Wealth and income percentiles in Costa Rica
How much net worth or income does it take to be in the top 10% or top 1% in Costa Rica? Model estimates for 3.7 million adults aged 20+, reference level 2025.
Net worth thresholds in Costa Rica
Net worth is private assets (property, deposits, securities, business ownership) minus debt, per adult. Thresholds show the minimum net worth needed to belong to each group.
| Group of adults | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | USD 17,700 |
| Top 10% | USD 141,000 |
| Top 5% | USD 262,000 |
| Top 1% | USD 801,000 |
| Top 0.1% | USD 4,070,000 |
| Average (mean) | USD 79,900 |
Income thresholds in Costa Rica
Income is a harmonized pre-tax economic income per adult used for cross-country comparison. It is broader than wages and includes capital income, pensions and some imputed components.
| Group of adults | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | USD 9,790 |
| Top 10% | USD 46,800 |
| Top 5% | USD 72,800 |
| Top 1% | USD 204,000 |
| Top 0.1% | USD 870,000 |
| Average (mean) | USD 23,500 |
Costa Rica in a global context
Costa Rica has 0.07% of the world’s adults. About 8.5% of them are in the world’s top 10% by net worth and 0.59% are in the global top 1%. By income, the shares are 12.9% and 1.3%.
The median adult in Costa Rica is in the global top 39.6% by net worth and the global top 33.5% by income. Costa Rica is home to about 0.04% of the world’s top 1% by net worth.
Data quality and sources
Scores run from 1 (strong direct national source coverage) to 5 (mainly modelled).
| Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Net worth | 5 | No direct national net-worth distribution has been imported. Wealth is donor/proxy-based. |
| Income | 5 | INEC ENAHO has been identified as relevant, but a complete comparable income distribution has not been imported. The main curve uses macro data plus donors. |
- World Inequality Lab, Technical Note 2026/04, country appendix
- INEC Costa Rica ENAHO 2025 results
- World Inequality Lab, Technical Note 2026/04, country appendix
Amounts are converted at fixed exchange rates of 2025-12-31; they do not adjust for purchasing power. Thresholds in the extreme top are modelled and uncertain.
Frequently asked questions
How much net worth do you need to be in the top 1% in Costa Rica?
About USD 801,000 in net worth (assets minus debt) per adult, according to the WealthPercentile model for 2025. The top 10% starts at about USD 141,000.
What is the median income in Costa Rica?
The median adult in Costa Rica has a broad pre-tax economic income of about USD 9,790 a year. This measure is broader than wages: it includes capital income and some imputed components, so it is higher than a typical payslip.
How many adults in Costa Rica are in the global top 1%?
About 0.59% of adults in Costa Rica are in the world’s top 1% by net worth, and 1.3% by income.
How reliable are these numbers?
They are model estimates. The data-quality score for Costa Rica is 5/5 for net worth and 5/5 for income, where 1 means strong direct source coverage and 5 means mainly modelled.