Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Higuey and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Higuey: $912 a month against $1,846 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Higuey
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Higuey Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Higuey

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$912

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,846

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $912 in Higuey versus $1,846 in Nosara.

Higuey $912
Nosara $1,846

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,495 in Higuey versus $2,833 in Nosara.

Higuey $1,495
Nosara $2,833

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,078 in Higuey versus $3,820 in Nosara.

Higuey $2,078
Nosara $3,820

Living in Higuey costs roughly 51% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Higuey is 33% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.75 DOP 597

$12.36 ₡5,575

-21.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.0 DOP 3,064

$60.8 ₡27.4K

-17.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 DOP 457

$7.88 ₡3,557

-5.33%

Cappuccino

$1.99 DOP 122

$4.40 ₡1,986

-54.77%

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

$1.04 DOP 63.9

$1.72 ₡776

-39.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.51 DOP 31.17

$1.34 ₡603

-61.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 DOP 154

$3.34 ₡1,505

-24.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 DOP 194

$4.54 ₡2,048

-30.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 DOP 73.1

$1.64 ₡739

-27.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 DOP 96.2

$3.16 ₡1,426

-50.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 DOP 82.8

$2.39 ₡1,080

-43.51%

Eggs

$1.95 DOP 119

$3.47 ₡1,564

-43.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 DOP 447

$7.13 ₡3,217

2.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.29 DOP 324

$10.32 ₡4,655

-48.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.56 DOP 402

$13.97 ₡6,302

-53.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.00 DOP 183

$2.29 ₡1,031

31.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.70 DOP 43.08

$1.62 ₡731

-56.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 DOP 89.1

$4.81 ₡2,169

-69.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 DOP 79.0

$1.68 ₡758

-23.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 DOP 71.0

$3.91 ₡1,765

-70.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 DOP 68.2

$3.63 ₡1,640

-69.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 DOP 36.00

$1.13 ₡509

-47.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 DOP 28.95

$2.63 ₡1,188

-82.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.38 DOP 330

$5.02 ₡2,267

7.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.11 DOP 619

$19.71 ₡8,893

-48.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 DOP 148

$2.91 ₡1,314

-16.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 DOP 176

$3.54 ₡1,597

-18.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 DOP 49.35

$1.21 ₡545

-33.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.72 DOP 3,045

$73.8 ₡33.3K

-32.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 DOP 203

$2.15 ₡969

54.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.26 DOP 139

$1.63 ₡738

38.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.84 DOP 358

$8.77 ₡3,958

-33.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 DOP 83.5

$1.55 ₡700

-12.26%

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

$24.8K DOP 1.5M

$33.9K ₡15.3M

-26.84%

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

$30.7K DOP 1.9M

$38.5K ₡17.4M

-20.19%

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

$90.5 DOP 5,540

$95.2 ₡43.0K

-4.98%

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

$16.40 DOP 1,004

$36.29 ₡16.4K

-54.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.65 DOP 2,000

$52.0 ₡23.5K

-37.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.74 DOP 1,515

$67.6 ₡30.5K

-63.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$65.4 DOP 4,003

$35.55 ₡16.0K

83.88%

Cinema Ticket

$7.38 DOP 452

$7.54 ₡3,404

-2.12%

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

$98.6 DOP 6,039

$496 ₡224.0K

-80.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,173 DOP 133.1K

$11.8K ₡5.3M

-81.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.71 DOP 2,738

$55.1 ₡24.9K

-18.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.17 DOP 2,766

$56.1 ₡25.3K

-19.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.2 DOP 5,279

$77.8 ₡35.1K

10.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 DOP 4,873

$79.1 ₡35.7K

0.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$289 DOP 17.7K

$817 ₡368.9K

-64.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$209 DOP 12.8K

$806 ₡363.6K

-74.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$566 DOP 34.6K

$3,988 ₡1.8M

-85.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$401 DOP 24.6K

$1,429 ₡644.9K

-71.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,809 DOP 110.8K

$7,068 ₡3.2M

-74.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,240 DOP 75.9K

$1,197 ₡540.1K

3.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$434 DOP 26.6K

$888 ₡400.7K

-51.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

8.62

33.41%

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

Last update for Higuey: October 24, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Higuey

$209 22.9%

Nosara

$806 43.7% 285% $597

Groceries & Markets

Higuey

$192 21.1%

Nosara

$351 19% 82.8% $159

Eating Out

Higuey

$149 16.4%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 42.8% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Higuey

$140 15.3%

Nosara

$184 9.9% 31.5% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Higuey

$115 12.6%

Nosara

$121 6.5% 4.9% $5.6

Getting Around

Higuey

$68 7.4%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 31.6% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Higuey

$40 4.3%

Nosara

$83 4.5% 109% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $289 in Higuey and $817 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $50 in Higuey vs $61 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $351 per month, with Higuey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Higuey

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

13:34 1:34 PM

11:34 11:34 AM

2 h behind Higuey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,787

4,912

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.47 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 61.24 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.47 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Higuey Nosara 2,060 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Higuey
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

Higuey vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Higuey is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 102% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 51% lower in Higuey. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $289 in Higuey versus $817 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $912 per month in Higuey versus $1,846 in Nosara – a 102% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Higuey runs roughly 33% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your 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, Higuey 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 Higuey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.