Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Broken Hill and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $2,528 in Broken Hill, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Broken Hill
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Broken Hill Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Broken Hill

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,528

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,528 in Broken Hill versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Broken Hill $2,528
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,595 in Broken Hill versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Broken Hill $3,595
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,662 in Broken Hill versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Broken Hill $4,662
Nosara $3,712

Living in Broken Hill is roughly 38% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Broken Hill 89% above, Nosara 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.24 A$27.53

$12.22 ₡5,509

57.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.4 A$125

$60.2 ₡27.1K

45.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.70 A$15.31

$7.54 ₡3,399

41.91%

Cappuccino

$4.39 A$6.28

$4.31 ₡1,941

1.86%

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

$2.84 A$4.07

$1.72 ₡773

65.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 A$3.13

$1.35 ₡608

61.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.53 A$9.34

$3.24 ₡1,459

101.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.79 A$12.58

$4.48 ₡2,018

96.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 A$2.04

$1.57 ₡707

-9.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.48 A$3.55

$3.17 ₡1,429

-21.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 A$3.33

$2.42 ₡1,091

-3.72%

Eggs

$5.02 A$7.18

$3.57 ₡1,609

40.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.78 A$12.57

$7.43 ₡3,349

18.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.33 A$11.92

$10.42 ₡4,697

-20.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.89 A$22.75

$13.66 ₡6,156

16.33%

Apples (1kg)

$4.43 A$6.34

$2.32 ₡1,044

90.95%

Banana (1kg)

$2.63 A$3.76

$1.61 ₡728

63.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.65 A$5.22

$4.74 ₡2,138

-23.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.95 A$7.08

$1.66 ₡747

198.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.37 A$3.39

$3.72 ₡1,679

-36.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.23 A$3.19

$3.57 ₡1,611

-37.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.50 A$3.57

$1.10 ₡497

127.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 A$2.50

$2.55 ₡1,149

-31.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.62 A$62.4

$4.95 ₡2,232

781.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.81 A$18.33

$20.01 ₡9,020

-35.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.54 A$6.49

$2.79 ₡1,256

62.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.72 A$6.76

$3.53 ₡1,589

33.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.88 A$4.12

$1.19 ₡537

142.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$89.0 A$127

$72.1 ₡32.5K

23.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 A$4.53

$2.24 ₡1,011

41.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.39 A$1.99

$1.55 ₡701

-10.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$44.43 A$63.6

$8.86 ₡3,993

401.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 A$1.92

$1.57 ₡708

-14.65%

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

$25.2K A$36.0K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

15.46%

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

$29.3K A$41.9K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-15.38%

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

$218 A$312

$93.5 ₡42.1K

133.09%

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

$31.10 A$44.51

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-11.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.2 A$71.9

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-2.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.3 A$87.7

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-14.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.54 A$27.96

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-44.86%

Cinema Ticket

$12.84 A$18.37

$7.84 ₡3,535

63.78%

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

$2,450 A$3,506

$490 ₡220.7K

400.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.1K A$31.6K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

85.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$116

$53.5 ₡24.1K

51.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.4 A$89.3

$55.8 ₡25.1K

11.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 A$153

$79.3 ₡35.7K

34.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 A$193

$78.9 ₡35.6K

71.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,464 A$2,095

$786 ₡354.3K

86.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,124 A$1,608

$780 ₡351.6K

44.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,828 A$2,615

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-52.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,954 A$2,797

$1,407 ₡634.4K

38.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,374 A$7,691

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-22.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,529 A$7,912

$1,201 ₡541.3K

360.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 ₡395.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

8.62

-32.25%

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

Last update for Broken Hill: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Broken Hill

$1.1K 45.6%

Nosara

$780 43% 30.6% $344

Groceries & Markets

Broken Hill

$362 14.7%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 3.4% $12

Eating Out

Broken Hill

$309 12.5%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 32.2% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Broken Hill

$299 12.1%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 39.8% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Broken Hill

$173 7%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 30.6% $53

Getting Around

Broken Hill

$111 4.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 21.5% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Broken Hill

$87 3.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 0.2% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,464 in Broken Hill and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $87.0 in Broken Hill vs $60.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $362 vs $350 per month, with Nosara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Broken Hill

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:10 2:10 PM

21:40 9:40 PM

16 h 30 min behind Broken Hill

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,456

4,912

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 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 AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Broken Hill Nosara 14,600 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Broken Hill
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

Broken Hill vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 38% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $3,792 in Broken Hill and $2,756 in Nosara to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,464 in Broken Hill versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,450 in Broken Hill versus $490 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Broken Hill. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,837 in Nosara versus $2,528 in Broken Hill, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Broken Hill. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Nosara is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Broken Hill, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Broken Hill 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 Nosara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Broken Hill. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.