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Costa Rica vs Poland

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

Costa Rica wage data: 2024 · Poland wage data: 2025 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Costa Rica flagCosta 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)

Poland's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 10.5% higher than Costa Rica's.

Latest available wage years differ.

Poland flagPoland

Average wage (2025)

$49,074

1-year change
+4.6%
5-year change
+16.4%

Overall price level (2024)

45.7 (United States = 100)

Poland has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 10.5% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Poland shows the stronger change (+16.4% against +4.9%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Costa Rica, at 61.3 against 45.7 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +15.6 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 RicaPoland
$30,000$35,000$40,000$45,000$50,000$55,000201420162018202020222025

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

MetricCosta RicaPoland
Latest wage$44,431$49,074
Latest year20242025
1-year change0.0%+4.6%
5-year change+4.9%+16.4%
10-year change+21.9%+42.0%
Historical peak$46,398$49,074
Peak year20202025
Change from peak−4.2%0.0%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Poland records the higher figure: $49,074 against $44,431, a gap of 10.5%. 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, Poland 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

Poland had the stronger latest year (+4.6% 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 Poland: +16.4% against +4.9%.

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

Long-Term Direction

Across ten years both series are up — +21.9% for Costa Rica and +42.0% for Poland. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

Poland is at its historical peak in the latest year, while Costa Rica sits 4.2% from its high of 2020. One has recovered its previous ground and the other has not.

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.

CategoryCosta RicaPolandDifference (CRI − POL)CRI vs U.S.POL vs U.S.
Overall61.345.7+15.6−38.7−54.3
Food10774.5+32.5+7.0−25.5
Clothing78.491.2−12.8−21.6−8.8
Housing30.527.7+2.8−69.5−72.3
Health6729.3+37.7−33.0−70.7
Transport86.381.9+4.4−13.7−18.1
Recreation79.258.1+21.1−20.8−41.9
Restaurants & Accommodation73.877.2−3.4−26.2−22.8

  • Overall

    Costa Rica61.3
    Poland45.7
    Difference+15.6
    CRI vs U.S.−38.7
    POL vs U.S.−54.3

  • Food

    Costa Rica107
    Poland74.5
    Difference+32.5
    CRI vs U.S.+7.0
    POL vs U.S.−25.5

  • Clothing

    Costa Rica78.4
    Poland91.2
    Difference−12.8
    CRI vs U.S.−21.6
    POL vs U.S.−8.8

  • Housing

    Costa Rica30.5
    Poland27.7
    Difference+2.8
    CRI vs U.S.−69.5
    POL vs U.S.−72.3

  • Health

    Costa Rica67
    Poland29.3
    Difference+37.7
    CRI vs U.S.−33.0
    POL vs U.S.−70.7

  • Transport

    Costa Rica86.3
    Poland81.9
    Difference+4.4
    CRI vs U.S.−13.7
    POL vs U.S.−18.1

  • Recreation

    Costa Rica79.2
    Poland58.1
    Difference+21.1
    CRI vs U.S.−20.8
    POL vs U.S.−41.9

  • Restaurants & Accommodation

    Costa Rica73.8
    Poland77.2
    Difference−3.4
    CRI vs U.S.−26.2
    POL vs U.S.−22.8

Costa Rica and Poland in Detail

Current Wage Position

Costa Rica reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $44,431 for 2024, and Poland $49,074 for 2025. That puts Poland ahead by 10.5%.

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 Poland by +4.6%. 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, Poland records the larger change at +16.4%, 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 +42.0% for Poland. 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.

Poland peaked at $49,074 in 2025, leaving its latest value 0.0% 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 61.3 in Costa Rica and 45.7 in Poland — +15.6 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Health (+37.7) and Food (+32.5).

Housing is where they are nearest, at 30.5 and 27.7.

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.

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Latest data check

May 15, 2025