Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Luquillo and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Luquillo: $1,260 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Nosara outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

61

Cost of Living Index in Luquillo
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Luquillo Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Luquillo

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,260

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,260 in Luquillo versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Luquillo $1,260
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,013 in Luquillo versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Luquillo $2,013
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,766 in Luquillo versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Luquillo $2,766
Nosara $3,818

Living in Luquillo costs roughly 31% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Luquillo is 7% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.51 $19.51

$12.35 ₡5,539

57.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.9 $80.9

$61.2 ₡27.4K

32.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.07 $9.07

$7.52 ₡3,373

20.61%

Cappuccino

$3.56 $3.56

$4.41 ₡1,978

-19.27%

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

$1.60 $1.60

$1.74 ₡780

-8.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 $1.46

$1.31 ₡587

11.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 $3.06

$3.28 ₡1,471

-6.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 $2.28

$4.47 ₡2,004

-48.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.23 $2.23

$1.56 ₡701

42.95%

White Bread (500g)

$3.54 $3.54

$3.02 ₡1,355

17.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 $2.32

$2.51 ₡1,125

-7.57%

Eggs

$7.61 $7.61

$3.57 ₡1,603

113.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.44 $12.44

$7.43 ₡3,333

67.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.60 $9.60

$10.52 ₡4,717

-8.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.39 $13.39

$13.97 ₡6,265

-4.15%

Apples (1kg)

$4.94 $4.94

$2.35 ₡1,052

110.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.53 $2.53

$1.61 ₡720

57.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.73 $4.73

$4.80 ₡2,152

-1.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.92 $4.92

$1.61 ₡724

205.59%

Potato (1kg)

$3.74 $3.74

$3.80 ₡1,703

-1.58%

Onion (1kg)

$4.00 $4.00

$3.69 ₡1,657

8.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.42 $3.42

$1.13 ₡507

202.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 $1.66

$2.66 ₡1,191

-37.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.86 $11.86

$5.18 ₡2,321

128.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.10 $12.10

$19.88 ₡8,916

-39.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.04 $3.04

$2.90 ₡1,300

4.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.94 $3.94

$3.63 ₡1,626

8.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 $2.54

$2.14 ₡958

18.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 $1.54

$1.57 ₡703

-1.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.93 $41.93

$8.52 ₡3,823

392.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.85 $0.85

$1.52 ₡682

-44.08%

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

$39.8K $39.8K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

84.14%

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

$27.7K $27.7K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-19.65%

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

$274 $274

$96.3 ₡43.2K

184.13%

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

$69.4 $69.4

$35.89 ₡16.1K

93.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.2 $69.2

$53.6 ₡24.0K

29.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$10.51 $10.51

$7.89 ₡3,539

33.21%

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

$825 $825

$494 ₡221.6K

66.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K $12.4K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

4.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.8 $55.8

$53.9 ₡24.2K

3.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.5 $61.5

$55.4 ₡24.8K

10.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 $108

$77.9 ₡34.9K

38.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 $112

$79.6 ₡35.7K

40.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,190 $4,190

$864 ₡387.3K

385.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

8.62

-24.01%

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

Last update for Luquillo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Luquillo

$412 32.7%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 54.9% $226

Groceries & Markets

Luquillo

$406 32.3%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 13.3% $54

Eating Out

Luquillo

$258 20.5%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 17.9% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Luquillo

$152 12%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 20.8% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Luquillo

$21 * 1.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 316% $66

Getting Around

Luquillo

$10 * 0.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 750% $77

Accommodation & Living

Luquillo

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Luquillo pays 385% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $81.0 in Luquillo vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $406 vs $352 per month, with Nosara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Luquillo

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:02 2:02 PM

12:02 12:02 PM

2 h behind Luquillo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

4,912

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Luquillo Nosara 2,340 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Luquillo
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

Luquillo vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Luquillo is cheaper overall, especially in leisure and transport. The 46% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 385% higher in Luquillo, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Shoppers in Nosara pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,260 per month in Luquillo versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 46% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,260 in Luquillo versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Luquillo but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Luquillo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Luquillo 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, Luquillo 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 Luquillo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.