Average Fashion Merchandiser Salary in San Jose, Costa Rica for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Fashion Merchandiser salary for 2026 in San Jose and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Costa Rican colón. To keep things simple, we are using the CRC currency code instead of the currency symbol .

How Much Does a Fashion Merchandiser Make in San Jose?

A Fashion Merchandiser working in San Jose will typically earn around 19,799,400 CRC per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 10,258,100 CRC to the highest average salary of 30,240,200 CRC.

Average Annual Salary19,799,400 CRC
Average Monthly Salary1,649,950 CRC
Average Lowest Salary10,258,100 CRC
Lowest Monthly Salary854,841 CRC
Average Highest Salary30,240,200 CRC
Highest Monthly Salary2,520,016 CRC

These are average salaries for a Fashion Merchandiser in San Jose and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Fashion Merchandiser to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Fashion Merchandiser salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Fashion Merchandiser Salaries in San Jose

So we've looked at the average salaries a Fashion Merchandiser will earn in San Jose. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Fashion Merchandiser can earn between 10,258,100 CRC and 30,240,200 CRC on average in San Jose. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Fashion Merchandiser in San Jose is 18,958,500 CRC. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 18,958,500 CRC, and 50% of the population earn more than 18,958,500 CRC.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Fashion Merchandiser salary in San Jose, 25% of the population are earning less than 13,199,100 CRC while 75% of the population earn more than 13,199,100 CRC.

75% of the population earn less than 23,638,700 CRC, and 25% of the population earn more than 23,638,700 CRC.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Fashion Merchandiser Salary by Experience Level in San Jose

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Fashion Merchandiser salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Fashion Merchandiser in San Jose that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 11,664,700 CRC.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Fashion Merchandiser salary would increase to 15,599,800 CRC.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Fashion Merchandiser, the average salary would be 20,281,100 CRC.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 24,599,500 CRC.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Fashion Merchandiser with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 26,880,900 CRC.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Fashion Merchandiser with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 28,318,900 CRC.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
11,664,700 CRC
2-5 Years+34%
15,599,800 CRC
5-10 Years+30%
20,281,100 CRC
10-15 Years+21%
24,599,500 CRC
15-20 Years+9%
26,880,900 CRC
20+ Years+5%
28,318,900 CRC

Fashion Merchandiser Salary by Education Level in San Jose

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Fashion Merchandiser in San Jose based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Fashion Merchandiser in San Jose with a high school education can earn an average salary of 13,798,900 CRC.
  • Certificate or Diploma. A Fashion Merchandiser in San Jose with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 19,799,400 CRC.
  • Bachelor's Degree. A Fashion Merchandiser in San Jose with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 27,361,200 CRC.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School-
13,798,900 CRC
Certificate or Diploma+43%
19,799,400 CRC
Bachelor's Degree+38%
27,361,200 CRC

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Costa Rica is around 11,800,000 to 35,400,000 CRC and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Fashion Merchandiser Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In San Jose, a male fashion merchandiser will earn an average of 17,039,100 CRC, while a female fashion merchandiser will earn around 18,359,600 CRC.

This means that a male fashion merchandiser earns approximately 7% less than a female fashion merchandiser for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in San Jose

Male-
17,039,100 CRC
Female+7%
18,359,600 CRC

Fashion Merchandiser Average Pay Raise in San Jose

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Fashion Merchandiser in San Jose is around 11% every 18 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Costa Rica is around 9% every 17 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 18 ) × 12  = 7%

What this means is that a Fashion Merchandiser in San Jose can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 7% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in San Jose for 2026

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Costa Rica.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking-
7%
Energy-
5%
Information Technology-
3%
Healthcare-
1%
Travel-
8%
Construction-
6%
Education-
4%

Fashion Merchandiser Bonus and Incentive Rates in San Jose

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Fashion Merchandiser is a low bonus based job, with 25% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

75% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3%.

Received Bonus-
25%
No Bonus-
75%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Costa Rica earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector-
29,399,100 CRC
Private Sector-6%
27,721,300 CRC

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Fashion Merchandiser

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Fashion Merchandiser in San Jose.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Alterations SpecialistFashion and Apparel11,878,500 CRC
BarberFashion and Apparel11,341,600 CRC
Bench JewelerFashion and Apparel9,276,800 CRC
Clothing and Textile TechnologistFashion and Apparel25,079,200 CRC
Cosmetology EducatorFashion and Apparel26,158,200 CRC
Diamond SetterFashion and Apparel12,841,200 CRC
Diamond WorkerFashion and Apparel14,880,300 CRC
Fabric ManagerFashion and Apparel29,399,100 CRC
Fashion Design ManagerFashion and Apparel42,359,400 CRC
Fashion DesignerFashion and Apparel39,481,900 CRC
Fashion ModelFashion and Apparel24,478,500 CRC
Freelance Fashion StylistFashion and Apparel42,959,900 CRC
Garment TechnologistFashion and Apparel24,119,700 CRC
HairstylistFashion and Apparel12,121,000 CRC
JewelerFashion and Apparel20,518,900 CRC
Jewelry Mold MakerFashion and Apparel14,880,300 CRC
Jewelry PolisherFashion and Apparel9,493,400 CRC
Jewelry SalesFashion and Apparel17,640,500 CRC
Plating ManagerFashion and Apparel30,360,800 CRC
Product Development ManagerFashion and Apparel49,318,100 CRC
Sewing Machine OperatorFashion and Apparel8,267,800 CRC
Shoe SalesFashion and Apparel12,958,200 CRC
Supply Chain ManagerFashion and Apparel44,519,300 CRC
Tailor / FitterFashion and Apparel11,748,300 CRC
Trend ForecasterFashion and Apparel27,479,000 CRC
Visual Merchandising CoordinatorFashion and Apparel19,678,200 CRC
Visual Merchandising Projects ManagerFashion and Apparel39,001,000 CRC

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