Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chaguanas and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Chaguanas: $1,287 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Chaguanas
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Chaguanas Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Chaguanas

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,287

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,287 in Chaguanas versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Chaguanas $1,287
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Chaguanas versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Chaguanas $2,082
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,876 in Chaguanas versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Chaguanas $2,876
Nosara $3,818

Living in Chaguanas costs roughly 30% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chaguanas is 5% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.39 TTD 69.9

$12.35 ₡5,539

-15.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.9 TTD 403

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-2.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.18 TTD 55.0

$7.52 ₡3,373

8.78%

Cappuccino

$3.32 TTD 22.32

$4.41 ₡1,978

-24.72%

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

$1.26 TTD 8.44

$1.74 ₡780

-27.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 TTD 6.71

$1.31 ₡587

-23.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.73 TTD 11.64

$3.28 ₡1,471

-47.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 TTD 17.69

$4.47 ₡2,004

-41.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 TTD 16.07

$1.56 ₡701

53.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 TTD 14.36

$3.02 ₡1,355

-29.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 TTD 14.61

$2.51 ₡1,125

-13.55%

Eggs

$3.87 TTD 26.01

$3.57 ₡1,603

8.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.33 TTD 49.31

$7.43 ₡3,333

-1.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.03 TTD 54.0

$10.52 ₡4,717

-23.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.80 TTD 79.4

$13.97 ₡6,265

-15.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 TTD 19.98

$2.35 ₡1,052

26.38%

Banana (1kg)

$3.01 TTD 20.23

$1.61 ₡720

86.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.86 TTD 19.22

$4.80 ₡2,152

-40.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.01 TTD 33.68

$1.61 ₡724

211.18%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 TTD 16.59

$3.80 ₡1,703

-35.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 TTD 14.55

$3.69 ₡1,657

-41.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.99 TTD 13.37

$1.13 ₡507

76.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 TTD 8.68

$2.66 ₡1,191

-51.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.89 TTD 19.41

$5.18 ₡2,321

-44.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.92 TTD 134

$19.88 ₡8,916

0.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 TTD 12.87

$2.90 ₡1,300

-34.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 TTD 17.19

$3.63 ₡1,626

-29.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 TTD 5.10

$1.12 ₡504

-32.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.21 TTD 14.87

$2.14 ₡958

3.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 TTD 8.95

$1.57 ₡703

-15.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.46 TTD 97.3

$8.52 ₡3,823

69.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 TTD 7.52

$1.52 ₡682

-26.32%

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

$33.1K TTD 223.0K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

53.38%

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

$33.6K TTD 226.2K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-2.58%

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

$103 TTD 691

$96.3 ₡43.2K

6.69%

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

$38.71 TTD 260

$35.89 ₡16.1K

7.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.3 TTD 345

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-4.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.3 TTD 345

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-28.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$44.48 TTD 299

$34.91 ₡15.7K

27.41%

Cinema Ticket

$8.58 TTD 57.7

$7.89 ₡3,539

8.75%

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

$304 TTD 2,042

$494 ₡221.6K

-38.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.03 TTD 303

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-16.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.30 TTD 285

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-23.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.7 TTD 664

$77.9 ₡34.9K

26.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 TTD 716

$79.6 ₡35.7K

33.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$463 TTD 3,112

$788 ₡353.4K

-41.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$386 TTD 2,597

$794 ₡356.2K

-51.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$948 TTD 6,376

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-75.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$759 TTD 5,106

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-46.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$773 TTD 5,203

$864 ₡387.3K

-10.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

-42.00%

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

Last update for Chaguanas: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chaguanas

$386 30%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 106% $408

Groceries & Markets

Chaguanas

$326 25.3%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 8.1% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chaguanas

$193 15%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 3.6% $7

Eating Out

Chaguanas

$170 13.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 24.3% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Chaguanas

$132 10.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 8.8% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Chaguanas

$68 5.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 27.7% $19

Getting Around

Chaguanas

$12 * 0.9%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 632% $75

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $463 in Chaguanas and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 12% 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: $60.0 in Chaguanas vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $326 vs $352 per month, with Chaguanas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇹 Chaguanas

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

07:01 7:01 AM

05:01 5:01 AM

2 h behind Chaguanas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,489

4,912

💱 Currency

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to TTD – Trinidad and Tobago Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar ($)

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 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 TTD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chaguanas Nosara 2,650 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Chaguanas
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

Chaguanas vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chaguanas wins on cost – living expenses run 43% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Chaguanas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 12% 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: $463 in Chaguanas versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,287 per month in Chaguanas versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 43% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,287 in Chaguanas versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chaguanas but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Chaguanas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Chaguanas delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,287 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Chaguanas hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Chaguanas 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 Chaguanas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.