Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dalian and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Dalian: $895 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Dalian
Learn more

Dalian Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Dalian

🇨🇳 China

$895

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $895 in Dalian versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Dalian $895
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,433 in Dalian versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Dalian $1,433
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,970 in Dalian versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Dalian $1,970
Nosara $3,712

Living in Dalian costs roughly 51% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dalian is 33% below, Nosara is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.63 ¥24.25

$12.22 ₡5,509

-70.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.88 ¥166

$60.2 ₡27.1K

-58.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.12 ¥34.24

$7.54 ₡3,399

-32.10%

Cappuccino

$3.30 ¥22.04

$4.31 ₡1,941

-23.43%

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

$0.49 ¥3.30

$1.72 ₡773

-71.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 ¥1.67

$1.35 ₡608

-81.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.92 ¥6.17

$3.24 ₡1,459

-71.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ¥10.23

$4.48 ₡2,018

-65.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 ¥10.63

$1.57 ₡707

1.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.42 ¥9.52

$3.17 ₡1,429

-55.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ¥6.80

$2.42 ₡1,091

-57.85%

Eggs

$1.59 ¥10.61

$3.57 ₡1,609

-55.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.36 ¥136

$7.43 ₡3,349

174.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.46 ¥23.10

$10.42 ₡4,697

-66.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.05 ¥87.2

$13.66 ₡6,156

-4.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.31 ¥8.74

$2.32 ₡1,044

-43.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.13 ¥7.52

$1.61 ₡728

-29.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 ¥12.90

$4.74 ₡2,138

-59.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.96

$1.66 ₡747

-46.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ¥5.50

$3.72 ₡1,679

-77.96%

Onion (1kg)

$0.71 ¥4.77

$3.57 ₡1,611

-80.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 ¥9.00

$1.10 ₡497

22.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 ¥4.16

$2.55 ₡1,149

-75.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.75 ¥25.08

$4.95 ₡2,232

-24.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.55 ¥97.2

$20.01 ₡9,020

-27.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 ¥7.32

$2.79 ₡1,256

-60.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ¥12.92

$3.53 ₡1,589

-45.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.10

$1.19 ₡537

-73.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.05 ¥201

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-58.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.53 ¥10.23

$2.24 ₡1,011

-31.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.87

$1.55 ₡701

-72.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 ¥26.60

$8.86 ₡3,993

-55.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 ¥8.43

$1.57 ₡708

-19.75%

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

$19.6K ¥130.8K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

-10.25%

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

$17.5K ¥117.0K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-49.46%

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

$63.8 ¥426

$93.5 ₡42.1K

-31.78%

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

$9.13 ¥61.0

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-74.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.34 ¥89.1

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-74.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.35 ¥270

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-43.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.04 ¥241

$35.44 ₡16.0K

1.69%

Cinema Ticket

$6.85 ¥45.75

$7.84 ₡3,535

-12.63%

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

$393 ¥2,627

$490 ₡220.7K

-19.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.6K ¥137.9K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

73.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.4 ¥504

$53.5 ₡24.1K

40.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.9 ¥367

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-1.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ¥762

$79.3 ₡35.7K

43.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 ¥784

$78.9 ₡35.6K

48.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$402 ¥2,684

$786 ₡354.3K

-48.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 ¥1,628

$780 ₡351.6K

-68.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$702 ¥4,688

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-81.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$445 ¥2,971

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-68.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,684 ¥17.9K

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-61.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,585 ¥10.6K

$1,201 ₡541.3K

31.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,090 ¥7,287

$876 ₡395.0K

24.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

8.62

-54.87%

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

Last update for Dalian: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dalian

$244 26.6%

Nosara

$780 43% 220% $536

Groceries & Markets

Dalian

$239 26.1%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 46.4% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Dalian

$163 17.8%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 26.1% $42

Eating Out

Dalian

$95 10.3%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 121% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dalian

$86 9.4%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 109% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Dalian

$54 5.9%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 61.1% $33

Getting Around

Dalian

$35 3.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 148% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $402 in Dalian and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dalian pays 24% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25.00 in Dalian vs $60.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $239 vs $350 per month, with Dalian cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Dalian

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

09:38 9:38 AM

19:38 7:38 PM

14 h behind Dalian

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,450,785

4,912

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dalian Nosara 13,890 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Dalian
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

Dalian vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dalian and Nosara differ by about 105% in total monthly costs ($895 vs $1,837 including rent). Dalian is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 24% higher in Dalian, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $402 in Dalian versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $393 in Dalian versus $490 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $895 in Dalian versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Dalian but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Dalian 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, Dalian 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 Dalian gentler on the wallet – expenses run 105% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.