Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Americana and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Americana: $886 a month against $1,835 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Americana
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Americana Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Americana

🇧🇷 Brazil

$886

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Americana 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 Americana and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $886 in Americana versus $1,835 in Nosara.

Americana $886
Nosara $1,835

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,400 in Americana versus $2,825 in Nosara.

Americana $1,400
Nosara $2,825

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,914 in Americana versus $3,814 in Nosara.

Americana $1,914
Nosara $3,814

Living in Americana costs roughly 52% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Americana is 35% below, Nosara is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.84 R$29.61

$12.34 ₡5,535

-52.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.19 R$123

$61.3 ₡27.5K

-60.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.10 R$41.07

$7.76 ₡3,481

4.38%

Cappuccino

$2.08 R$10.54

$4.44 ₡1,992

-53.15%

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

$1.83 R$9.26

$1.79 ₡803

2.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 R$6.39

$1.29 ₡580

-2.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.47 R$7.44

$3.24 ₡1,451

-54.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 R$12.46

$4.43 ₡1,985

-44.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 R$5.20

$1.55 ₡696

-33.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 R$8.78

$3.08 ₡1,380

-43.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.30 R$6.57

$2.53 ₡1,133

-48.62%

Eggs

$2.18 R$11.07

$3.45 ₡1,546

-36.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.17 R$46.48

$7.32 ₡3,284

25.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.34 R$22.02

$10.24 ₡4,594

-57.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.33 R$42.21

$14.10 ₡6,326

-40.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 R$11.36

$2.29 ₡1,027

-2.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.35

$1.64 ₡737

-23.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.24

$4.79 ₡2,149

-74.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 R$7.43

$1.64 ₡735

-10.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 R$6.15

$3.85 ₡1,727

-68.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 R$5.52

$3.75 ₡1,681

-70.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 R$4.25

$1.09 ₡488

-22.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 R$3.97

$2.59 ₡1,160

-69.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.30 R$11.64

$5.12 ₡2,295

-55.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.93 R$45.26

$19.92 ₡8,931

-55.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 R$6.83

$2.80 ₡1,255

-51.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 R$10.49

$3.52 ₡1,580

-41.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.11

$1.22 ₡549

-17.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.79 R$222

$73.9 ₡33.1K

-40.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.31 R$6.64

$2.17 ₡973

-39.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.86 R$4.34

$1.56 ₡698

-44.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.94 R$40.25

$8.67 ₡3,886

-8.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 R$6.17

$1.55 ₡697

-21.29%

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

$23.7K R$120.2K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-31.37%

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

$33.7K R$171.1K

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-12.91%

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

$55.8 R$283

$94.8 ₡42.5K

-41.20%

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

$12.50 R$63.3

$36.15 ₡16.2K

-65.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.40 R$114

$53.1 ₡23.8K

-57.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.79 R$95.3

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-74.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.75 R$141

$35.63 ₡16.0K

-22.12%

Cinema Ticket

$7.15 R$36.27

$7.91 ₡3,548

-9.61%

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

$280 R$1,417

$490 ₡219.9K

-42.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,188 R$36.4K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-39.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.7 R$399

$54.8 ₡24.6K

43.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.5 R$337

$55.9 ₡25.1K

19.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 R$562

$80.4 ₡36.0K

37.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.5 R$433

$77.9 ₡34.9K

9.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$355 R$1,799

$801 ₡359.1K

-55.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$241 R$1,220

$790 ₡354.1K

-69.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$681 R$3,452

$4,005 ₡1.8M

-83.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$467 R$2,366

$1,409 ₡632.0K

-66.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,734 R$8,792

$7,064 ₡3.2M

-75.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,215 R$6,160

$1,236 ₡554.3K

-1.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$748 R$3,792

$887 ₡397.6K

-15.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

27.61%

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

Last update for Americana: October 19, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Americana

$241 27.2%

Nosara

$790 43% 228% $549

Groceries & Markets

Americana

$194 21.9%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 80.3% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Americana

$154 17.3%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 21.3% $33

Eating Out

Americana

$121 13.6%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 76.4% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Americana

$91 10.2%

Nosara

$184 10% 103% $93

Getting Around

Americana

$53 6%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 66.1% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Americana

$33 3.7%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 171% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $355 in Americana and $801 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 19% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $24.00 in Americana vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $350 per month, with Americana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Americana

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

23:27 11:27 PM

20:27 8:27 PM

3 h behind Americana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

237,240

4,912

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Americana Nosara 5,540 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Americana
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

Americana vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Americana wins on cost – living expenses run 107% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Americana the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 19% lower in Nosara. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $355 in Americana versus $801 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Americana runs roughly 69% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $280 in Americana versus $490 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $886 in Americana versus $1,835 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Americana but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Americana the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Americana delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $886 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Americana hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Americana 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 Americana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 107% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.