict for the other.

Long-Term Direction

The ten-year direction splits between them: +21.9% for Costa Rica against −6.1% for Chile. One long-term series is rising while the other is not, which is a more durable difference than any single year's movement.

Neither is at its peak: Costa Rica is 4.2% from its 2020 high and Chile 11.1% from its 2016 high. Both series have retreated from an earlier maximum.

The long view and the recent one point differently here — the lower-paid of the two has been closing ground over the five-year window, so the current gap understates how the two have been moving relative to each other.

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	Costa Rica	Chile	Difference (CRI − CHL)	CRI vs U.S.	CHL vs U.S.
Overall	61.3	42.9	+18.4	−38.7	−57.1
Food	107	84.8	+22.2	+7.0	−15.2
Clothing	78.4	77.5	+0.9	−21.6	−22.5
Housing	30.5	29.6	+0.9	−69.5	−70.4
Health	67	25.8	+41.2	−33.0	−74.2
Transport	86.3	66.8	+19.5	−13.7	−33.2
Recreation	79.2	60.7	+18.5	−20.8	−39.3
Restaurants & Accommodation	73.8	61.1	+12.7	−26.2	−38.9

Overall
Costa Rica61.3
Chile42.9
Difference+18.4
CRI vs U.S.−38.7
CHL vs U.S.−57.1
Food
Costa Rica107
Chile84.8
Difference+22.2
CRI vs U.S.+7.0
CHL vs U.S.−15.2
Clothing
Costa Rica78.4
Chile77.5
Difference+0.9
CRI vs U.S.−21.6
CHL vs U.S.−22.5
Housing
Costa Rica30.5
Chile29.6
Difference+0.9
CRI vs U.S.−69.5
CHL vs U.S.−70.4
Health
Costa Rica67
Chile25.8
Difference+41.2
CRI vs U.S.−33.0
CHL vs U.S.−74.2
Transport
Costa Rica86.3
Chile66.8
Difference+19.5
CRI vs U.S.−13.7
CHL vs U.S.−33.2
Recreation
Costa Rica79.2
Chile60.7
Difference+18.5
CRI vs U.S.−20.8
CHL vs U.S.−39.3
Restaurants & Accommodation
Costa Rica73.8
Chile61.1
Difference+12.7
CRI vs U.S.−26.2
CHL vs U.S.−38.9

Costa Rica and Chile in Detail

Current Wage Position

Costa Rica reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $44,431 for 2024, and Chile $40,626 for 2023. That puts Costa Rica ahead by 9.4%.

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 Costa Rica changed by 0.0% and Chile by +1.3%. 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, Chile records the larger change at +6.1%, against +4.9% for Costa Rica. 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 +21.9% for Costa Rica and −6.1% for Chile. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Costa Rica reached its highest recorded value of $46,398 in 2020, and the latest figure sits 4.2% from that high.

Chile peaked at $45,670 in 2016, leaving its latest value 11.1% away from that point.

Over the long run the two point in opposite directions. That is the clearest structural difference between these series, and it matters more for reading them than any single year's change does.

Consumer Price Profile

Against the United States benchmark of 100, overall consumption sits at 61.3 in Costa Rica and 42.9 in Chile — +18.4 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Health (+41.2) and Food (+22.2).

Housing is where they are nearest, at 30.5 and 29.6.

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.