Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dumfries and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Dumfries: $1,741 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Nosara outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

85

Cost of Living Index in Dumfries
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Dumfries Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Dumfries

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,741

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,741 in Dumfries versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Dumfries $1,741
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,685 in Dumfries versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Dumfries $2,685
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,629 in Dumfries versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Dumfries $3,629
Nosara $3,818

Living in Dumfries costs roughly 5% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dumfries 29% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 £10.85

$12.35 ₡5,539

17.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.2 £58.7

$61.2 ₡27.4K

27.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.04 £6.03

$7.52 ₡3,373

6.91%

Cappuccino

$4.37 £3.28

$4.41 ₡1,978

-0.91%

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

$2.49 £1.87

$1.74 ₡780

43.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 £1.02

$1.31 ₡587

3.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.65 £4.24

$3.28 ₡1,471

72.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.98 £4.49

$4.47 ₡2,004

33.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.56 ₡701

-3.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.75 £1.31

$3.02 ₡1,355

-42.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.78 £2.08

$2.51 ₡1,125

10.76%

Eggs

$4.17 £3.13

$3.57 ₡1,603

16.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.62 £5.72

$7.43 ₡3,333

2.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.37 £7.03

$10.52 ₡4,717

-10.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.35 £11.52

$13.97 ₡6,265

9.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.36 £1.77

$2.35 ₡1,052

0.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.22 £1.66

$1.61 ₡720

37.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 £1.77

$4.80 ₡2,152

-50.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.77 £2.08

$1.61 ₡724

72.05%

Potato (1kg)

$3.16 £2.37

$3.80 ₡1,703

-16.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$3.69 ₡1,657

-44.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.13 ₡507

45.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 £1.45

$2.66 ₡1,191

-27.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.25 £17.44

$5.18 ₡2,321

348.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.03 £9.03

$19.88 ₡8,916

-39.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.41

$2.90 ₡1,300

10.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.39

$3.63 ₡1,626

-12.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.17 £3.13

$1.12 ₡504

272.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.5 £71.7

$72.6 ₡32.6K

31.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.62 £3.46

$2.14 ₡958

115.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 £0.69

$1.57 ₡703

-41.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.05 £9.04

$8.52 ₡3,823

41.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.52 ₡682

20.39%

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

$37.6K £28.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

73.83%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

15.43%

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

$236 £177

$96.3 ₡43.2K

145.04%

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

$23.09 £17.32

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-35.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.52 £31.15

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-22.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.30 £36.98

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-31.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.14 £19.61

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-25.12%

Cinema Ticket

$13.37 £10.03

$7.89 ₡3,539

69.46%

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

$1,920 £1,440

$494 ₡221.6K

288.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.2K £16.7K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

87.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.4 £60.3

$53.9 ₡24.2K

49.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.7 £40.26

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-3.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 £90.1

$77.9 ₡34.9K

54.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.7 £66.6

$79.6 ₡35.7K

11.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$624 £468

$788 ₡353.4K

-20.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 £395

$794 ₡356.2K

-33.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$993 £745

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-74.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$929 £697

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-34.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,053 £3,791

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-26.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,802 £2,852

$1,224 ₡549.0K

210.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,393 £2,545

$864 ₡387.3K

292.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.41

8.62

-37.24%

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

Last update for Dumfries: 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

Dumfries

$527 30.3%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 50.8% $267

Groceries & Markets

Dumfries

$314 18.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 12.1% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dumfries

$301 17.3%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 38.2% $115

Eating Out

Dumfries

$248 14.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 14.5% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Dumfries

$154 8.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 22.2% $34

Getting Around

Dumfries

$121 7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 28.3% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Dumfries

$76 4.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 14.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $624 in Dumfries and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dumfries pays 293% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $78.0 in Dumfries vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $314 vs $352, with Dumfries cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Dumfries

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

17:38 5:38 PM

10:38 10:38 AM

7 h behind Dumfries

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,080

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dumfries Nosara 8,590 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Dumfries
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

Dumfries vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dumfries is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and utilities. The 6% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 293% higher in Dumfries, 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: $624 in Dumfries versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Dumfries – a meal for two runs $78.0 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,741 per month in Dumfries versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,741 in Dumfries versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Dumfries but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Dumfries the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dumfries is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Nosara, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Dumfries 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 Dumfries gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.