Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Blackburn and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,048 in Blackburn, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Blackburn outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

99

Cost of Living Index in Blackburn
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Blackburn Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Blackburn

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,048

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,048 per month in Blackburn vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Blackburn $2,048
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,031 per month in Blackburn vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Blackburn $3,031
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,015 per month in Blackburn vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Blackburn $4,015
Nosara $3,818

Blackburn costs about 11% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Blackburn and Nosara sit above the global median – Blackburn by 52%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.48 £10.86

$12.35 ₡5,539

17.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.6 £41.73

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-9.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.15 £6.11

$7.52 ₡3,373

8.38%

Cappuccino

$4.06 £3.04

$4.41 ₡1,978

-7.94%

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

$2.71 £2.03

$1.74 ₡780

55.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.31 ₡587

10.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.40 £3.30

$3.28 ₡1,471

34.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.32 £3.99

$4.47 ₡2,004

19.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.56 ₡701

3.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 £1.12

$3.02 ₡1,355

-50.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.37 £1.78

$2.51 ₡1,125

-5.58%

Eggs

$3.43 £2.57

$3.57 ₡1,603

-3.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.02 £8.27

$7.43 ₡3,333

48.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.71 £6.54

$10.52 ₡4,717

-17.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.51 £11.64

$13.97 ₡6,265

11.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.56 £1.17

$2.35 ₡1,052

-33.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 £1.22

$1.61 ₡720

1.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.35 £1.76

$4.80 ₡2,152

-51.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 £2.30

$1.61 ₡724

90.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 £1.11

$3.80 ₡1,703

-61.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$3.69 ₡1,657

-58.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.45 £0.33

$1.13 ₡507

-60.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 £0.55

$2.66 ₡1,191

-72.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.27 £15.21

$5.18 ₡2,321

291.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.43 £7.07

$19.88 ₡8,916

-52.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.90 ₡1,300

-24.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 £1.45

$3.63 ₡1,626

-46.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 £1.99

$1.12 ₡504

137.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.1 £54.8

$72.6 ₡32.6K

0.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.56 £1.92

$2.14 ₡958

19.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.57 ₡703

26.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.82 £13.37

$8.52 ₡3,823

109.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.52 ₡682

31.58%

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

$37.8K £28.3K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

74.71%

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

$40.6K £30.5K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

17.72%

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

$251 £189

$96.3 ₡43.2K

160.99%

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

$16.61 £12.46

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-53.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.77 £21.58

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-46.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.83 £33.63

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-37.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.11 £9.08

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-65.31%

Cinema Ticket

$9.37 £7.03

$7.89 ₡3,539

18.76%

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

$1,069 £802

$494 ₡221.6K

116.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.4K £16.8K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

88.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.5 £65.6

$53.9 ₡24.2K

62.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.07 £35.31

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-15.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.6 £67.2

$77.9 ₡34.9K

15.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.5 £51.4

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-13.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,200 £901

$788 ₡353.4K

52.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$950 £713

$794 ₡356.2K

19.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,885 £1,414

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-52.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 £1,261

$1,419 ₡636.5K

18.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,975 £3,732

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-28.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,792 £2,845

$1,224 ₡549.0K

209.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,119 £1,590

$864 ₡387.3K

145.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

8.62

-42.11%

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

Last update for Blackburn: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Blackburn

$950 46.4%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 16.4% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Blackburn

$297 14.5%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 37.4% $111

Groceries & Markets

Blackburn

$271 13.3%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 29.8% $81

Eating Out

Blackburn

$238 11.6%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 11.1% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Blackburn

$132 6.4%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 8.8% $12

Getting Around

Blackburn

$96 4.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 9.5% $9.1

Sport & Entertainment

Blackburn

$64 3.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 37.4% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,200 in Blackburn 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 145% higher in Blackburn, 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 $56.0 in Blackburn versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $271 vs $352 – making Blackburn the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Blackburn

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

19:15 7:15 PM

12:15 12:15 PM

7 h behind Blackburn

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

105,000

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Blackburn Nosara 8,670 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Blackburn
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

Blackburn vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,048 in Blackburn, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 11% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,072 per month in Blackburn 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 Nosara, 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 $2,048 in Blackburn and $1,839 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 11%.

Public transport costs about 1% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,839, than in Blackburn at $2,048. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Blackburn 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 $1,839 in Nosara to $2,048 in Blackburn. 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, Blackburn makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.