Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ad Dammam and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Ad Dammam: $1,180 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Ad Dammam
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Ad Dammam Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Ad Dammam

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,180

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ad Dammam and in Nosara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ad Dammam and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,180 in Ad Dammam versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Ad Dammam $1,180
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,809 in Ad Dammam versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Ad Dammam $1,809
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,437 in Ad Dammam versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Ad Dammam $2,437
Nosara $3,712

Living in Ad Dammam costs roughly 36% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ad Dammam is 12% below, Nosara is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.04 SAR 26.45

$12.22 ₡5,509

-42.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.90 SAR 131

$60.2 ₡27.1K

-42.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.69 SAR 25.12

$7.54 ₡3,399

-11.27%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.89 SAR 7.09

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 SAR 8.66

Cappuccino

$3.08 SAR 11.55

$4.31 ₡1,941

-28.54%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 SAR 2.86

$1.72 ₡773

-55.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 SAR 0.60

$1.35 ₡608

-88.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,459

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 ₡2,018

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SAR 6.80

$1.57 ₡707

15.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 SAR 5.01

$3.17 ₡1,429

-58.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 SAR 7.36

$2.42 ₡1,091

-19.01%

Eggs

$2.17 SAR 8.16

$3.57 ₡1,609

-39.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 SAR 27.38

$7.43 ₡3,349

-1.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.10 SAR 30.40

$10.42 ₡4,697

-22.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 SAR 47.73

$13.66 ₡6,156

-6.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.21 SAR 8.30

$2.32 ₡1,044

-4.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 SAR 6.27

$1.61 ₡728

3.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 SAR 5.99

$4.74 ₡2,138

-66.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 SAR 6.10

$1.66 ₡747

-1.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 SAR 4.24

$3.72 ₡1,679

-69.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 SAR 4.54

$3.57 ₡1,611

-66.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 SAR 4.79

$1.10 ₡497

16.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 SAR 2.17

$2.55 ₡1,149

-77.25%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.04 SAR 15.18

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 SAR 5.60

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 SAR 8.29

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.71 SAR 28.97

$4.95 ₡2,232

55.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.01 ₡9,020

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₡1,256

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ₡1,589

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 SAR 3.64

$1.19 ₡537

-18.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.53 SAR 133

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-50.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.71 SAR 10.16

$2.24 ₡1,011

20.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.73 SAR 10.27

$1.55 ₡701

76.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.52 SAR 50.8

$8.86 ₡3,993

52.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.63 SAR 2.38

$1.57 ₡708

-59.87%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$67.2K SAR 252.4K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

208.29%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$21.3K SAR 80.1K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-38.45%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$131 SAR 494

$93.5 ₡42.1K

40.65%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$32.52 SAR 122

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-7.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.8 SAR 240

$51.5 ₡23.2K

23.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$75.6 SAR 284

$71.4 ₡32.2K

5.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.99 SAR 105

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-21.02%

Cinema Ticket

$13.59 SAR 51.0

$7.84 ₡3,535

73.34%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$421 SAR 1,582

$490 ₡220.7K

-13.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,860 SAR 29.5K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-33.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.50 SAR 160

$53.5 ₡24.1K

-20.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.83 SAR 187

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-10.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.7 SAR 359

$79.3 ₡35.7K

20.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 SAR 346

$78.9 ₡35.6K

16.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$583 SAR 2,188

$786 ₡354.3K

-25.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 SAR 1,390

$780 ₡351.6K

-52.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,003 SAR 3,767

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-74.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$677 SAR 2,543

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-51.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,395 SAR 5,238

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-79.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$609 SAR 2,287

$1,201 ₡541.3K

-49.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,507 SAR 5,659

$876 ₡395.0K

71.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

8.62

-31.55%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Ad Dammam: October 5, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Ad Dammam

$370 30.8%

Nosara

$780 43% 111% $410

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ad Dammam

$228 19%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 21% $48

Groceries & Markets

Ad Dammam

$202 16.8%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 73.1% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Ad Dammam

$126 10.5%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 4.5% $5.7

Eating Out

Ad Dammam

$117 9.7%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 79% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Ad Dammam

$103 8.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 15.3% $16

Getting Around

Ad Dammam

$56 4.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 55.7% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $583 in Ad Dammam and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ad Dammam pays 72% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ad Dammam vs $60.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $202 vs $350 per month, with Ad Dammam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Ad Dammam

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

15:12 3:12 PM

06:12 6:12 AM

9 h behind Ad Dammam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

903,312

4,912

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.238 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.238 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ad Dammam Nosara 13,750 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Ad Dammam
Nosara

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Ad Dammam vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ad Dammam wins on cost – living expenses run 56% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ad Dammam the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 72% higher in Ad Dammam, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $583 in Ad Dammam versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,180 per month in Ad Dammam versus $1,837 in Nosara – a 56% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ad Dammam runs roughly 103% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,180 in Ad Dammam versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ad Dammam but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Ad Dammam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ad Dammam delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,180 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ad Dammam hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ad Dammam and Nosara are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ad Dammam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.