Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge Bay and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,844 a month against $2,280 in Cambridge Bay, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge Bay
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Cambridge Bay Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Cambridge Bay

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,280

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,844

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,280 in Cambridge Bay versus $1,844 in Nosara.

Cambridge Bay $2,280
Nosara $1,844

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,269 in Cambridge Bay versus $2,817 in Nosara.

Cambridge Bay $3,269
Nosara $2,817

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,258 in Cambridge Bay versus $3,790 in Nosara.

Cambridge Bay $4,258
Nosara $3,790

Living in Cambridge Bay is roughly 24% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cambridge Bay 69% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 CA$31.13

$12.38 ₡5,577

80.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.4 CA$88.5

$60.6 ₡27.3K

4.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 CA$14.71

$7.81 ₡3,518

34.96%

Cappuccino

$3.79 CA$5.29

$4.37 ₡1,969

-13.27%

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

$2.08 CA$2.90

$1.78 ₡802

16.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 CA$2.26

$1.35 ₡606

20.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.15 CA$7.19

$3.39 ₡1,528

51.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.60 CA$7.81

$4.31 ₡1,942

29.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.12 CA$2.96

$1.55 ₡700

36.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.48 CA$3.46

$3.17 ₡1,428

-21.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.51 CA$4.91

$2.51 ₡1,132

39.84%

Eggs

$3.42 CA$4.78

$3.53 ₡1,587

-3.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.04 CA$14.01

$7.37 ₡3,318

36.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.39 CA$15.91

$10.46 ₡4,710

8.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.79 CA$20.64

$13.91 ₡6,264

6.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.89 CA$5.43

$2.26 ₡1,020

72.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 CA$1.91

$1.56 ₡703

-12.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.61 CA$5.04

$4.70 ₡2,116

-23.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.93 CA$5.48

$1.62 ₡730

142.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.41 CA$3.37

$3.88 ₡1,749

-37.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.26 CA$3.16

$3.79 ₡1,706

-40.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.39 CA$3.33

$1.07 ₡482

123.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 CA$2.20

$2.61 ₡1,176

-39.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.17 CA$19.78

$5.16 ₡2,323

174.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.93 CA$18.05

$20.33 ₡9,157

-36.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 CA$3.90

$2.91 ₡1,312

-3.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 CA$4.45

$3.67 ₡1,653

-13.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 CA$3.27

$1.31 ₡589

79.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$62.7 CA$87.5

$73.2 ₡33.0K

-14.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.87 CA$4.00

$2.19 ₡985

31.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.07

$1.84 ₡831

-19.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.95 CA$33.43

$7.81 ₡3,519

206.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 CA$1.64

$1.56 ₡703

-24.36%

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

$28.1K CA$39.3K

$33.4K ₡15.0M

-15.80%

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

$21.0K CA$29.3K

$38.1K ₡17.1M

-44.89%

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

$140 CA$195

$95.9 ₡43.2K

45.92%

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

$38.56 CA$53.8

$35.37 ₡15.9K

9.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.0 CA$75.3

$53.7 ₡24.2K

0.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.08 CA$51.8

$67.5 ₡30.4K

-45.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.53 CA$25.87

$35.43 ₡16.0K

-47.70%

Cinema Ticket

$10.51 CA$14.66

$7.72 ₡3,478

36.14%

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

$644 CA$899

$496 ₡223.2K

29.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K CA$18.5K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

11.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 CA$75.8

$54.6 ₡24.6K

-0.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.98 CA$54.4

$55.0 ₡24.8K

-29.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.4 CA$121

$79.8 ₡36.0K

8.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 CA$142

$77.9 ₡35.1K

30.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 CA$1,816

$817 ₡368.0K

59.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,120 CA$1,563

$800 ₡360.3K

39.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,968 CA$2,747

$3,889 ₡1.8M

-49.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,647 CA$2,298

$1,396 ₡628.5K

17.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,314 CA$6,022

$6,977 ₡3.1M

-38.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,537 CA$4,937

$1,222 ₡550.4K

189.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$879 ₡395.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.68

8.62

-45.71%

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

Last update for Cambridge Bay: November 2, 2026

Last update for Nosara: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge Bay

$1.1K 49.1%

Nosara

$800 43.4% 28.6% $320

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge Bay

$353 15.5%

Nosara

$353 19.1% 0.2% $0.8

Eating Out

Cambridge Bay

$307 13.5%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 30.7% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge Bay

$232 10.2%

Nosara

$185 10% 20.4% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge Bay

$127 5.6%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 5% $6.3

Getting Around

Cambridge Bay

$82 3.6%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 9.1% $7.5

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge Bay

$58 2.6%

Nosara

$83 4.5% 42.7% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,301 in Cambridge Bay and $817 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $63 in Cambridge Bay vs $61 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $353 vs $353, with Cambridge Bay cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Cambridge Bay

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

01:08 1:08 AM

02:08 2:08 AM

1 h ahead of Cambridge Bay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,800

4,912

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.638 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.638 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cambridge Bay Nosara 6,720 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge Bay
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

Cambridge Bay vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,280 in Cambridge Bay and $1,844 in Nosara, so Nosara is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,420 in Cambridge Bay and $2,765 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: $1,301 in Cambridge Bay versus $817 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cambridge Bay runs roughly 14% less than in Nosara. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $2,280 per month in Cambridge Bay versus $1,844 in Nosara – Nosara is about 19% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Nosara gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.