Average Secretary Salary in San Jose, Costa Rica for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Secretary 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 Secretary Make in San Jose?

A Secretary working in San Jose will typically earn around 14,158,800 CRC per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 6,514,800 CRC to the highest average salary of 22,558,900 CRC.

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

Secretary 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 Secretary Salaries in San Jose

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Secretary can earn between 6,514,800 CRC and 22,558,900 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 Secretary in San Jose is 15,238,200 CRC. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 15,238,200 CRC, and 50% of the population earn more than 15,238,200 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 Secretary salary in San Jose, 25% of the population are earning less than 9,816,600 CRC while 75% of the population earn more than 9,816,600 CRC.

75% of the population earn less than 20,400,600 CRC, and 25% of the population earn more than 20,400,600 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.

Secretary 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 Secretary 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 Secretary in San Jose that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 7,393,200 CRC.
• 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Secretary salary would increase to 9,874,200 CRC.
• 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Secretary, the average salary would be 14,639,900 CRC.
• 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 17,758,500 CRC.
• 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Secretary with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 19,439,300 CRC.
• 20+ Years Experience. For a Secretary with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 20,999,200 CRC.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

Secretary 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 Secretary 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 Secretary in San Jose with a high school education can earn an average salary of 8,434,700 CRC.
• Certificate or Diploma. A Secretary in San Jose with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 13,199,100 CRC.
• Bachelor's Degree. A Secretary in San Jose with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 22,198,500 CRC.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Secretary 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 secretary will earn an average of 12,361,500 CRC, while a female secretary will earn around 13,199,100 CRC.

This means that a male secretary earns approximately 6% less than a female secretary for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in San Jose

Secretary 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 Secretary in San Jose is around 9% every 19 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 = ( 9 ÷ 19 ) × 12  = 6%

What this means is that a Secretary in San Jose can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 6% 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.

Secretary 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 Secretary 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%.

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.

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Secretary

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