Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Kingston: $1,668 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Nosara outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

81

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Kingston

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,668

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,668 in Kingston versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Kingston $1,668
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,779 in Kingston versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Kingston $2,779
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,890 in Kingston versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Kingston $3,890
Nosara $3,712

Living in Kingston costs roughly 9% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kingston 24% above, Nosara 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.57 JMD 2,142

$12.22 ₡5,509

11.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.2 JMD 11.7K

$60.2 ₡27.1K

23.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.95 JMD 1,256

$7.54 ₡3,399

5.44%

Cappuccino

$5.47 JMD 863

$4.31 ₡1,941

26.91%

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

$1.14 JMD 179

$1.72 ₡773

-33.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 JMD 118

$1.35 ₡608

-44.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 JMD 357

$3.24 ₡1,459

-30.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 JMD 494

$4.48 ₡2,018

-30.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.12 JMD 651

$1.57 ₡707

162.42%

White Bread (500g)

$3.79 JMD 598

$3.17 ₡1,429

19.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 JMD 250

$2.42 ₡1,091

-34.30%

Eggs

$3.56 JMD 562

$3.57 ₡1,609

-0.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.22 JMD 1,772

$7.43 ₡3,349

51.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.48 JMD 1,023

$10.42 ₡4,697

-37.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.22 JMD 1,614

$13.66 ₡6,156

-25.18%

Apples (1kg)

$5.89 JMD 930

$2.32 ₡1,044

153.88%

Banana (1kg)

$3.90 JMD 616

$1.61 ₡728

142.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.34 JMD 1,159

$4.74 ₡2,138

54.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 JMD 483

$1.66 ₡747

84.34%

Potato (1kg)

$3.23 JMD 510

$3.72 ₡1,679

-13.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.67 JMD 421

$3.57 ₡1,611

-25.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.05 JMD 481

$1.10 ₡497

177.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 JMD 239

$2.55 ₡1,149

-40.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.51 JMD 1,502

$4.95 ₡2,232

92.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.32 JMD 1,787

$20.01 ₡9,020

-43.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 JMD 446

$2.79 ₡1,256

1.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 JMD 647

$3.53 ₡1,589

16.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 JMD 123

$1.19 ₡537

-34.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.32 JMD 5,893

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-48.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 JMD 195

$2.24 ₡1,011

-44.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.18 JMD 503

$1.55 ₡701

105.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.46 JMD 1,020

$8.86 ₡3,993

-27.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 JMD 224

$1.57 ₡708

-9.55%

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

$44.7K JMD 7.1M

$21.8K ₡9.8M

104.84%

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

$32.9K JMD 5.2M

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-5.11%

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

$169 JMD 26.6K

$93.5 ₡42.1K

80.48%

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

$29.11 JMD 4,597

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-17.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.9 JMD 8,360

$51.5 ₡23.2K

2.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.5 JMD 9,869

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-12.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.63 JMD 2,783

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-50.25%

Cinema Ticket

$13.28 JMD 2,097

$7.84 ₡3,535

69.39%

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

$357 JMD 56.4K

$490 ₡220.7K

-27.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,163 JMD 1.3M

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-31.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.85 JMD 3,766

$53.5 ₡24.1K

-55.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.37 JMD 4,953

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-43.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.0 JMD 12.3K

$79.3 ₡35.7K

-1.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 JMD 16.0K

$78.9 ₡35.6K

28.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 JMD 151.1K

$786 ₡354.3K

21.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$576 JMD 91.0K

$780 ₡351.6K

-26.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,139 JMD 337.7K

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-44.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 JMD 219.7K

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-1.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,892 JMD 456.6K

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-58.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,080 JMD 328.4K

$1,201 ₡541.3K

73.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$733 JMD 115.7K

$876 ₡395.0K

-16.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

8.62

9.63%

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

Last update for Kingston: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kingston

$576 34.2%

Nosara

$780 43% 35.3% $203

Groceries & Markets

Kingston

$384 22.8%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 9% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston

$251 14.9%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 28.2% $71

Eating Out

Kingston

$223 13.2%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 6.1% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston

$106 6.3%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 13.9% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston

$89 5.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 2.2% $2

Getting Around

Kingston

$58 3.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 50.8% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $957 in Kingston and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 20% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $74.0 in Kingston vs $60.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $350 per month, with Nosara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Kingston

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

06:23 6:23 AM

05:23 5:23 AM

1 h behind Kingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

660,000 Capital

4,912

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.65 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.65 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kingston Nosara 1,300 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Kingston
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

Kingston vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kingston wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kingston the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 20% lower in Nosara. 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: $957 in Kingston versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $357 in Kingston versus $490 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Nosara pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,668 in Kingston versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kingston but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Kingston the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kingston delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,668 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kingston hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Kingston 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 Kingston gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.