Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Farmington, NM and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,844 a month against $3,241 in Farmington, NM, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

156

Cost of Living Index in Farmington, NM
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Farmington, NM Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Farmington, NM

🇺🇸 United States

$3,241

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,844

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,241 in Farmington, NM versus $1,844 in Nosara.

Farmington, NM $3,241
Nosara $1,844

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,359 in Farmington, NM versus $2,817 in Nosara.

Farmington, NM $4,359
Nosara $2,817

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,477 in Farmington, NM versus $3,790 in Nosara.

Farmington, NM $5,477
Nosara $3,790

Living in Farmington, NM is roughly 76% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Farmington, NM 140% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.27 $20.27

$12.38 ₡5,568

63.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.47 $49.47

$60.6 ₡27.2K

-18.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.73 $11.73

$7.81 ₡3,513

50.19%

Cappuccino

$6.16 $6.16

$4.37 ₡1,966

40.96%

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

$2.34 $2.34

$1.78 ₡800

31.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 $1.74

$1.35 ₡605

28.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 $7.89

$3.39 ₡1,526

132.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.02 $13.02

$4.31 ₡1,939

202.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.55 ₡699

-38.71%

White Bread (500g)

$3.48 $3.48

$3.17 ₡1,425

9.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.45 $4.45

$2.51 ₡1,130

77.29%

Eggs

$4.06 $4.06

$3.53 ₡1,585

15.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.57 $7.57

$7.37 ₡3,313

2.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.14 $13.14

$10.46 ₡4,703

25.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.47 $16.47

$13.91 ₡6,255

18.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 $3.15

$2.26 ₡1,018

39.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 $1.68

$1.56 ₡701

7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.37 $4.37

$4.70 ₡2,113

-7.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.74 $4.74

$1.62 ₡729

192.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.86 $2.86

$3.88 ₡1,746

-26.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.98 $2.98

$3.79 ₡1,704

-21.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.22 $2.22

$1.07 ₡481

107.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.31 $2.31

$2.61 ₡1,174

-11.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.13 $10.13

$5.16 ₡2,319

96.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.85 $14.85

$20.33 ₡9,143

-26.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 $1.79

$2.91 ₡1,310

-38.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 $3.65

$3.67 ₡1,651

-0.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.31 ₡588

54.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.95 $29.95

$73.2 ₡32.9K

-59.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.70 $3.70

$2.19 ₡984

68.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 $1.87

$1.84 ₡829

1.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.36 $31.36

$7.81 ₡3,513

301.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 $1.06

$1.56 ₡702

-32.05%

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

$31.6K $31.6K

$33.4K ₡15.0M

-5.42%

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

$26.1K $26.1K

$38.1K ₡17.1M

-31.55%

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

$395 $395

$95.9 ₡43.1K

311.68%

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

$57.8 $57.8

$35.37 ₡15.9K

63.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$114 $114

$53.7 ₡24.1K

112.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.36 $40.36

$67.5 ₡30.3K

-40.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.43 ₡15.9K

Cinema Ticket

$12.21 $12.21

$7.72 ₡3,473

58.16%

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

$1,524 $1,524

$496 ₡222.8K

207.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.9K $22.9K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

92.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.5 $52.5

$54.6 ₡24.6K

-3.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.85 $41.85

$55.0 ₡24.7K

-23.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.1 $88.1

$79.8 ₡35.9K

10.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 $114

$77.9 ₡35.0K

46.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,740 $1,740

$817 ₡367.5K

112.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,692 $1,692

$800 ₡359.7K

111.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,572 $2,572

$3,889 ₡1.7M

-33.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,494 $2,494

$1,396 ₡627.6K

78.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,113 $2,113

$6,977 ₡3.1M

-69.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,107 $2,107

$1,222 ₡549.6K

72.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,157 $7,157

$879 ₡395.3K

714.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.59

8.62

-23.55%

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

Last update for Farmington, NM: November 1, 2026

Last update for Nosara: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Farmington, NM

$1.7K 52.2%

Nosara

$800 43.4% 52.7% $892

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Farmington, NM

$566 17.5%

Nosara

$185 10% 67.4% $382

Groceries & Markets

Farmington, NM

$380 11.7%

Nosara

$353 19.1% 7.2% $28

Eating Out

Farmington, NM

$353 10.9%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 39.7% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Farmington, NM

$134 4.1%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 9.9% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Farmington, NM

$65 2%

Nosara

$83 4.5% 28% $18

Getting Around

Farmington, NM

$51 1.6%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 75.8% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,740 in Farmington, NM and $817 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Farmington, NM pays about 8.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $49 in Farmington, NM vs $61 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $380 vs $353, with Nosara cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Farmington, NM

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

17:15 5:15 PM

1 h ahead of Farmington, NM

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

18,207

4,912

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.895 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Farmington, NM Nosara 3,740 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Farmington, NM
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

Farmington, NM vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

Average pay in Farmington, NM is about 8.1 times higher, 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: $1,740 in Farmington, NM versus $817 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,524 in Farmington, NM versus $496 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

At $1,844 in Nosara versus $3,241 in Farmington, NM, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Farmington, NM. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara 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.

It comes down to priorities – Nosara wins on affordability, Farmington, NM on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.