Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barakaldo and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Barakaldo: $1,618 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Barakaldo
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Barakaldo Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Barakaldo

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,618

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,618 in Barakaldo versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Barakaldo $1,618
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,418 in Barakaldo versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Barakaldo $2,418
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,219 in Barakaldo versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Barakaldo $3,219
Nosara $3,818

Living in Barakaldo costs roughly 12% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barakaldo 20% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.91 €15.04

$12.35 ₡5,539

36.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.0 €60.5

$61.2 ₡27.4K

11.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.19 €10.85

$7.52 ₡3,373

62.10%

Cappuccino

$2.45 €2.18

$4.41 ₡1,978

-44.44%

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

$2.99 €2.66

$1.74 ₡780

71.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.31 ₡587

50.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$3.28 ₡1,471

4.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 €2.91

$4.47 ₡2,004

-26.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.56 ₡701

-26.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 €1.43

$3.02 ₡1,355

-46.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.38 €1.23

$2.51 ₡1,125

-45.02%

Eggs

$3.23 €2.88

$3.57 ₡1,603

-9.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.22 €10.87

$7.43 ₡3,333

64.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.98 €7.10

$10.52 ₡4,717

-24.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.98 €11.55

$13.97 ₡6,265

-7.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.77 €2.47

$2.35 ₡1,052

17.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 €1.39

$1.61 ₡720

-3.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$4.80 ₡2,152

-60.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 €2.04

$1.61 ₡724

42.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$3.80 ₡1,703

-59.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 €2.05

$3.69 ₡1,657

-37.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.13 ₡507

11.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.75

$2.66 ₡1,191

-68.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.51 €5.79

$5.18 ₡2,321

25.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.74 €6.88

$19.88 ₡8,916

-61.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 €1.33

$2.90 ₡1,300

-48.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 €1.76

$3.63 ₡1,626

-45.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.12 ₡504

47.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.27 €28.71

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-55.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.54 €4.93

$2.14 ₡958

158.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 €0.92

$1.57 ₡703

-33.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.55 €26.28

$8.52 ₡3,823

246.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.52 ₡682

20.39%

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

$34.8K €30.9K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

60.86%

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

$29.1K €25.9K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-15.59%

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

$141 €125

$96.3 ₡43.2K

46.28%

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

$18.30 €16.28

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-49.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.36 €22.56

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-52.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.61 €40.57

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-36.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.02 €14.25

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-54.11%

Cinema Ticket

$9.95 €8.85

$7.89 ₡3,539

26.11%

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

$491 €436

$494 ₡221.6K

-0.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.2K €9,111

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-13.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.3 €80.4

$53.9 ₡24.2K

67.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.23 €27.78

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-43.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.3 €61.6

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-11.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$79.6 ₡35.7K

49.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$914 €813

$788 ₡353.4K

15.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$679 €604

$794 ₡356.2K

-14.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,364 €1,213

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-65.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,022 €909

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-27.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,321 €2,954

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-51.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,166 €1,927

$1,224 ₡549.0K

76.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,796 €1,598

$864 ₡387.3K

108.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.98

8.62

-65.43%

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

Last update for Barakaldo: 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

Barakaldo

$679 42%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 17% $115

Groceries & Markets

Barakaldo

$255 15.8%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 38.1% $97

Eating Out

Barakaldo

$245 15.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 13.5% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barakaldo

$185 11.4%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 0.7% $1.3

Clothing & Footwear

Barakaldo

$140 8.6%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 13.9% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Barakaldo

$66 4.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 33.4% $22

Getting Around

Barakaldo

$50 3.1%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 75.6% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $914 in Barakaldo and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barakaldo pays 108% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barakaldo vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $352, with Barakaldo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barakaldo

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

23:48 11:48 PM

15:48 3:48 PM

8 h behind Barakaldo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

101,229

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barakaldo Nosara 8,660 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barakaldo
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

Barakaldo vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barakaldo and Nosara differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($1,618 vs $1,839 including rent). Barakaldo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 108% higher in Barakaldo, 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: $914 in Barakaldo versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Barakaldo – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,618 per month in Barakaldo versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 14% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,618 in Barakaldo versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barakaldo but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Barakaldo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Barakaldo 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 Barakaldo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.