Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Johor Bahru and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Johor Bahru: $1,056 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Johor Bahru
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Johor Bahru Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Johor Bahru

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,056

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,056 in Johor Bahru versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Johor Bahru $1,056
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,551 in Johor Bahru versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Johor Bahru $1,551
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,046 in Johor Bahru versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Johor Bahru $2,046
Nosara $3,818

Living in Johor Bahru costs roughly 43% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Johor Bahru is 22% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.56 MYR 14.53

$12.35 ₡5,539

-71.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.68 MYR 76.2

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-69.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.93 MYR 20.11

$7.52 ₡3,373

-34.44%

Cappuccino

$2.86 MYR 11.67

$4.41 ₡1,978

-35.15%

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

$0.84 MYR 3.45

$1.74 ₡780

-51.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 MYR 2.25

$1.31 ₡587

-58.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.54 MYR 18.52

$3.28 ₡1,471

38.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.20 MYR 25.31

$4.47 ₡2,004

38.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MYR 6.79

$1.56 ₡701

6.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 MYR 4.52

$3.02 ₡1,355

-63.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 MYR 6.13

$2.51 ₡1,125

-40.24%

Eggs

$1.72 MYR 7.00

$3.57 ₡1,603

-51.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.86 MYR 72.9

$7.43 ₡3,333

140.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.56 MYR 18.58

$10.52 ₡4,717

-56.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.49 MYR 42.80

$13.97 ₡6,265

-24.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 MYR 13.28

$2.35 ₡1,052

38.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 MYR 6.94

$1.61 ₡720

5.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.91 MYR 15.96

$4.80 ₡2,152

-18.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 MYR 6.86

$1.61 ₡724

4.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 MYR 6.00

$3.80 ₡1,703

-61.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 MYR 6.74

$3.69 ₡1,657

-55.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 MYR 5.37

$1.13 ₡507

16.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MYR 2.24

$2.66 ₡1,191

-79.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.17 MYR 17.01

$5.18 ₡2,321

-19.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.98 MYR 57.1

$19.88 ₡8,916

-29.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.84 MYR 11.59

$2.90 ₡1,300

-2.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 MYR 12.68

$3.63 ₡1,626

-14.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 MYR 2.90

$1.12 ₡504

-36.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.11 MYR 49.42

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-83.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.96 MYR 3.90

$2.14 ₡958

-55.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 MYR 2.85

$1.57 ₡703

-55.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.50 MYR 38.75

$8.52 ₡3,823

11.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 MYR 3.40

$1.52 ₡682

-45.39%

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

$41.1K MYR 167.8K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

90.30%

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

$36.1K MYR 147.2K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

4.55%

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

$53.0 MYR 216

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-44.93%

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

$10.99 MYR 44.84

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-69.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.42 MYR 116

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-46.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.45 MYR 161

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-44.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.63 MYR 22.97

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-83.87%

Cinema Ticket

$4.92 MYR 20.08

$7.89 ₡3,539

-37.64%

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

$161 MYR 658

$494 ₡221.6K

-67.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,478 MYR 18.3K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-62.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 MYR 221

$53.9 ₡24.2K

0.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.54 MYR 67.5

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-70.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.5 MYR 332

$77.9 ₡34.9K

4.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.3 MYR 397

$79.6 ₡35.7K

22.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$517 MYR 2,109

$788 ₡353.4K

-34.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$397 MYR 1,620

$794 ₡356.2K

-49.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 MYR 3,673

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-77.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$624 MYR 2,548

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-56.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,019 MYR 8,238

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-70.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,167 MYR 4,759

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-4.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,060 MYR 4,325

$864 ₡387.3K

22.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

8.62

-52.90%

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

Last update for Johor Bahru: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Johor Bahru

$397 37.6%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 100% $397

Groceries & Markets

Johor Bahru

$267 25.3%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 32% $85

Eating Out

Johor Bahru

$118 11.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 79.1% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Johor Bahru

$112 10.6%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 6.9% $7.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Johor Bahru

$92 8.8%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 101% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Johor Bahru

$49 4.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 77.2% $38

Getting Around

Johor Bahru

$19 1.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 349% $68

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $517 in Johor Bahru and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Johor Bahru pays 23% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $19.00 in Johor Bahru vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $352 per month, with Johor Bahru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Johor Bahru

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

09:43 9:43 AM

19:43 7:43 PM

14 h behind Johor Bahru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

858,118

4,912

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 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 MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Johor Bahru Nosara 18,370 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Johor Bahru
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

Johor Bahru vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Johor Bahru and Nosara differ by about 74% in total monthly costs ($1,056 vs $1,839 including rent). Johor Bahru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 23% higher in Johor Bahru, 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: $517 in Johor Bahru versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Johor Bahru – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,056 per month in Johor Bahru versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 74% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,056 in Johor Bahru versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Johor Bahru but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Johor Bahru 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, Johor Bahru 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 Johor Bahru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 74% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.