Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Creston and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,094 in Creston, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

109

Cost of Living Index in Creston
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Creston Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Creston

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,094

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,094 per month in Creston vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Creston $2,094
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,206 per month in Creston vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Creston $3,206
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,318 per month in Creston vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Creston $4,318
Nosara $3,818

Creston costs about 14% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Creston and Nosara sit above the global median – Creston by 55%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.22 CA$24.34

$12.35 ₡5,539

39.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 CA$93.0

$61.2 ₡27.4K

7.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.38 CA$16.08

$7.52 ₡3,373

51.33%

Cappuccino

$4.05 CA$5.73

$4.41 ₡1,978

-8.16%

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

$1.96 CA$2.76

$1.74 ₡780

12.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 CA$2.21

$1.31 ₡587

19.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.09 CA$7.20

$3.28 ₡1,471

55.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.80 CA$6.78

$4.47 ₡2,004

7.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 CA$2.84

$1.56 ₡701

28.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.88 CA$4.06

$3.02 ₡1,355

-4.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.16 CA$4.47

$2.51 ₡1,125

25.90%

Eggs

$4.25 CA$6.00

$3.57 ₡1,603

19.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 CA$13.87

$7.43 ₡3,333

32.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.10 CA$14.28

$10.52 ₡4,717

-3.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.57 CA$20.59

$13.97 ₡6,265

4.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.76 CA$5.32

$2.35 ₡1,052

60.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 CA$1.85

$1.61 ₡720

-18.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.35 CA$4.73

$4.80 ₡2,152

-30.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.97 CA$5.61

$1.61 ₡724

146.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 CA$3.05

$3.80 ₡1,703

-43.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 CA$3.29

$3.69 ₡1,657

-36.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.50 CA$3.53

$1.13 ₡507

121.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 CA$1.96

$2.66 ₡1,191

-47.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.86 CA$18.18

$5.18 ₡2,321

148.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.25 CA$20.15

$19.88 ₡8,916

-28.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 CA$3.14

$2.90 ₡1,300

-23.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 CA$4.27

$3.63 ₡1,626

-16.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.08 CA$2.95

$1.12 ₡504

85.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.4 CA$75.5

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-26.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.90 CA$4.11

$2.14 ₡958

35.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 CA$1.99

$1.57 ₡703

-10.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.72 CA$32.11

$8.52 ₡3,823

166.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 CA$1.59

$1.52 ₡682

-26.32%

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

$24.2K CA$34.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

11.91%

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

$18.7K CA$26.5K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-45.72%

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

$132 CA$186

$96.3 ₡43.2K

36.96%

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

$37.43 CA$52.9

$35.89 ₡16.1K

4.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.4 CA$75.5

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-0.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.37 CA$52.8

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-47.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.25 CA$27.22

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-44.86%

Cinema Ticket

$11.10 CA$15.69

$7.89 ₡3,539

40.68%

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

$705 CA$996

$494 ₡221.6K

42.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K CA$18.5K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

10.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 CA$75.5

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-1.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.30 CA$61.2

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-21.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.9 CA$131

$77.9 ₡34.9K

19.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 CA$149

$79.6 ₡35.7K

32.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,141 CA$1,613

$788 ₡353.4K

44.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$993 CA$1,403

$794 ₡356.2K

24.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,934 CA$2,734

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-50.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,812 CA$2,561

$1,419 ₡636.5K

27.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,677 CA$5,198

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-46.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,646 CA$5,155

$1,224 ₡549.0K

197.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.66

8.62

-45.94%

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

Last update for Creston: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Creston

$993 47.4%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 20% $198

Groceries & Markets

Creston

$345 16.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 2% $6.9

Eating Out

Creston

$270 12.9%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 21.4% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Creston

$223 10.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 16.6% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Creston

$133 6.3%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 9.5% $13

Getting Around

Creston

$72 3.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 21.5% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Creston

$60 2.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 46.7% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,141 in Creston versus $788 in Nosara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66.0 in Creston versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $345 in Creston vs $352 in Nosara – so Creston wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Creston

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

11:15 11:15 AM

12:15 12:15 PM

1 h ahead of Creston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,583

4,912

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Creston Nosara 5,200 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Creston
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

Creston vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Creston is pricier by about 14%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,141 per month in Creston and $2,758 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nosara, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,094 in Creston and $1,839 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 14%.

Public transport costs about 36% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,839, than in Creston at $2,094. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Creston it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Nosara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Nosara. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Creston makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.