Costa Rica vs Greece

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 · Greece wage data: 2025 · 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 37.1% higher than Greece's.

Latest available wage years differ.

Greece

Average wage (2025)

$32,412

1-year change: −0.3%
5-year change: −0.3%

Overall price level (2024)

54.7 (United States = 100)

Costa Rica has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 37.1% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Costa Rica shows the stronger change (+4.9% against −0.3%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Costa Rica, at 61.3 against 54.7 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +6.6 index points. The wage figures come from different years (2024 and 2025) 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 RicaGreece

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Costa Rica	Greece
Latest wage	$44,431	$32,412
Latest year	2024	2025
1-year change	0.0%	−0.3%
5-year change	+4.9%	−0.3%
10-year change	+21.9%	−6.0%
Historical peak	$46,398	$44,174
Peak year	2020	2009
Change from peak	−4.2%	−26.6%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Costa Rica records the higher figure: $44,431 against $32,412, a gap of 37.1%. 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.

The two are measured in different years — Costa Rica in 2024, Greece in 2025 — 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

Costa Rica had the stronger latest year (0.0% against −0.3%).

Greece was the one that fell, while Costa Rica rose, so the latest year moved them apart rather than together.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Costa Rica: +4.9% against −0.3%.

This is where the two separate: Costa Rica's latest year runs against its own five-year direction, while Greece'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 −6.0% for Greece. 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 Greece 26.6% from its 2009 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	Costa Rica	Greece	Difference (CRI − GRC)	CRI vs U.S.	GRC vs U.S.
Overall	61.3	54.7	+6.6	−38.7	−45.3
Food	107	91.1	+15.9	+7.0	−8.9
Clothing	78.4	80.9	−2.5	−21.6	−19.1
Housing	30.5	40.7	−10.2	−69.5	−59.3
Health	67	38.1	+28.9	−33.0	−61.9
Transport	86.3	93.4	−7.1	−13.7	−6.6
Recreation	79.2	66.5	+12.7	−20.8	−33.5
Restaurants & Accommodation	73.8	71.3	+2.5	−26.2	−28.7

Overall
Costa Rica61.3
Greece54.7
Difference+6.6
CRI vs U.S.−38.7
GRC vs U.S.−45.3
Food
Costa Rica107
Greece91.1
Difference+15.9
CRI vs U.S.+7.0
GRC vs U.S.−8.9
Clothing
Costa Rica78.4
Greece80.9
Difference−2.5
CRI vs U.S.−21.6
GRC vs U.S.−19.1
Housing
Costa Rica30.5
Greece40.7
Difference−10.2
CRI vs U.S.−69.5
GRC vs U.S.−59.3
Health
Costa Rica67
Greece38.1
Difference+28.9
CRI vs U.S.−33.0
GRC vs U.S.−61.9
Transport
Costa Rica86.3
Greece93.4
Difference−7.1
CRI vs U.S.−13.7
GRC vs U.S.−6.6
Recreation
Costa Rica79.2
Greece66.5
Difference+12.7
CRI vs U.S.−20.8
GRC vs U.S.−33.5
Restaurants & Accommodation
Costa Rica73.8
Greece71.3
Difference+2.5
CRI vs U.S.−26.2
GRC vs U.S.−28.7

Costa Rica and Greece in Detail

Current Wage Position

Costa Rica reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $44,431 for 2024, and Greece $32,412 for 2025. That puts Costa Rica ahead by 37.1%.

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 Greece by −0.3%. 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, Costa Rica records the larger change at +4.9%, against −0.3% for Greece. 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 −6.0% for Greece. 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.

Greece peaked at $44,174 in 2009, leaving its latest value 26.6% 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 54.7 in Greece — +6.6 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Health (+28.9) and Food (+15.9).

Restaurants & Accommodation is where they are nearest, at 73.8 and 71.3.

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.