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Work & incomeCosta Rica

Median salary in Costa Rica

What does the middle earner actually make in a month?

Costa Rica's median salary is $1,431 PPP/mo — #38 of 78 countries on the atlas (higher is better). Period 2025.

$1,431PPP/mo

Checked 4 Sept 2026Period 2025

Source: ILO monthly earnings of employees (EAR_EMTA mean + EAR_EMTM median)

Half of Costa Rica's employees earn less than $1,431 a month, half earn more — the middle of the pay scale, in local buying power.

Among 78 countries

11 of 78 countries between $188 PPP/mo and $457 PPP/mo5 of 78 countries between $457 PPP/mo and $726 PPP/mo14 of 78 countries between $726 PPP/mo and $994 PPP/mo8 of 78 countries between $994 PPP/mo and $1,263 PPP/mo5 of 78 countries between $1,263 PPP/mo and $1,532 PPP/mo1 of 78 countries between $1,532 PPP/mo and $1,800 PPP/mo2 of 78 countries between $1,800 PPP/mo and $2,069 PPP/mo1 of 78 countries between $2,069 PPP/mo and $2,338 PPP/mo2 of 78 countries between $2,338 PPP/mo and $2,606 PPP/mo1 of 78 countries between $2,606 PPP/mo and $2,875 PPP/mo1 of 78 countries between $2,875 PPP/mo and $3,144 PPP/mo3 of 78 countries between $3,144 PPP/mo and $3,412 PPP/mo6 of 78 countries between $3,412 PPP/mo and $3,681 PPP/mo2 of 78 countries between $3,681 PPP/mo and $3,950 PPP/mo1 of 78 countries between $3,950 PPP/mo and $4,218 PPP/mo3 of 78 countries between $4,218 PPP/mo and $4,487 PPP/mo3 of 78 countries between $4,756 PPP/mo and $5,024 PPP/mo1 of 78 countries between $5,024 PPP/mo and $5,293 PPP/mo1 of 78 countries between $5,293 PPP/mo and $5,562 PPP/mo1 of 78 countries between $5,562 PPP/mo and $5,830 PPP/mo2 of 78 countries between $6,099 PPP/mo and $6,368 PPP/mo4 of 78 countries between $6,368 PPP/mo and $6,636 PPP/momedian $1,349 PPP/moCosta Rica: ahead of 51 % of the 78 countries with a published median earningsCosta Rica $1,431 PPP/mo$188 PPP/mo$6,636 PPP/mo
Half of all 78 countries sit between $756 PPP/mo and $3,620 PPP/mo. Costa Rica is ahead of 51 % of them. Axis trimmed to the 2nd–98th percentile; 3 values beyond it sit in the end bars.
Rank
#38 of 78
higher is better
Ranked behind
51 %
40 of 78 countries

In Americas: #4 of 19vs median $1,379 PPP/mo: +4 % (better)

The neighbourhood

#CountryMedian earningsvs Costa Rica
36 Mongolia$1,524 PPP/mo+$94 PPP/mo
37 Chile$1,506 PPP/mo+$75 PPP/mo
38 Costa Rica$1,431 PPP/mo—
39 Panama$1,409 PPP/mo−$21 PPP/mo
40 Uruguay$1,349 PPP/mo−$82 PPP/mo

Median monthly earnings of employees, PPP dollars (ILO) — the middle earner, not the average. The gap to mean earnings is the skew: the US mean is a third above its median, and that difference is real information.

How to read this figure

Median monthly earnings from the ILO’s twin flow — same collection and unit as the mean, but the MIDDLE earner: half earn less, half earn more. Compare the two and the gap is the pay-scale skew itself (the US mean sits about a third above its median; Norway’s barely a tenth). Distinct from median income, which is equivalised disposable household income after tax and transfers — this is gross pay per employee.

Next, about Costa Rica

Average monthly salaryTax on payPrice level
Median salary, all countries ranked →Compare Costa Rica with another country →Everything about Costa Rica →
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