Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Birmingham and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $2,500 in Birmingham, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Birmingham
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Birmingham Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Birmingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,500

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,500 per month in Birmingham vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Birmingham $2,500
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $3,627 per month in Birmingham vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Birmingham $3,627
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $4,753 per month in Birmingham vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Birmingham $4,753
Nosara $3,712

Birmingham costs about 36% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Birmingham and Nosara sit above the global median – Birmingham by 87%, Nosara by 37%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.14 £15.22

$12.22 ₡5,509

64.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £76.2

$60.2 ₡27.1K

67.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.44 £7.14

$7.54 ₡3,399

25.20%

Cappuccino

$5.06 £3.82

$4.31 ₡1,941

17.40%

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

$2.54 £1.92

$1.72 ₡773

47.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.35 ₡608

44.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.11 £5.38

$3.24 ₡1,459

119.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.68 £5.05

$4.48 ₡2,018

49.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 £1.43

$1.57 ₡707

20.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 £1.40

$3.17 ₡1,429

-41.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.50 £1.89

$2.42 ₡1,091

3.31%

Eggs

$3.91 £2.96

$3.57 ₡1,609

9.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 £6.85

$7.43 ₡3,349

21.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.71 £6.58

$10.42 ₡4,697

-16.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.03 £11.36

$13.66 ₡6,156

10.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 £1.95

$2.32 ₡1,044

11.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 £1.33

$1.61 ₡728

9.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.44 £1.84

$4.74 ₡2,138

-48.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.70 £2.79

$1.66 ₡747

122.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 £1.19

$3.72 ₡1,679

-57.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 £1.33

$3.57 ₡1,611

-50.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 £1.00

$1.10 ₡497

20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$2.55 ₡1,149

-38.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.86 £16.52

$4.95 ₡2,232

341.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.09 £9.14

$20.01 ₡9,020

-39.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.67 £2.77

$2.79 ₡1,256

31.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 £2.53

$3.53 ₡1,589

-5.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.98

$1.19 ₡537

231.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.2 £71.2

$72.1 ₡32.5K

30.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 £3.76

$2.24 ₡1,011

121.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.39 £1.81

$1.55 ₡701

54.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.23 £18.31

$8.86 ₡3,993

173.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.57 ₡708

31.85%

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

$37.5K £28.3K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

71.88%

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

$41.1K £31.1K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

18.73%

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

$316 £239

$93.5 ₡42.1K

237.93%

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

$21.37 £16.15

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-39.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.44 £35.85

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-7.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.70 £29.24

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-45.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.29 £22.89

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-14.53%

Cinema Ticket

$15.89 £12.01

$7.84 ₡3,535

102.68%

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

$1,601 £1,210

$490 ₡220.7K

227.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.5K £17.8K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

98.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £80.5

$53.5 ₡24.1K

98.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.76 £37.61

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-10.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 £89.0

$79.3 ₡35.7K

48.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$149 £112

$78.9 ₡35.6K

88.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,395 £1,054

$786 ₡354.3K

77.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 £834

$780 ₡351.6K

41.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,128 £1,608

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-44.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,719 £1,299

$1,407 ₡634.4K

22.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,354 £4,046

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-23.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,174 £3,154

$1,201 ₡541.3K

247.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,523 £3,418

$876 ₡395.0K

416.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

8.62

-40.95%

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

Last update for Birmingham: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Birmingham

$1.1K 44.1%

Nosara

$780 43% 29.4% $324

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Birmingham

$385 15.4%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 53.2% $205

Eating Out

Birmingham

$317 12.7%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 33.9% $108

Groceries & Markets

Birmingham

$312 12.5%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 11.9% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Birmingham

$190 7.6%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 36.7% $70

Getting Around

Birmingham

$127 5.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 31.5% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Birmingham

$70 2.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 23.6% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,395 in Birmingham versus $786 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 416% higher in Birmingham, 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 $101 in Birmingham versus $60.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $312 in Birmingham vs $350 in Nosara – so Birmingham wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Birmingham

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

07:08 7:08 AM

00:08 12:08 AM

7 h behind Birmingham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,036,878

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Birmingham Nosara 8,710 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Birmingham
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

Birmingham vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,500 in Birmingham, $1,837 in Nosara – roughly 36% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,750 per month in Birmingham and $2,756 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Kindergarten costs $1,601 per month in Birmingham and $490 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 12% cheaper in Birmingham – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,837, than in Birmingham at $2,500. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Birmingham it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Nosara has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,837 in Nosara to $2,500 in Birmingham. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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