In Costa Rica, as of 2024, the average monthly household income was higher for employed individuals receiving their salary from work was approximately 746,553 Costa Rican colones.

Costa Rica CR: Wages Index data was reported at 137.895 2010=100 in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 135.969 2010=100 for 2016. Costa Rica CR: Wages Index data is updated yearly, averaging 87.432 2010=100 from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2017, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 137.895 2010=100 in 2017 and a record low of 35.313 2010=100 in 2000. Costa Rica CR: Wages Index data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Costa Rica – Table CR.IMF.IFS: Wages, Labour Cost and Employment Index: Annual.

The national gross income per capita in Costa Rica increased by 930 U.S. dollars (+7.2 percent) in 2023 in comparison to the previous year. Therefore, the national gross income in Costa Rica reached a peak in 2023 with 13,850 U.S. dollars. Gross national income (GNI) per capita is the total value of money received by a country, from both domestic or foreign sources, divided by the midyear population. The World Bank uses a conversion system known as the Atlas method, which implements a price adjusted, three year moving average, smoothing out fluctuations in exchange rates.Find more statistics on other topics about Costa Rica with key insights such as share of value added by the services industry to gross domestic product, value added by the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector to the gross domestic product, and value added to gross domestic product by the manufacturing sector.

Costa Rica is the country with the highest minimum monthly wage in Latin America. According to the minimum salary established by law as of January 2025, workers in the Central American country enjoy a basic monthly wage of over 726 U.S. dollars, an increase of 2.37 percent compared to the previous year. They also earn over 200 U.S. dollars more than the second place, Uruguay. On the other side of the spectrum is Venezuela, where employees are only guaranteed by law a minimum salary of 130 bolívares or little more than 2.50 dollars per month. Can Latin Americans survive on a minimum wage? Even if most countries in Latin America have instated laws to guarantee citizens a basic income, these minimum standards are often not enough to meet household needs. For instance, it was estimated that almost 25 million people in Mexico lacked basic housing services. Salary levels also vary greatly among Latin American economies. In 2020, the average net monthly salary in Mexico was barely higher than Chile's minimum wage in 2021. What can a minimum wage afford in Latin America? Latin American real wages have generally risen in the past decade. However, consumers in this region still struggle to afford non-basic goods, such as tech products. Recent estimates reveal that, in order to buy an iPhone, Brazilian residents would have to work at least two months to be able to pay for it. A gaming console, on the other hand, could easily cost a Latin American worker several minimum wages.

In Costa Rica, as of 2024, the average monthly household income reached the highest value in the Central region of the Central American country, amounting to 1,295,755 Costa Rican colones.

Uruguay was the Latin American country with the highest average monthly salary as of 2024, with a net value of around 1,088 U.S. dollars per month, followed by Costa Rica, with 947 U.S. dollars per month. Employment development areas in Latin America Following the recuperation in this sector after the job losses endured throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate persists in its endeavor to stabilize. Informal employment remains as the predominant actor across most Latin American countries, serving as a primary avenue for economic sustenance. Notably, the construction sector has experienced substantial growth, outpacing other relevant industries like tourism and hospitality. Poverty Throughout the past two decades, poverty levels in Latin America remain unchanged. Honduras takes the lead as the country bearing the highest poverty rate, with nearly half of its population dwelling in these circumstances. Across the region, the prevalent delineation is that of individuals classified within the non-extreme and lower-middle poverty strata, characterized by modest income levels.

Annualized average growth rate in per capita real survey mean consumption or income, bottom 40% of population (%) in Costa Rica was reported at 0.95 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Costa Rica - Annualized average growth rate in per capita real survey mean consumption or income, bottom 40% of population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on April of 2025.

In 2024, Costa Rica scored 0.68 in the gender gap index area of economic participation and opportunity. This means that women are 32 percent less likely to have equal economic participation and opportunities than men. That year, the country scored 0.67 in estimated earned income, which shows that, on average, women in Costa Rica only earn 67 percent of the income earned by men.

Costa Rica CR: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2011 PPP per day data was reported at 6.090 Intl $/Day in 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7.160 Intl $/Day for 2015. Costa Rica CR: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2011 PPP per day data is updated yearly, averaging 6.625 Intl $/Day from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2020, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.160 Intl $/Day in 2015 and a record low of 6.090 Intl $/Day in 2020. Costa Rica CR: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2011 PPP per day data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Costa Rica – Table CR.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Mean consumption or income per capita (2011 PPP $ per day) of the bottom 40%, used in calculating the growth rate in the welfare aggregate of the bottom 40% of the population in the income distribution in a country.; ; World Bank, Global Database of Shared Prosperity (GDSP) (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/global-database-of-shared-prosperity).; ; The choice of consumption or income for a country is made according to which welfare aggregate is used to estimate extreme poverty in the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP). The practice adopted by the World Bank for estimating global and regional poverty is, in principle, to use per capita consumption expenditure as the welfare measure wherever available; and to use income as the welfare measure for countries for which consumption is unavailable. However, in some cases data on consumption may be available but are outdated or not shared with the World Bank for recent survey years. In these cases, if data on income are available, income is used. Whether data are for consumption or income per capita is noted in the footnotes. Because household surveys are infrequent in most countries and are not aligned across countries, comparisons across countries or over time should be made with a high degree of caution.

In 2023, the average monthly pay TV revenue per subscriber (ARPU) in Costa Rica amounted to 16.98 thousand Costa Rican colones, up from 16.27 thousand colones a year earlier - an annual increase of 4.3 percent. Cable accounted for 52.1 percent of Costa Rica's pay TV subscriptions.

In 2023, four Caribbean nations were the countries with the highest gross national income per capita in Latin America and the Caribbean. On average, the national gross income amounted to around 31,990 U.S. dollars per person in the Bahamas, an island country which also had one of the highest gross domestic product per capita in this region. Outside the Caribbean Excluding the Caribbean, the economies with the highest national income per capita are generally located in South America, with the exceptions of Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico. Guyana leads among continental states with a national income of around 20.360 U.S. dollars per person. Gross national income (GNI) is the aggregated sum of the value added by residents in an economy, plus net taxes (minus subsidies) and net receipts of primary income from abroad. The biggest economies Brazil and Mexico are still miles ahead in the race for the biggest economy of Latin America. As of 2023, both nations exceeded the two trillion U.S. dollars mark in their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While Argentina's GDP, third place, slightly surpassed the 600 billion U.S. dollars. Nonetheless, both nations also ranked as the most populated by far in the region.

According to a recent study, Colombia had the lowest monthly cost of living in Latin America with 546 U.S. dollars needed for basic living. In contrast, four countries had a cost of living above one thousand dollars, Costa Rica, Chile, Panama and Uruguay. In 2022, the highest minimum wage in the region was recorded by Ecuador with 425 dollars per month.

Can Latin Americans survive on a minimum wage? Even if most countries in Latin America have instated laws to guarantee citizens a basic income, these minimum standards are often not enough to meet household needs. For instance, it was estimated that almost 22 million people in Mexico lacked basic housing services. Salary levels also vary greatly among Latin American economies. In 2022, the average net monthly salary in Brazil was lower than Ecuador's minimum wage.

What can a minimum wage afford in Latin America? Latin American real wages have generally risen in the past decade. However, consumers in this region still struggle to afford non-basic goods, such as tech products. Recent estimates reveal that, in order to buy an iPhone, Brazilian residents would have to work more than two months to be able to pay for it. A gaming console, on the other hand, could easily cost a Latin American worker several minimum wages.