Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caguas and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Caguas: $1,621 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Caguas
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Caguas Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Caguas

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,621

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Caguas vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Caguas $1,621
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $2,580 per month in Caguas vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Caguas $2,580
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $3,539 per month in Caguas vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Caguas $3,539
Nosara $3,818

Caguas is about 12% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Caguas and Nosara sit above the global median – Caguas by 20%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.74 $14.74

$12.35 ₡5,539

19.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.9 $82.9

$61.2 ₡27.4K

35.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.99 $8.99

$7.52 ₡3,373

19.55%

Cappuccino

$2.28 $2.28

$4.41 ₡1,978

-48.30%

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

$1.12 $1.12

$1.74 ₡780

-35.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 $1.24

$1.31 ₡587

-5.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.52 $1.52

$3.28 ₡1,471

-53.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 $4.12

$4.47 ₡2,004

-7.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 $2.16

$1.56 ₡701

38.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.80 $2.80

$3.02 ₡1,355

-7.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 $2.31

$2.51 ₡1,125

-7.97%

Eggs

$4.97 $4.97

$3.57 ₡1,603

39.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.90 $6.90

$7.43 ₡3,333

-7.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.13 $9.13

$10.52 ₡4,717

-13.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.99 $11.99

$13.97 ₡6,265

-14.17%

Apples (1kg)

$5.15 $5.15

$2.35 ₡1,052

119.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.61 $2.61

$1.61 ₡720

62.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.39 $2.39

$4.80 ₡2,152

-50.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.53 $4.53

$1.61 ₡724

181.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.57 $2.57

$3.80 ₡1,703

-32.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.71 $2.71

$3.69 ₡1,657

-26.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 $2.26

$1.13 ₡507

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 $1.60

$2.66 ₡1,191

-39.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.64 $10.64

$5.18 ₡2,321

105.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.03 $14.03

$19.88 ₡8,916

-29.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 $1.45

$2.90 ₡1,300

-50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 $2.18

$3.63 ₡1,626

-39.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$1.12 ₡504

76.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$70.3 $70.3

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-3.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.44 $2.44

$2.14 ₡958

14.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 $1.54

$1.57 ₡703

-1.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.73 $42.73

$8.52 ₡3,823

401.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.89 $0.89

$1.52 ₡682

-41.45%

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

$30.5K $30.5K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

41.36%

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

$25.8K $25.8K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-25.30%

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

$185 $185

$96.3 ₡43.2K

92.33%

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

$59.9 $59.9

$35.89 ₡16.1K

66.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.2 $56.2

$53.6 ₡24.0K

4.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.28 $35.28

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-50.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$50.9 $50.9

$34.91 ₡15.7K

45.80%

Cinema Ticket

$9.83 $9.83

$7.89 ₡3,539

24.59%

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

$300 $300

$494 ₡221.6K

-39.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K $12.3K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

3.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.14 $26.14

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-51.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.43 $35.43

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-36.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.1 $81.1

$77.9 ₡34.9K

4.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 $115

$79.6 ₡35.7K

44.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$752 $752

$788 ₡353.4K

-4.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$528 $528

$794 ₡356.2K

-33.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,080 $1,080

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-72.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$977 $977

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-31.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,422 $2,422

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-64.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$849 $849

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-30.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,041 $3,041

$864 ₡387.3K

252.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.85

8.62

-43.74%

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

Last update for Caguas: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Caguas

$528 32.6%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 50.5% $267

Groceries & Markets

Caguas

$336 20.7%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 4.9% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caguas

$301 18.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 38.3% $116

Eating Out

Caguas

$198 12.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 7.2% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Caguas

$116 7.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 3.6% $4.2

Getting Around

Caguas

$88 5.5%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 1.3% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Caguas

$55 3.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 59% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $752 in Caguas 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 252% higher in Caguas, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $83.0 in Caguas versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $336 in Caguas vs $352 in Nosara – so Caguas wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Caguas

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:11 2:11 PM

12:11 12:11 PM

2 h behind Caguas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

70,318

4,912

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Caguas Nosara 2,300 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Caguas
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

Caguas vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara costs about 13% more than Caguas, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,432 per month in Caguas 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 Caguas, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $83.0 in Caguas and $61.0 in Nosara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,621 in Caguas and $1,839 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 13%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Caguas, where all-in costs run around $1,621, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Caguas it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Caguas costs $1,621 versus $1,839 in Nosara. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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