Home / Country / Costa Rica vs New Zealand
Costa Rica vs New Zealand
Price level and homicide-based safety head to head, plus every ICP category both Costa Rica and New Zealand publish. Statistics, not reviews.
1Visa-free traveltourist stays
Do I need a visa for Costa Rica or New Zealand
Tourist entry rules in both directions: a passport from Costa Rica travelling to New Zealand, and a passport from New Zealand travelling to Costa Rica.
Tourist stays only, refreshed with each release. Long stays always need a consular check.
3Climate · capital cities
Weather and climate: Costa Rica against New Zealand, month by month
How warm and how wet each month is, averaged over twenty years. Measured in San Jose and Wellington — the capital city, not the whole country.
Pinch with two fingers to zoom · double-tap to reset.
San Jose · Costa Rica Wellington · New Zealand
Warmest
April (22.3°) vs February (16.9°)
Coldest
January (20.6°) vs July (9.8°)
Kinder months to visit
Jan–Apr, Dec in San Jose · Jan–Mar, Dec in Wellington
“Kinder months” is our own reading: a mean of 15–26 °C with moderate rain, measured at the capital.
4The basket
25 price tags, Costa Rica against New Zealand
World = 100, benchmark 2021 — sorted by the size of the gap. Diff is New Zealand relative to Costa Rica.
Third column from the same series; a dash means the country publishes no value for that line.
Download CSV →Same life, other side
Spending of $1,494 a month — income per head in Costa Rica — goes as far as about $2,150 in New Zealand. Income per head there is $3,886, 81% above that bar, so local pay clears it.
Amounts a month, before tax, scaled by the ratio of the two overall price levels — our own calculation.
Scorecard
A split table: Costa Rica wins 5, New Zealand wins 4. The widest gap is homicides per 100,000, 1116%.
Lower wins for prices and homicides, higher for income. Lines within 2% count as level.
8Where this pair sits
Price twins
Costa Rica’s price zone
New Zealand’s price zone
nearest price levels worldwide · tap to compare
Same lifestyle, new price
$1,000 in Costa Rica buys what $1,437 buys in New Zealand
because the same basket of goods and services is priced 30% lower in Costa Rica — 62.5 against 89.8 on the price-level index. The amount is a round sum for illustration, not a converted price.
average across the economy · estimate
Safety ranks · of 84
#67COSTA RICA #36NEW ZEALAND
by homicide-based score, safest first
Costa Rica’s safety zone
New Zealand’s safety zone
nearest world ranks · tap to compare
categories cheaper, of the 25 both countries publish · widest gap: Tobacco +585%
10What the numbers say
The split: cost favours Costa Rica by 44%, the homicide-based score favours New Zealand by 41 points. Which matters more depends on whose paycheck crosses the border.
Editor’s note. Averages hide category stories: the widest single gap here is Tobacco at +585%. Budget the move by category, not by the headline number.
Release v2026-08; homicide rates carry their own year per country. World ranks — #67 and #36 of 85 by score.
10bPlan your move
Which one suits you?
Fill in your situation — we score this pair against your numbers, then check the other 81 countries for a better fit.
Guidance from published statistics, not immigration or financial advice — see the disclaimer.
11FAQ
Is Costa Rica cheaper than New Zealand?
Which has the lower homicide rate, Costa Rica or New Zealand?
Which costs differ most between Costa Rica and New Zealand?
Which has milder winters, Costa Rica or New Zealand?
Where are incomes higher, Costa Rica or New Zealand?
Everything else
All the comparisons on this page’s two sides
All comparisons with Costa Rica 82
- Costa Rica vs Albania
- Costa Rica vs Antigua and Barbuda
- Costa Rica vs Argentina
- Costa Rica vs Australia
- Costa Rica vs Austria
- Costa Rica vs Bahamas
- Costa Rica vs Barbados
- Costa Rica vs Belgium
- Costa Rica vs Belize
- Costa Rica vs Bolivia
- Costa Rica vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Costa Rica vs Brazil
- Costa Rica vs Bulgaria
- Costa Rica vs Canada
- Costa Rica vs Chile
- Costa Rica vs Colombia
- Costa Rica vs Croatia
- Costa Rica vs Cyprus
- Costa Rica vs Czech Republic
- Costa Rica vs Denmark
- Costa Rica vs Dominica
- Costa Rica vs Dominican Republic
- Costa Rica vs Ecuador
- Costa Rica vs El Salvador
- Costa Rica vs Estonia
- Costa Rica vs Fiji
- Costa Rica vs Finland
- Costa Rica vs France
- Costa Rica vs Germany
- Costa Rica vs Greece
- Costa Rica vs Grenada
- Costa Rica vs Guatemala
- Costa Rica vs Guyana
- Costa Rica vs Haiti
- Costa Rica vs Honduras
- Costa Rica vs Hungary
- Costa Rica vs Iceland
- Costa Rica vs Ireland
- Costa Rica vs Italy
- Costa Rica vs Jamaica
- Costa Rica vs Kiribati
- Costa Rica vs Latvia
- Costa Rica vs Lithuania
- Costa Rica vs Luxembourg
- Costa Rica vs Malta
- Costa Rica vs Marshall Islands
- Costa Rica vs Mexico
- Costa Rica vs Micronesia
- Costa Rica vs Montenegro
- Costa Rica vs Netherlands
- Costa Rica vs New Zealand
- Costa Rica vs Nicaragua
- Costa Rica vs North Macedonia
- Costa Rica vs Norway
- Costa Rica vs Palau
- Costa Rica vs Panama
- Costa Rica vs Papua New Guinea
- Costa Rica vs Paraguay
- Costa Rica vs Peru
- Costa Rica vs Poland
- Costa Rica vs Portugal
- Costa Rica vs Romania
- Costa Rica vs Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Costa Rica vs Saint Lucia
- Costa Rica vs Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Costa Rica vs Samoa
- Costa Rica vs Serbia
- Costa Rica vs Slovakia
- Costa Rica vs Slovenia
- Costa Rica vs Solomon Islands
- Costa Rica vs Spain
- Costa Rica vs Suriname
- Costa Rica vs Sweden
- Costa Rica vs Switzerland
- Costa Rica vs Tonga
- Costa Rica vs Trinidad and Tobago
- Costa Rica vs Tuvalu
- Costa Rica vs United Kingdom
- Costa Rica vs United States
- Costa Rica vs Uruguay
- Costa Rica vs Vanuatu
- Costa Rica vs Venezuela
All comparisons with New Zealand 82
- New Zealand vs Albania
- New Zealand vs Antigua and Barbuda
- New Zealand vs Argentina
- New Zealand vs Australia
- New Zealand vs Austria
- New Zealand vs Bahamas
- New Zealand vs Barbados
- New Zealand vs Belgium
- New Zealand vs Belize
- New Zealand vs Bolivia
- New Zealand vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
- New Zealand vs Brazil
- New Zealand vs Bulgaria
- New Zealand vs Canada
- New Zealand vs Chile
- New Zealand vs Colombia
- New Zealand vs Costa Rica
- New Zealand vs Croatia
- New Zealand vs Cyprus
- New Zealand vs Czech Republic
- New Zealand vs Denmark
- New Zealand vs Dominica
- New Zealand vs Dominican Republic
- New Zealand vs Ecuador
- New Zealand vs El Salvador
- New Zealand vs Estonia
- New Zealand vs Fiji
- New Zealand vs Finland
- New Zealand vs France
- New Zealand vs Germany
- New Zealand vs Greece
- New Zealand vs Grenada
- New Zealand vs Guatemala
- New Zealand vs Guyana
- New Zealand vs Haiti
- New Zealand vs Honduras
- New Zealand vs Hungary
- New Zealand vs Iceland
- New Zealand vs Ireland
- New Zealand vs Italy
- New Zealand vs Jamaica
- New Zealand vs Kiribati
- New Zealand vs Latvia
- New Zealand vs Lithuania
- New Zealand vs Luxembourg
- New Zealand vs Malta
- New Zealand vs Marshall Islands
- New Zealand vs Mexico
- New Zealand vs Micronesia
- New Zealand vs Montenegro
- New Zealand vs Netherlands
- New Zealand vs Nicaragua
- New Zealand vs North Macedonia
- New Zealand vs Norway
- New Zealand vs Palau
- New Zealand vs Panama
- New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea
- New Zealand vs Paraguay
- New Zealand vs Peru
- New Zealand vs Poland
- New Zealand vs Portugal
- New Zealand vs Romania
- New Zealand vs Saint Kitts and Nevis
- New Zealand vs Saint Lucia
- New Zealand vs Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- New Zealand vs Samoa
- New Zealand vs Serbia
- New Zealand vs Slovakia
- New Zealand vs Slovenia
- New Zealand vs Solomon Islands
- New Zealand vs Spain
- New Zealand vs Suriname
- New Zealand vs Sweden
- New Zealand vs Switzerland
- New Zealand vs Tonga
- New Zealand vs Trinidad and Tobago
- New Zealand vs Tuvalu
- New Zealand vs United Kingdom
- New Zealand vs United States
- New Zealand vs Uruguay
- New Zealand vs Vanuatu
- New Zealand vs Venezuela
12Compare
Another pair of countries
Both directions live on the same page — order does not matter.
13Sources & licences
Sources behind this comparison
Our calculations, not official figures.
Sources: World Bank WDI · ICP 2021 · UNODC via WDI · Passport Index · NASA POWER · Eurostat · BLS · Statistics Canada · release v2026-08
Rights holder: The World Bank · World Development Indicators, PA.NUS.PRVT.PLI · reference year 2025 · accessed 22 July 2026 · data.worldbank.org · licence: CC BY 4.0, reuse subject to the World Bank Dataset Terms of Use. Values are reproduced as published; United States = 100 is the indicator’s own base. Every ranking, gap and comment is a Costely calculation. Note: The World Bank does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: The World Bank · International Comparison Program 2021, measure PX.WL · benchmark year 2021, published May 2024 · accessed 22 July 2026 · worldbank.org · licence: CC BY 4.0 — commercial use permitted, subject to the World Bank Dataset Terms of Use. World = 100 — a different base from the summary index above; the two are deliberately not merged.
Rights holder: The World Bank (distribution); original data provider: UNODC (Intentional Homicide, UN-CTS) · WDI VC.IHR.PSRC.P5 · latest available year per country, marked on the page · accessed 22 July 2026 · data.worldbank.org · licence: CC BY 4.0 — these terms describe the World Bank distribution, not a licence we assign to UNODC data. Rates are reproduced exactly as published, per 100,000 population. Note: the homicide-based score — clamp(105 − 20·ln(1 + rate), 0, 100) — is our construction, not a World Bank or UNODC indicator, and covers intentional homicide only.
Rights holder: Passport Index (Arton Capital) · open dataset · accessed 8 August 2026 · passport-index-dataset · licence: MIT — commercial use permitted with attribution. Codes cover tourist stays only; day counts are reproduced as published. Note: entry rules change frequently — always confirm with the consulate before booking.
Rights holder: NASA Langley Research Center · POWER Project, MERRA-2 monthly climatology, T2M and PRECTOTCORR · averaging period January 2001 – December 2020 · accessed 13 August 2026 · power.larc.nasa.gov · U.S. Government work, public domain — free to use, including commercially. Each figure is the model grid cell containing the capital city, reproduced as published. Note: the capital is not the whole country, and the “kinder months to visit” band (15–26 °C mean, moderate rain) is a Costely reading, not a NASA recommendation. NASA does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: European Union, Eurostat · Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly — median and mean gross monthly earnings, all employees, industry, construction and services except public administration · reference year 2022 · accessed 14 August 2026 · ec.europa.eu/eurostat · reuse authorised with acknowledgement of the source, including for commercial purposes. Figures are reproduced as published; PPS values are Eurostat’s own adjustment for price differences between countries. Note: gross pay before tax and social contributions; the survey runs every four years, so 2022 is the latest wave. The European Commission does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: European Union, Eurostat · Structure of earnings survey 2022 (earn_ses22_21), mean monthly earnings by occupation · mean gross monthly earnings in euro, enterprises with 10 employees or more, all ages, both sexes · retrieved 20 August 2026 via the Eurostat dissemination API · ec.europa.eu/eurostat · reuse authorised with acknowledgement of the source, including for commercial purposes. Earnings are reproduced as published; the difference column is a Costely calculation. Note: These are means, not medians, so large salaries pull them up; they are gross, before tax and social contributions. The survey runs every four years, so 2022 is the latest round. Occupations are the nine broad ISCO-08 groups — Europe publishes nothing finer, unlike the United States. Coverage is limited to EU, EFTA and candidate countries. These are means, while the median wage card on the same page comes from the same survey but is a different measure, so the two figures will not match. The European Commission does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: European Union, Eurostat · Purchasing power parities, price level indices by expenditure category (prc_ppp_ind) · EU27_2020 = 100, reference year 2024 · retrieved 20 August 2026 via the Eurostat dissemination API · ec.europa.eu/eurostat · reuse authorised with acknowledgement of the source, including for commercial purposes. Index values are reproduced as published; the difference column is a Costely calculation. Note: these are price levels, not prices — 100 is the EU average of the same year, so a value of 120 means dearer than the EU average by a fifth, and nothing about what a kilo costs. This measure is shown only when both countries of a pair are covered by Eurostat, which is the EU, EFTA and candidate countries; every other pair keeps the World Bank benchmark of 2021 on the World = 100 base, and the two must not be read against each other. A price level index says how a country compares with the EU average in the same year, not what anything costs. Values above 100 mean dearer than the EU average, below 100 cheaper. Coverage is limited to EU, EFTA and candidate countries, and this block is shown only when both countries are covered. The European Commission does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: European Union, Eurostat · Energy prices for household consumers, bi-annual data (nrg_pc_204 electricity, nrg_pc_202 gas) · 2025-S2 · retrieved 20 August 2026 via the Eurostat dissemination API · ec.europa.eu/eurostat · reuse authorised with acknowledgement of the source, including for commercial purposes. Consumption bands: electricity band DC, 2 500-4 999 kWh a year; gas band D2, 20-199 GJ a year; both including all taxes and levies. Prices are in euro and reproduced as published; the difference column is a Costely calculation. Note: coverage is limited to EU, EFTA and candidate countries, because the reuse terms do not extend to data about other countries. Prices are per kilowatt-hour for a typical household band, including all taxes and levies, as published. Where a country has not reported the latest half-year, its most recent reported half-year is used and named in the row. Coverage is limited to EU, EFTA and candidate countries. The European Commission does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: The World Bank · World Development Indicators, household final consumption expenditure per capita · spending per person converted to a month, in current US dollars · accessed not recorded — collected before the plugin stored provenance in the file · data.worldbank.org · licence: CC BY 4.0, reuse subject to the World Bank Dataset Terms of Use. Used only as the starting point of the cost planner; the split by category uses the International Comparison Program 2021 ratios listed above, and household size is scaled on the OECD-modified equivalence scale. Note: The monthly figure and the flag marking an estimated year are Costely calculations. The World Bank does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Current Employment Statistics, national — average weekly earnings of all employees, total private, CES0500000011 · retrieved 14 August 2026 via the BLS Public Data API · bls.gov/ces · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. The monthly figure is a Costely conversion from weekly earnings. Note: this is an average, while the European figures are medians, so the two are not measured the same way; averages sit above medians. BLS.gov cannot vouch for data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov. The BLS does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: Statistics Canada · Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours, table 14-10-0223-01, vector 79311153 — average weekly earnings including overtime, all employees, industrial aggregate excluding unclassified businesses, seasonally adjusted · May 2026 · accessed 14 August 2026 · www150.statcan.gc.ca · Statistics Canada Open Licence — reuse and redistribution permitted, including commercially, with acknowledgement of source. Reproduced and distributed on an “as is” basis with the permission of Statistics Canada. The published value is weekly; the monthly figure and the conversion to US dollars are Costely calculations. Note: this is a mean, unlike the Eurostat medians. Statistics Canada does not endorse this website.