Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bauru and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Bauru: $834 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Bauru
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Bauru Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Bauru

🇧🇷 Brazil

$834

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $834 in Bauru versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Bauru $834
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,279 in Bauru versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Bauru $1,279
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,724 in Bauru versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Bauru $1,724
Nosara $3,818

Living in Bauru costs roughly 55% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bauru is 38% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.96 R$25.17

$12.35 ₡5,539

-59.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.17 R$138

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-55.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.58 R$38.43

$7.52 ₡3,373

0.80%

Cappuccino

$1.62 R$8.20

$4.41 ₡1,978

-63.27%

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

$0.95 R$4.83

$1.74 ₡780

-45.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 R$2.86

$1.31 ₡587

-57.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.55 R$7.87

$3.28 ₡1,471

-52.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 R$13.45

$4.47 ₡2,004

-40.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R$5.19

$1.56 ₡701

-34.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 R$7.79

$3.02 ₡1,355

-49.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.34

$2.51 ₡1,125

-50.20%

Eggs

$2.57 R$13.04

$3.57 ₡1,603

-28.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.90 R$40.03

$7.43 ₡3,333

6.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.30 R$21.81

$10.52 ₡4,717

-59.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.32 R$32.04

$13.97 ₡6,265

-54.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.14 R$10.84

$2.35 ₡1,052

-8.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R$7.42

$1.61 ₡720

-9.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.47

$4.80 ₡2,152

-73.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.02

$1.61 ₡724

10.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 R$6.94

$3.80 ₡1,703

-63.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.50

$3.69 ₡1,657

-65.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 R$6.94

$1.13 ₡507

21.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.13

$2.66 ₡1,191

-62.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.39 R$12.10

$5.18 ₡2,321

-53.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.88 R$34.87

$19.88 ₡8,916

-65.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 R$6.21

$2.90 ₡1,300

-57.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 R$12.20

$3.63 ₡1,626

-33.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 R$4.92

$1.12 ₡504

-13.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.11 R$153

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-58.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 R$9.75

$2.14 ₡958

-10.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 R$6.72

$1.57 ₡703

-15.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.92 R$19.89

$8.52 ₡3,823

-53.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.03

$1.52 ₡682

-21.71%

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

$23.7K R$120.3K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

9.84%

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

$35.7K R$180.9K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

3.39%

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

$137 R$694

$96.3 ₡43.2K

42.13%

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

$10.52 R$53.3

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-70.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.33 R$103

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-62.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.18 R$97.3

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-73.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.46 R$119

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-32.80%

Cinema Ticket

$5.42 R$27.49

$7.89 ₡3,539

-31.31%

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

$257 R$1,302

$494 ₡221.6K

-48.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,947 R$30.1K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-49.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.7 R$353

$53.9 ₡24.2K

29.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 R$257

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-8.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 R$550

$77.9 ₡34.9K

39.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.0 R$395

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-2.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$246 R$1,249

$788 ₡353.4K

-68.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$167 R$848

$794 ₡356.2K

-78.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$456 R$2,314

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-88.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 R$1,545

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-78.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,615 R$8,185

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-76.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$722 R$3,661

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-41.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$379 R$1,919

$864 ₡387.3K

-56.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.59

8.62

11.25%

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

Last update for Bauru: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bauru

$188 22.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 87.8% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bauru

$168 20.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 10.8% $18

Accommodation & Living

Bauru

$167 20.1%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 375% $627

Clothing & Footwear

Bauru

$138 16.6%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 13% $18

Eating Out

Bauru

$101 12.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 110% $111

Getting Around

Bauru

$43 5.1%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 105% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Bauru

$30 3.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 191% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $246 in Bauru and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 128% 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: $27.00 in Bauru vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $188 vs $352 per month, with Bauru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Bauru

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

05:00 5:00 AM

3 h behind Bauru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

379,146

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 18, 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 18, 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

Bauru Nosara 5,370 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Bauru
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

Bauru vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bauru wins on cost – living expenses run 120% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bauru the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 128% 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: $246 in Bauru versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bauru – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $834 per month in Bauru versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 120% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $834 in Bauru versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bauru but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Bauru the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bauru delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $834 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bauru hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Bauru 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 Bauru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 120% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.