Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Carthage and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Carthage: $693 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Carthage
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Carthage Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Carthage

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$693

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $693 in Carthage versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Carthage $693
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,100 in Carthage versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Carthage $1,100
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,508 in Carthage versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Carthage $1,508
Nosara $3,818

Living in Carthage costs roughly 62% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Carthage is 49% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.09 TND 12.26

$12.35 ₡5,539

-66.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.71 TND 68.0

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-62.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.89 TND 17.65

$7.52 ₡3,373

-21.68%

Cappuccino

$1.15 TND 3.44

$4.41 ₡1,978

-73.92%

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

$0.73 TND 2.20

$1.74 ₡780

-58.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 TND 0.88

$1.31 ₡587

-77.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.70 TND 5.08

$3.28 ₡1,471

-48.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 TND 6.14

$4.47 ₡2,004

-54.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.49 TND 1.46

$1.56 ₡701

-68.59%

White Bread (500g)

$0.26 TND 0.78

$3.02 ₡1,355

-91.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 TND 5.33

$2.51 ₡1,125

-29.08%

Eggs

$1.84 TND 5.50

$3.57 ₡1,603

-48.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 TND 30.56

$7.43 ₡3,333

37.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.74 TND 17.21

$10.52 ₡4,717

-45.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.42 TND 43.20

$13.97 ₡6,265

3.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.31 TND 3.92

$2.35 ₡1,052

-44.26%

Banana (1kg)

$3.65 TND 10.93

$1.61 ₡720

126.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.17 TND 3.49

$4.80 ₡2,152

-75.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.83 TND 2.48

$1.61 ₡724

-48.45%

Potato (1kg)

$0.90 TND 2.70

$3.80 ₡1,703

-76.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.69 TND 2.07

$3.69 ₡1,657

-81.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 TND 1.60

$1.13 ₡507

-53.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.34 TND 1.03

$2.66 ₡1,191

-87.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.59 TND 10.75

$5.18 ₡2,321

-30.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.62 TND 19.82

$19.88 ₡8,916

-66.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 TND 3.68

$2.90 ₡1,300

-57.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 TND 3.72

$3.63 ₡1,626

-65.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 TND 1.30

$1.12 ₡504

-61.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.96 TND 41.82

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-80.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.31 TND 0.92

$2.14 ₡958

-85.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 TND 1.03

$1.57 ₡703

-78.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.78 TND 5.34

$8.52 ₡3,823

-79.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 TND 2.63

$1.52 ₡682

-42.11%

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

$39.9K TND 119.4K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

84.49%

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

$35.4K TND 106.1K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

2.67%

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

$45.22 TND 135

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-53.04%

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

$9.23 TND 27.63

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-74.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.98 TND 62.9

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-60.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.18 TND 96.4

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-55.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.26 TND 39.70

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-62.02%

Cinema Ticket

$5.17 TND 15.49

$7.89 ₡3,539

-34.47%

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

$104 TND 311

$494 ₡221.6K

-78.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,218 TND 9,637

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-72.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.72 TND 131

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-18.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 TND 178

$55.4 ₡24.8K

6.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 TND 340

$77.9 ₡34.9K

45.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.7 TND 203

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-14.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$211 TND 633

$788 ₡353.4K

-73.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$154 TND 463

$794 ₡356.2K

-80.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$209 TND 625

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-94.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$272 TND 815

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-80.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$972 TND 2,911

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-85.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$622 TND 1,862

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-49.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$269 TND 807

$864 ₡387.3K

-68.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.28

8.62

19.26%

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

Last update for Carthage: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Carthage

$194 28%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 81.6% $158

Accommodation & Living

Carthage

$154 22.3%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 414% $640

Clothing & Footwear

Carthage

$128 18.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 6.1% $7.8

Eating Out

Carthage

$81 11.7%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 162% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Carthage

$75 10.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 146% $110

Sport & Entertainment

Carthage

$43 6.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 105% $45

Getting Around

Carthage

$18 2.6%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 391% $69

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $211 in Carthage and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 220% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $23.00 in Carthage vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $352 per month, with Carthage cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇳 Carthage

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

08:10 8:10 AM

01:10 1:10 AM

7 h behind Carthage

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,276

4,912

💱 Currency

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to TND – Tunisian Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇳 Tunisian Dinar (د.ت)

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to TND in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Carthage Nosara 9,870 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Carthage
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

Carthage vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Carthage and Nosara differ by about 165% in total monthly costs ($693 vs $1,839 including rent). Carthage is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 220% lower in Nosara. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $211 in Carthage versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Carthage – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $693 in Carthage versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Carthage but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Carthage the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Carthage 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 Carthage gentler on the wallet – expenses run 165% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.