Costa Rica
Latest Average Wage
+4.9% · 5 years
$44,431
Country Comparison
Costa Rica vs Japan
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Costa Rica
vs
Japan
$44,4312024
Latest Average Wage
Japan +12.9%
(vs Costa Rica)
$50,1832025
+4.9%2024
5-Year Wage Change
Costa Rica +7.1 pts
(vs Japan)
−2.2%2025
+21.9%2024
10-Year Wage Change
Costa Rica +23.5 pts
(vs Japan)
−1.6%2025
61.32024
Overall Price Level
Costa Rica +2.1 index points
(vs Japan)
59.22024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Japan
Latest Average Wage
−2.2% · 5 years
$50,183
Wage Milestones
Costa Rica
10 Years Ago
$36,459 (2014)
Historical Peak
$46,398 (2020)
Latest Wage
$44,431 (2024)
Japan
10 Years Ago
$51,027 (2015)
Historical Peak
$52,662 (1997)
Latest Wage
$50,183 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
Costa Rica (CRI)Japan (JPN)
Overall
+2.1 index points
100
61.3vs59.2
Food
−5.0 index points
100
107vs112
Clothing
+7.4 index points
100
78.4vs71
Housing
−18.0 index points
100
30.5vs48.5
Health
+33.1 index points
100
67vs33.9
Transport
+1.9 index points
100
86.3vs84.4
Recreation
+0.8 index points
100
79.2vs78.4
Restaurants & Accommodation
+1.2 index points
100
73.8vs72.6
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Japan's latest average wage is $50,183 for 2025, about 12.9% higher than Costa Rica's $44,431 for 2024 — computed straight from the two reported values. That is roughly $5,752 a year on the same PPP basis. The two figures come from different reference years.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Costa Rica shows the stronger movement at 0.0%, against −0.5% for Japan. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +4.9% against −2.2%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Health shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 67 for Costa Rica against 33.9 for Japan. Costa Rica sits on the higher side of that 33.1-point spread; Japan reads 33.1 index points lower on the US=100 scale. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Recreation: Costa Rica reads 79.2 and Japan 78.4 for 2024, just 0.8 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Restaurants & Accommodation at 1.2 index points apart. A gap this small leaves the category effectively tied on the shared US=100 scale.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Japan's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is $50,183 for 2025, moderately higher than Costa Rica's $44,431 for 2024. In relative terms the gap is 12.9% — calculated from the two reported values — equivalent to about $5,752 a year on the same purchasing-power basis. Both figures are expressed in USD PPP at constant 2025 prices, so they can be set side by side without any further conversion. The reference years differ — 2024 for Costa Rica and 2025 for Japan — so part of the gap reflects timing rather than level, and the two records are kept separate. Over ten years Costa Rica recorded +21.9% against Japan's −1.6%, so the current levels were reached on visibly different long-term paths.
Wage Direction
The two wage series are moving in opposite directions — and the gap between them is narrowing as a result. Costa Rica has barely moved in the latest year (0.0%), while the ten-year change stands at +21.9%. Japan continues to drift below its peak, with a one-year change of −0.5% and a five-year change of −2.2%. Because Costa Rica — the lower of the two latest wage levels — is the side currently gaining in real terms (+4.9% over five years against −2.2%), the distance between the two is shrinking on these measures rather than growing. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Costa Rica's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 61.3, and Japan's reads 59.2, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Costa Rica reads higher in 6 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Health: 67 for Costa Rica against 33.9 for Japan, a gap of 33.1 index points. At the other end, Recreation brings the two closest — 79.2 versus 78.4, a gap of just 0.8 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Costa Rica reads above 100 in 1 of its 8 reported categories, and Japan in 1 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
