Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Castle Rock, CO and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Castle Rock, CO: $1,249 a month against $1,844 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Nosara outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Castle Rock, CO
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Castle Rock, CO Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Castle Rock, CO

🇺🇸 United States

$1,249

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,844

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,249 in Castle Rock, CO versus $1,844 in Nosara.

Castle Rock, CO $1,249
Nosara $1,844

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,975 in Castle Rock, CO versus $2,817 in Nosara.

Castle Rock, CO $1,975
Nosara $2,817

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,702 in Castle Rock, CO versus $3,790 in Nosara.

Castle Rock, CO $2,702
Nosara $3,790

Living in Castle Rock, CO costs roughly 32% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Castle Rock, CO is 8% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.20 $22.20

$12.38 ₡5,568

79.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 $64.5

$60.6 ₡27.2K

6.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.21 $9.21

$7.81 ₡3,513

17.93%

Cappuccino

$5.64 $5.64

$4.37 ₡1,966

29.06%

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

$2.56 $2.56

$1.78 ₡800

43.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.35 ₡605

45.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 $6.78

$3.39 ₡1,526

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.98 $5.98

$4.31 ₡1,939

38.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 $1.00

$1.55 ₡699

-35.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.98 $2.98

$3.17 ₡1,425

-5.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.81 $2.81

$2.51 ₡1,130

11.95%

Eggs

$4.38 $4.38

$3.53 ₡1,585

24.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.07 $11.07

$7.37 ₡3,313

50.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 $9.32

$10.46 ₡4,703

-10.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.29 $19.29

$13.91 ₡6,255

38.68%

Apples (1kg)

$4.95 $4.95

$2.26 ₡1,018

119.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 $1.39

$1.56 ₡701

-10.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.62 $3.62

$4.70 ₡2,113

-22.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.37 $5.37

$1.62 ₡729

231.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.88 $2.88

$3.88 ₡1,746

-25.77%

Onion (1kg)

$3.23 $3.23

$3.79 ₡1,704

-14.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.07 ₡481

22.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 $1.76

$2.61 ₡1,174

-32.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.40 $10.40

$5.16 ₡2,319

101.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.06 $12.06

$20.33 ₡9,143

-40.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 $2.56

$2.91 ₡1,310

-12.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 $2.62

$3.67 ₡1,651

-28.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.31 ₡588

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.2 ₡32.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 $2.54

$2.19 ₡984

15.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 $1.83

$1.84 ₡829

-0.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.86 $24.86

$7.81 ₡3,513

218.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.74 $0.74

$1.56 ₡702

-52.56%

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

$28.4K $28.4K

$33.4K ₡15.0M

-14.90%

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

$26.0K $26.0K

$38.1K ₡17.1M

-31.82%

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

$209 $209

$95.9 ₡43.1K

118.31%

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

$39.22 $39.22

$35.37 ₡15.9K

10.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.7 $70.7

$53.7 ₡24.1K

31.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.1 $60.1

$67.5 ₡30.3K

-10.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.43 ₡15.9K

Cinema Ticket

$11.90 $11.90

$7.72 ₡3,473

54.15%

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

$1,285 $1,285

$496 ₡222.8K

159.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K $11.3K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-5.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 $54.2

$54.6 ₡24.6K

-0.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.30 $49.30

$55.0 ₡24.7K

-10.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.4 $79.4

$79.8 ₡35.9K

-0.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 $114

$77.9 ₡35.0K

46.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$817 ₡367.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$800 ₡359.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,889 ₡1.7M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,396 ₡627.6K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,977 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,222 ₡549.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,943 $5,943

$879 ₡395.3K

575.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.77

8.62

-21.46%

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

Last update for Castle Rock, CO: November 3, 2026

Last update for Nosara: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Castle Rock, CO

$364 29.1%

Nosara

$353 19.1% 3.2% $12

Eating Out

Castle Rock, CO

$337 27%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 36.8% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Castle Rock, CO

$319 25.6%

Nosara

$185 10% 42.1% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Castle Rock, CO

$134 10.7%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 9.9% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Castle Rock, CO

$84 6.7%

Nosara

$83 4.5% 1.2% $1

Getting Around

Castle Rock, CO

$12 * 0.9%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 670% $78

Accommodation & Living

Castle Rock, CO

- * 0%

Nosara

$800 43.4%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Castle Rock, CO pays about 6.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $65 in Castle Rock, CO vs $61 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $364 vs $353 per month, with Nosara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Castle Rock, CO

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

05:57 5:57 AM

06:57 6:57 AM

1 h ahead of Castle Rock, CO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

73,158

4,912

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 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 November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Castle Rock, CO Nosara 3,780 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Castle Rock, CO
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

Castle Rock, CO vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,249 in Castle Rock, CO and $1,844 in Nosara, so Castle Rock, CO is about 32% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Castle Rock, CO is about 6.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Shoppers in Nosara pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,249 per month in Castle Rock, CO versus $1,844 in Nosara – Castle Rock, CO is about 32% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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, Castle Rock, CO and Nosara are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.