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Portugal vs Costa Rica

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

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

Comparison Overview

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

Latest available wage years differ.

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 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 (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)

PortugalCosta Rica
$35,000$40,000$45,000$50,000201420162018202020222025

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

MetricPortugalCosta Rica
Latest wage$44,937$44,431
Latest year20252024
1-year change+1.8%0.0%
5-year change+13.9%+4.9%
10-year change+23.1%+21.9%
Historical peak$44,937$46,398
Peak year20252020
Change from peak0.0%−4.2%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

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

The two are measured in different years — Portugal 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

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 — +23.1% for Portugal and +21.9% for Costa Rica. 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.

CategoryPortugalCosta RicaDifference (PRT − CRI)PRT vs U.S.CRI vs U.S.
Overall55.761.3−5.6−44.3−38.7
Food87.6107−19.4−12.4+7.0
Clothing82.478.4+4.0−17.6−21.6
Housing44.730.5+14.2−55.3−69.5
Health39.567−27.5−60.5−33.0
Transport9286.3+5.7−8.0−13.7
Recreation66.579.2−12.7−33.5−20.8
Restaurants & Accommodation61.773.8−12.1−38.3−26.2

  • Overall

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

  • Food

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

  • Clothing

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

  • Housing

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

  • Health

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

  • Transport

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

  • Recreation

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

  • Restaurants & Accommodation

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

Portugal and Costa Rica in Detail

Current Wage Position

Portugal reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $44,937 for 2025, and Costa Rica $44,431 for 2024. 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 Portugal changed by +1.8% 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, 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 +23.1% for Portugal 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.

Portugal reached its highest recorded value of $44,937 in 2025, and the latest figure sits 0.0% from that high.

Costa Rica peaked at $46,398 in 2020, leaving its latest value 4.2% 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 55.7 in Portugal and 61.3 in Costa Rica — −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 82.4 and 78.4.

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