Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cave Valley and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Cave Valley: $1,003 a month against $1,846 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Cave Valley
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Cave Valley Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Cave Valley

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,003

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,846

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,003 in Cave Valley versus $1,846 in Nosara.

Cave Valley $1,003
Nosara $1,846

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,661 in Cave Valley versus $2,833 in Nosara.

Cave Valley $1,661
Nosara $2,833

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,318 in Cave Valley versus $3,820 in Nosara.

Cave Valley $2,318
Nosara $3,820

Living in Cave Valley costs roughly 46% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cave Valley is 26% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.51 JMD 2,130

$12.36 ₡5,575

9.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.2 JMD 11.7K

$60.8 ₡27.4K

22.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 JMD 1,328

$7.88 ₡3,557

6.85%

Cappuccino

$5.34 JMD 843

$4.40 ₡1,986

21.36%

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

$1.15 JMD 182

$1.72 ₡776

-33.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 JMD 117

$1.34 ₡603

-44.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 JMD 341

$3.34 ₡1,505

-35.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 JMD 482

$4.54 ₡2,048

-32.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.16 JMD 656

$1.64 ₡739

153.66%

White Bread (500g)

$3.68 JMD 580

$3.16 ₡1,426

16.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 JMD 250

$2.39 ₡1,080

-33.47%

Eggs

$3.63 JMD 572

$3.47 ₡1,564

4.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.55 JMD 1,821

$7.13 ₡3,217

61.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.21 JMD 979

$10.32 ₡4,655

-39.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.36 JMD 1,634

$13.97 ₡6,302

-25.84%

Apples (1kg)

$6.15 JMD 969

$2.29 ₡1,031

168.56%

Banana (1kg)

$3.93 JMD 620

$1.62 ₡731

142.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.51 JMD 1,185

$4.81 ₡2,169

56.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.98 JMD 470

$1.68 ₡758

77.38%

Potato (1kg)

$3.30 JMD 520

$3.91 ₡1,765

-15.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 JMD 430

$3.63 ₡1,640

-24.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.01 JMD 475

$1.13 ₡509

166.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 JMD 237

$2.63 ₡1,188

-42.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.25 JMD 1,458

$5.02 ₡2,267

84.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.53 JMD 1,818

$19.71 ₡8,893

-41.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 JMD 438

$2.91 ₡1,314

-4.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 JMD 625

$3.54 ₡1,597

11.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 ₡545

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.8 ₡33.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 JMD 201

$2.15 ₡969

-40.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.20 JMD 504

$1.63 ₡738

96.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.41 JMD 1,011

$8.77 ₡3,958

-26.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 JMD 221

$1.55 ₡700

-9.68%

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

$43.3K JMD 6.8M

$33.9K ₡15.3M

27.84%

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

$32.3K JMD 5.1M

$38.5K ₡17.4M

-16.02%

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

$166 JMD 26.1K

$95.2 ₡43.0K

73.85%

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

$29.39 JMD 4,635

$36.29 ₡16.4K

-19.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.0 JMD 8,201

$52.0 ₡23.5K

-0.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.6 ₡30.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.55 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$13.12 JMD 2,070

$7.54 ₡3,404

74.01%

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

$368 JMD 58.0K

$496 ₡224.0K

-25.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,266 JMD 1.3M

$11.8K ₡5.3M

-29.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.60 JMD 3,722

$55.1 ₡24.9K

-57.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.02 JMD 4,891

$56.1 ₡25.3K

-44.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.3 JMD 12.0K

$77.8 ₡35.1K

-1.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 JMD 16.3K

$79.1 ₡35.7K

30.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$817 ₡368.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$806 ₡363.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,988 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,429 ₡644.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,068 ₡3.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,197 ₡540.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$888 ₡400.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

8.62

9.63%

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

Last update for Cave Valley: October 26, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Cave Valley

$386 38.4%

Nosara

$351 19% 8.9% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cave Valley

$247 24.6%

Nosara

$184 9.9% 25.7% $63

Eating Out

Cave Valley

$222 22.1%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 3.9% $8.7

Clothing & Footwear

Cave Valley

$105 10.5%

Nosara

$121 6.5% 14.5% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Cave Valley

$26 * 2.6%

Nosara

$83 4.5% 215% $56

Getting Around

Cave Valley

$17 * 1.7%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 415% $72

Accommodation & Living

Cave Valley

- * 0%

Nosara

$806 43.7%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $74 in Cave Valley vs $61 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $386 vs $351 per month, with Nosara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Cave Valley

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

11:37 11:37 AM

10:37 10:37 AM

1 h behind Cave Valley

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cave Valley Nosara 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cave Valley
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

Cave Valley vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cave Valley and Nosara differ by about 84% in total monthly costs ($1,003 vs $1,846 including rent). Cave Valley is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,505 in Cave Valley and $2,769 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.

Shoppers in Nosara pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,003 per month in Cave Valley versus $1,846 in Nosara – a 84% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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.