Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aqaba and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Aqaba: $907 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Aqaba
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Aqaba Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Aqaba

🇯🇴 Jordan

$907

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $907 per month in Aqaba vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Aqaba $907
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $1,490 per month in Aqaba vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Aqaba $1,490
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $2,073 per month in Aqaba vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Aqaba $2,073
Nosara $3,818

Aqaba is about 51% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Aqaba sits 33% below the global median, while Nosara is 36% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.78 JOD 1.97

$12.35 ₡5,539

-77.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.4 JOD 49.11

$61.2 ₡27.4K

13.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.32 JOD 3.06

$7.52 ₡3,373

-42.55%

Cappuccino

$4.39 JOD 3.11

$4.41 ₡1,978

-0.45%

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

$0.60 JOD 0.43

$1.74 ₡780

-65.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.60 JOD 0.42

$1.31 ₡587

-54.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.25 JOD 5.84

$3.28 ₡1,471

151.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.75 JOD 7.61

$4.47 ₡2,004

140.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 JOD 1.01

$1.56 ₡701

-8.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.51 JOD 0.36

$3.02 ₡1,355

-83.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 JOD 1.12

$2.51 ₡1,125

-36.65%

Eggs

$1.72 JOD 1.22

$3.57 ₡1,603

-51.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.55 JOD 3.93

$7.43 ₡3,333

-25.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.32 JOD 3.06

$10.52 ₡4,717

-58.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.00 JOD 7.08

$13.97 ₡6,265

-28.42%

Apples (1kg)

$1.44 JOD 1.02

$2.35 ₡1,052

-38.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 JOD 0.99

$1.61 ₡720

-13.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.07 JOD 0.76

$4.80 ₡2,152

-77.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.69 JOD 0.49

$1.61 ₡724

-57.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.68 JOD 0.48

$3.80 ₡1,703

-82.11%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 JOD 0.51

$3.69 ₡1,657

-80.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 JOD 0.42

$1.13 ₡507

-46.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 JOD 0.38

$2.66 ₡1,191

-80.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 JOD 2.67

$5.18 ₡2,321

-27.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.23 JOD 12.20

$19.88 ₡8,916

-13.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 JOD 1.97

$2.90 ₡1,300

-4.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 JOD 1.79

$3.63 ₡1,626

-30.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 JOD 0.36

$2.14 ₡958

-76.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.38 JOD 0.98

$1.57 ₡703

-12.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 JOD 5.06

$8.52 ₡3,823

-16.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 JOD 1.02

$1.52 ₡682

-5.26%

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

$30.8K JOD 21.8K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

42.33%

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

$31.6K JOD 22.3K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-8.57%

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

$127 JOD 90.0

$96.3 ₡43.2K

32.02%

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

$15.73 JOD 11.14

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-56.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.46 JOD 22.27

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-41.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 JOD 45.41

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-10.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$11.10 JOD 7.86

$7.89 ₡3,539

40.68%

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

$486 JOD 344

$494 ₡221.6K

-1.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,863 JOD 2,027

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-75.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.70 JOD 19.61

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-48.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.79 JOD 30.29

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-22.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$42.82 JOD 30.32

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-45.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.0 JOD 49.53

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-12.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$277 JOD 196

$788 ₡353.4K

-64.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$211 JOD 149

$794 ₡356.2K

-73.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$669 JOD 474

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-83.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$459 JOD 325

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-67.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,109 JOD 785

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-83.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$572 JOD 405

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-53.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$553 JOD 391

$864 ₡387.3K

-35.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.81

8.62

-21.00%

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

Last update for Aqaba: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Aqaba

$211 23.3%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 277% $583

Groceries & Markets

Aqaba

$190 20.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 85.5% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aqaba

$174 19.2%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 6.6% $11

Eating Out

Aqaba

$155 17.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 36.3% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Aqaba

$86 9.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 1.2% $1

Clothing & Footwear

Aqaba

$82 9.1%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 45.6% $38

Getting Around

Aqaba

$7.4 * 0.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 1079% $80

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $277 in Aqaba versus $788 in Nosara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 56% higher in Nosara, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Aqaba versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $190 in Aqaba vs $352 in Nosara – so Aqaba wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇯🇴 Aqaba

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

08:48 8:48 AM

23:48 11:48 PM

9 h behind Aqaba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

140,000

4,912

💱 Currency

Jordanian Dinar JOD د.ا

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 JOD = 1.41 USD

1 JOD = 1.26 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to JOD – Jordanian Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇴 Jordanian Dinar (د.ا)

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.796 JOD (1 JOD = 1.26 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to JOD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Aqaba Nosara 12,300 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Aqaba
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

Aqaba vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Nosara is pricier by about 103%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,360 per month in Aqaba and $2,758 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aqaba, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $907 in Aqaba and $1,839 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 103%.

Kindergarten costs $486 per month in Aqaba and $494 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Aqaba, where all-in costs run around $907, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Aqaba it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Aqaba – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Aqaba. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Nosara makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.