Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lanzhou and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Lanzhou: $719 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Lanzhou
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Lanzhou Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Lanzhou

🇨🇳 China

$719

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $719 in Lanzhou versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Lanzhou $719
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,143 in Lanzhou versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Lanzhou $1,143
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,567 in Lanzhou versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Lanzhou $1,567
Nosara $3,818

Living in Lanzhou costs roughly 61% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lanzhou is 47% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.06 ¥13.80

$12.35 ₡5,539

-83.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.34 ¥189

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-53.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.86 ¥39.15

$7.52 ₡3,373

-22.07%

Cappuccino

$3.12 ¥20.89

$4.41 ₡1,978

-29.25%

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

$0.48 ¥3.19

$1.74 ₡780

-72.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$1.31 ₡587

-77.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.10 ¥7.35

$3.28 ₡1,471

-66.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 ¥13.54

$4.47 ₡2,004

-54.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 ¥11.81

$1.56 ₡701

13.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ¥10.75

$3.02 ₡1,355

-46.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.96 ¥6.40

$2.51 ₡1,125

-61.75%

Eggs

$1.60 ¥10.72

$3.57 ₡1,603

-55.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.22 ¥88.4

$7.43 ₡3,333

77.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.43 ¥22.92

$10.52 ₡4,717

-67.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.11 ¥81.0

$13.97 ₡6,265

-13.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.81 ¥12.09

$2.35 ₡1,052

-22.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 ¥8.56

$1.61 ₡720

-20.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 ¥9.97

$4.80 ₡2,152

-68.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.24 ¥8.32

$1.61 ₡724

-22.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 ¥4.70

$3.80 ₡1,703

-81.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$3.69 ₡1,657

-74.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 ¥3.99

$1.13 ₡507

-46.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.70

$2.66 ₡1,191

-79.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥25.19

$5.18 ₡2,321

-27.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.52 ¥77.0

$19.88 ₡8,916

-42.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥5.52

$2.90 ₡1,300

-71.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ¥10.25

$3.63 ₡1,626

-57.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$1.12 ₡504

-74.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.07 ¥121

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-75.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.48 ¥9.91

$2.14 ₡958

-30.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 ¥2.17

$1.57 ₡703

-79.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.12 ¥47.58

$8.52 ₡3,823

-16.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 ¥9.73

$1.52 ₡682

-3.95%

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

$17.5K ¥117.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-18.87%

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

$15.0K ¥100.4K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-56.52%

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

$58.0 ¥388

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-39.75%

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

$8.79 ¥58.8

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-75.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.18 ¥74.8

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-79.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.33 ¥283

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-40.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.69 ¥98.2

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-57.92%

Cinema Ticket

$6.29 ¥42.06

$7.89 ₡3,539

-20.28%

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

$412 ¥2,756

$494 ₡221.6K

-16.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K ¥117.6K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

48.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.85 ¥287

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-20.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.44 ¥224

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-39.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.6 ¥505

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-2.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.1 ¥495

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-6.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$295 ¥1,971

$788 ₡353.4K

-62.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$168 ¥1,126

$794 ₡356.2K

-78.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$626 ¥4,186

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-84.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$297 ¥1,986

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-79.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,671 ¥17.9K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-61.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,611 ¥10.8K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

31.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$953 ¥6,375

$864 ₡387.3K

10.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

-65.20%

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

Last update for Lanzhou: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Lanzhou

$209 29.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 68.3% $143

Accommodation & Living

Lanzhou

$168 23.4%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 372% $626

Clothing & Footwear

Lanzhou

$102 14.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 18.1% $18

Eating Out

Lanzhou

$84 11.7%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 152% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lanzhou

$78 10.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 138% $108

Sport & Entertainment

Lanzhou

$55 7.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 59.1% $32

Getting Around

Lanzhou

$22 3.1%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 290% $65

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $295 in Lanzhou and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lanzhou pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $28.00 in Lanzhou vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $209 vs $352 per month, with Lanzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Lanzhou

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:22 2:22 PM

00:22 12:22 AM

14 h behind Lanzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,688,400

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 20, 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 20, 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

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Between locations

Lanzhou Nosara 14,800 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Lanzhou
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

Lanzhou vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lanzhou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 156% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 10% higher in Lanzhou, 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: $295 in Lanzhou versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $412 in Lanzhou versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 68% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $719 in Lanzhou versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Lanzhou but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Lanzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lanzhou is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Nosara, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Lanzhou 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 Lanzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 156% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.