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Costa Rica vs Portugal

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

Costa Rica wage data: 2024 · Portugal 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)

Portugal's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 1.1% higher than Costa Rica's.

Latest available wage years differ.

Portugal flagPortugal

Average wage (2025)

$44,937

1-year change
+1.8%
5-year change
+13.9%

Overall price level (2024)

55.7 (United States = 100)

Portugal has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 1.1% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Portugal shows the stronger change (+13.9% against +4.9%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Costa Rica, at 61.3 against 55.7 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +5.6 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 RicaPortugal
$35,000$40,000$45,000$50,000201420162018202020222025

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

MetricCosta RicaPortugal
Latest wage$44,431$44,937
Latest year20242025
1-year change0.0%+1.8%
5-year change+4.9%+13.9%
10-year change+21.9%+23.1%
Historical peak$46,398$44,937
Peak year20202025
Change from peak−4.2%0.0%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Costa Rica and Portugal sit close together. Costa Rica reports $44,431 for 2024 and Portugal $44,937 for 2025 — a difference of 1.1%, small enough that the two read as comparable rather than ranked.

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

Portugal had the stronger latest year (+1.8% 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 Portugal: +13.9% against +4.9%.

This is where the two separate: Costa Rica's latest year runs against its own five-year direction, while Portugal'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 +23.1% for Portugal. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

Portugal 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.

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 RicaPortugalDifference (CRI − PRT)CRI vs U.S.PRT vs U.S.
Overall61.355.7+5.6−38.7−44.3
Food10787.6+19.4+7.0−12.4
Clothing78.482.4−4.0−21.6−17.6
Housing30.544.7−14.2−69.5−55.3
Health6739.5+27.5−33.0−60.5
Transport86.392−5.7−13.7−8.0
Recreation79.266.5+12.7−20.8−33.5
Restaurants & Accommodation73.861.7+12.1−26.2−38.3

  • Overall

    Costa Rica61.3
    Portugal55.7
    Difference+5.6
    CRI vs U.S.−38.7
    PRT vs U.S.−44.3

  • Food

    Costa Rica107
    Portugal87.6
    Difference+19.4
    CRI vs U.S.+7.0
    PRT vs U.S.−12.4

  • Clothing

    Costa Rica78.4
    Portugal82.4
    Difference−4.0
    CRI vs U.S.−21.6
    PRT vs U.S.−17.6

  • Housing

    Costa Rica30.5
    Portugal44.7
    Difference−14.2
    CRI vs U.S.−69.5
    PRT vs U.S.−55.3

  • Health

    Costa Rica67
    Portugal39.5
    Difference+27.5
    CRI vs U.S.−33.0
    PRT vs U.S.−60.5

  • Transport

    Costa Rica86.3
    Portugal92
    Difference−5.7
    CRI vs U.S.−13.7
    PRT vs U.S.−8.0

  • Recreation

    Costa Rica79.2
    Portugal66.5
    Difference+12.7
    CRI vs U.S.−20.8
    PRT vs U.S.−33.5

  • Restaurants & Accommodation

    Costa Rica73.8
    Portugal61.7
    Difference+12.1
    CRI vs U.S.−26.2
    PRT vs U.S.−38.3

Costa Rica and Portugal in Detail

Current Wage Position

Costa Rica reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $44,431 for 2024, and Portugal $44,937 for 2025. That puts Portugal ahead by 1.1%.

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 Portugal by +1.8%. 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, Portugal records the larger change at +13.9%, 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 +23.1% for Portugal. 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.

Portugal peaked at $44,937 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 55.7 in Portugal — +5.6 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Health (+27.5) and Food (+19.4).

Clothing is where they are nearest, at 78.4 and 82.4.

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