Japan vs Costa Rica

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

Country A

Country B

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

Comparison Overview

Japan

Average wage (2025)

$50,183

1-year change: −0.5%
5-year change: −2.2%

Overall price level (2024)

59.2 (United States = 100)

Japan's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 12.9% higher than Costa Rica's.

Latest available wage years differ.

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)

Japan has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 12.9% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Costa Rica shows the stronger change (+4.9% against −2.2%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Costa Rica, at 61.3 against 59.2 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +2.1 index points. The wage figures come from different years (2025 and 2024) 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)

JapanCosta Rica

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Japan	Costa Rica
Latest wage	$50,183	$44,431
Latest year	2025	2024
1-year change	−0.5%	0.0%
5-year change	−2.2%	+4.9%
10-year change	−1.6%	+21.9%
Historical peak	$52,662	$46,398
Peak year	1997	2020
Change from peak	−4.7%	−4.2%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Japan records the higher figure: $50,183 against $44,431, a gap of 12.9%. 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 — Japan in 2025, Costa Rica in 2024 — 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 −0.5%).

Japan 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 −2.2%.

This is where the two separate: Costa Rica's latest year runs against its own five-year direction, while Japan'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: −1.6% for Japan against +21.9% for Costa Rica. 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: Japan is 4.7% from its 1997 high and Costa Rica 4.2% from its 2020 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	Japan	Costa Rica	Difference (JPN − CRI)	JPN vs U.S.	CRI vs U.S.
Overall	59.2	61.3	−2.1	−40.8	−38.7
Food	112	107	+5.0	+12.0	+7.0
Clothing	71	78.4	−7.4	−29.0	−21.6
Housing	48.5	30.5	+18.0	−51.5	−69.5
Health	33.9	67	−33.1	−66.1	−33.0
Transport	84.4	86.3	−1.9	−15.6	−13.7
Recreation	78.4	79.2	−0.8	−21.6	−20.8
Restaurants & Accommodation	72.6	73.8	−1.2	−27.4	−26.2

Overall
Japan59.2
Costa Rica61.3
Difference−2.1
JPN vs U.S.−40.8
CRI vs U.S.−38.7
Food
Japan112
Costa Rica107
Difference+5.0
JPN vs U.S.+12.0
CRI vs U.S.+7.0
Clothing
Japan71
Costa Rica78.4
Difference−7.4
JPN vs U.S.−29.0
CRI vs U.S.−21.6
Housing
Japan48.5
Costa Rica30.5
Difference+18.0
JPN vs U.S.−51.5
CRI vs U.S.−69.5
Health
Japan33.9
Costa Rica67
Difference−33.1
JPN vs U.S.−66.1
CRI vs U.S.−33.0
Transport
Japan84.4
Costa Rica86.3
Difference−1.9
JPN vs U.S.−15.6
CRI vs U.S.−13.7
Recreation
Japan78.4
Costa Rica79.2
Difference−0.8
JPN vs U.S.−21.6
CRI vs U.S.−20.8
Restaurants & Accommodation
Japan72.6
Costa Rica73.8
Difference−1.2
JPN vs U.S.−27.4
CRI vs U.S.−26.2

Japan and Costa Rica in Detail

Current Wage Position

Japan reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $50,183 for 2025, and Costa Rica $44,431 for 2024. That puts Japan ahead by 12.9%.

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 Japan changed by −0.5% 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 −2.2% for Japan. 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 −1.6% for Japan 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.

Japan reached its highest recorded value of $52,662 in 1997, and the latest figure sits 4.7% from that high.

Costa Rica peaked at $46,398 in 2020, leaving its latest value 4.2% 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 59.2 in Japan and 61.3 in Costa Rica — −2.1 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Health (−33.1) and Housing (+18.0).

Recreation is where they are nearest, at 78.4 and 79.2.

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.