Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fuzhou and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Fuzhou: $762 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Fuzhou
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Fuzhou Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Fuzhou

🇨🇳 China

$762

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $762 in Fuzhou versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Fuzhou $762
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,227 in Fuzhou versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Fuzhou $1,227
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,692 in Fuzhou versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Fuzhou $1,692
Nosara $3,818

Living in Fuzhou costs roughly 59% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Fuzhou is 44% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.06 ¥20.47

$12.35 ₡5,539

-75.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.06 ¥154

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-62.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.08 ¥33.98

$7.52 ₡3,373

-32.45%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ¥16.74

$4.41 ₡1,978

-43.31%

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

$0.47 ¥3.12

$1.74 ₡780

-72.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.78

$1.31 ₡587

-79.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.86 ¥5.73

$3.28 ₡1,471

-73.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥11.66

$4.47 ₡2,004

-61.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.06 ¥13.81

$1.56 ₡701

32.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ¥9.43

$3.02 ₡1,355

-53.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.23

$2.51 ₡1,125

-62.95%

Eggs

$1.55 ¥10.39

$3.57 ₡1,603

-56.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.65 ¥51.1

$7.43 ₡3,333

2.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.18 ¥14.58

$10.52 ₡4,717

-79.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.97 ¥60.0

$13.97 ₡6,265

-35.79%

Apples (1kg)

$1.80 ¥12.07

$2.35 ₡1,052

-23.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 ¥8.81

$1.61 ₡720

-18.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.68 ¥11.22

$4.80 ₡2,152

-65.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.07 ¥7.14

$1.61 ₡724

-33.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 ¥5.63

$3.80 ₡1,703

-77.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 ¥6.75

$3.69 ₡1,657

-72.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.44 ¥2.93

$1.13 ₡507

-61.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ¥3.49

$2.66 ₡1,191

-80.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 ¥20.13

$5.18 ₡2,321

-41.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.99 ¥73.5

$19.88 ₡8,916

-44.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ¥4.81

$2.90 ₡1,300

-75.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 ¥8.13

$3.63 ₡1,626

-66.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$1.12 ₡504

-74.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.66 ¥158

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-67.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 ¥10.14

$2.14 ₡958

-28.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$1.57 ₡703

-81.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.28 ¥48.68

$8.52 ₡3,823

-14.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥8.37

$1.52 ₡682

-17.76%

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

$19.4K ¥129.7K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-10.24%

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

$15.6K ¥104.1K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-54.90%

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

$43.17 ¥289

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-55.17%

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

$8.53 ¥57.1

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-76.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.94 ¥59.8

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-83.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.27 ¥283

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-40.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.76 ¥98.7

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-57.72%

Cinema Ticket

$7.38 ¥49.31

$7.89 ₡3,539

-6.46%

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

$209 ¥1,395

$494 ₡221.6K

-57.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K ¥81.0K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

2.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.90 ¥267

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-26.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.42 ¥197

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-46.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.5 ¥605

$77.9 ₡34.9K

16.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.9 ¥581

$79.6 ₡35.7K

9.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$458 ¥3,060

$788 ₡353.4K

-41.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$250 ¥1,672

$794 ₡356.2K

-68.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,038 ¥6,939

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-73.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$514 ¥3,438

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-63.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,514 ¥30.2K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-34.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,346 ¥15.7K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

91.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,006 ¥6,728

$864 ₡387.3K

16.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

8.62

-59.86%

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

Last update for Fuzhou: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Fuzhou

$250 32.8%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 218% $544

Groceries & Markets

Fuzhou

$175 23%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 101% $177

Clothing & Footwear

Fuzhou

$111 14.6%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 8.2% $9

Eating Out

Fuzhou

$80 10.6%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 163% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fuzhou

$61 8%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 206% $125

Sport & Entertainment

Fuzhou

$57 7.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 53.2% $30

Getting Around

Fuzhou

$28 3.6%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 214% $59

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $458 in Fuzhou and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fuzhou pays 17% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Fuzhou vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $175 vs $352 per month, with Fuzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Fuzhou

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

10:06 10:06 AM

20:06 8:06 PM

14 h behind Fuzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,291,268

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 = 2.23 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 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 CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Fuzhou Nosara 15,180 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Fuzhou
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

Fuzhou vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fuzhou wins on cost – living expenses run 141% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Fuzhou the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Fuzhou, 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: $458 in Fuzhou versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Fuzhou – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $762 per month in Fuzhou versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 141% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $762 in Fuzhou versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Fuzhou but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Fuzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Fuzhou delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $762 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Fuzhou hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Fuzhou 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 Fuzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 141% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.