Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Livingston and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,067 in Livingston, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Livingston
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Livingston Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Livingston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,067

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Livingston versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Livingston $2,067
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,253 in Livingston versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Livingston $3,253
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,439 in Livingston versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Livingston $4,439
Nosara $3,818

Living in Livingston is roughly 12% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Livingston 53% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.56 £14.68

$12.35 ₡5,539

58.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.9 £74.2

$61.2 ₡27.4K

61.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.41 £7.81

$7.52 ₡3,373

38.43%

Cappuccino

$5.07 £3.80

$4.41 ₡1,978

14.97%

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

$2.62 £1.96

$1.74 ₡780

50.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 £1.72

$1.31 ₡587

74.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.67 £5.00

$3.28 ₡1,471

103.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.49 £4.87

$4.47 ₡2,004

45.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.56 ₡701

-8.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 £1.37

$3.02 ₡1,355

-39.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 £1.68

$2.51 ₡1,125

-10.76%

Eggs

$3.52 £2.64

$3.57 ₡1,603

-1.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.42 £7.06

$7.43 ₡3,333

26.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.23 £6.93

$10.52 ₡4,717

-12.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.92 £10.44

$13.97 ₡6,265

-0.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 £2.13

$2.35 ₡1,052

20.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 £1.41

$1.61 ₡720

16.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 £2.13

$4.80 ₡2,152

-40.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.44 £2.58

$1.61 ₡724

113.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$3.80 ₡1,703

-55.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 £1.03

$3.69 ₡1,657

-62.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 £0.89

$1.13 ₡507

4.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 £1.29

$2.66 ₡1,191

-35.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.33 £15.25

$5.18 ₡2,321

292.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.51 £7.89

$19.88 ₡8,916

-47.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.05 £2.29

$2.90 ₡1,300

5.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 £2.37

$3.63 ₡1,626

-13.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 £2.28

$1.12 ₡504

171.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.3 £64.0

$72.6 ₡32.6K

17.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.32 £3.99

$2.14 ₡958

148.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.57 ₡703

-0.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.39 £20.55

$8.52 ₡3,823

221.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.52 ₡682

39.47%

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

$39.0K £29.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

80.33%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

15.46%

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

$322 £242

$96.3 ₡43.2K

234.79%

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

$16.55 £12.42

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-53.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.85 £31.40

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-21.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.79 £30.60

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-43.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$10.63 £7.98

$7.89 ₡3,539

34.73%

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

$1,213 £910

$494 ₡221.6K

145.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.4K £13.0K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

46.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.3 £67.7

$53.9 ₡24.2K

67.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.61 £35.72

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-14.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.0

$77.9 ₡34.9K

36.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.4 £70.8

$79.6 ₡35.7K

18.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$871 £654

$788 ₡353.4K

10.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$745 £559

$794 ₡356.2K

-6.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,858 £1,394

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-52.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,534 £1,151

$1,419 ₡636.5K

8.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,485 £3,365

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-35.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,665 £2,750

$1,224 ₡549.0K

199.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,903 £2,928

$864 ₡387.3K

351.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.15

8.62

-40.26%

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

Last update for Livingston: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Livingston

$745 36.1%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 6.6% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Livingston

$381 18.4%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 51.2% $195

Eating Out

Livingston

$315 15.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 32.6% $103

Groceries & Markets

Livingston

$302 14.6%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 16.8% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Livingston

$153 7.4%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 21.3% $32

Getting Around

Livingston

$111 5.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 21.2% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Livingston

$62 3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 40.8% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $871 in Livingston and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Livingston pays 352% 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: $99.0 in Livingston vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $302 vs $352, with Livingston cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Livingston

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

18:41 6:41 PM

11:41 11:41 AM

7 h behind Livingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,840

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Livingston Nosara 8,600 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Livingston
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

Livingston vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara wins on cost – living expenses run 12% lower than in Livingston. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Nosara the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 352% higher in Livingston, 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: $871 in Livingston versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,213 in Livingston versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Livingston pay roughly 17% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,067 in Livingston, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Livingston. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Nosara delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,839 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Nosara hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Livingston 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 Nosara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Livingston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.