Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterey Park, CA and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,866 in Monterey Park, CA, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Monterey Park, CA
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Monterey Park, CA Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Monterey Park, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,866

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,866 in Monterey Park, CA versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Monterey Park, CA $2,866
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,218 in Monterey Park, CA versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Monterey Park, CA $4,218
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,570 in Monterey Park, CA versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Monterey Park, CA $5,570
Nosara $3,818

Living in Monterey Park, CA is roughly 56% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monterey Park, CA 112% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.69 $26.69

$12.35 ₡5,539

116.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.4 $80.4

$61.2 ₡27.4K

31.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.07 $15.07

$7.52 ₡3,373

100.40%

Cappuccino

$5.89 $5.89

$4.41 ₡1,978

33.56%

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

$3.14 $3.14

$1.74 ₡780

80.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 $2.76

$1.31 ₡587

110.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.17 $8.17

$3.28 ₡1,471

149.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.19 $10.19

$4.47 ₡2,004

127.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 $1.33

$1.56 ₡701

-14.74%

White Bread (500g)

$4.94 $4.94

$3.02 ₡1,355

63.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.60 $4.60

$2.51 ₡1,125

83.27%

Eggs

$5.74 $5.74

$3.57 ₡1,603

60.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.29 $11.29

$7.43 ₡3,333

51.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 $8.63

$10.52 ₡4,717

-17.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.40 $19.40

$13.97 ₡6,265

38.87%

Apples (1kg)

$4.65 $4.65

$2.35 ₡1,052

97.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.32 $2.32

$1.61 ₡720

44.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.12 $4.12

$4.80 ₡2,152

-14.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.60 $5.60

$1.61 ₡724

247.83%

Potato (1kg)

$3.41 $3.41

$3.80 ₡1,703

-10.26%

Onion (1kg)

$2.93 $2.93

$3.69 ₡1,657

-20.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.95 $1.95

$1.13 ₡507

72.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 $2.44

$2.66 ₡1,191

-8.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.56 $11.56

$5.18 ₡2,321

123.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.98 $14.98

$19.88 ₡8,916

-24.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.51 $2.51

$2.90 ₡1,300

-13.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 $2.71

$3.63 ₡1,626

-25.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.99 $1.99

$1.12 ₡504

77.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 $3.08

$2.14 ₡958

43.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 $1.81

$1.57 ₡703

15.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.31 $32.31

$8.52 ₡3,823

279.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 $1.57

$1.52 ₡682

3.29%

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

$37.4K $37.4K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

73.24%

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

$25.5K $25.5K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-26.09%

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

$272 $272

$96.3 ₡43.2K

182.33%

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

$85.8 $85.8

$35.89 ₡16.1K

139.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.4 $81.4

$53.6 ₡24.0K

51.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.47 $47.47

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-33.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$19.40 $19.40

$7.89 ₡3,539

145.88%

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

$1,175 $1,175

$494 ₡221.6K

137.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.7K $31.7K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

166.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.8 $63.8

$53.9 ₡24.2K

18.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.6 $55.6

$55.4 ₡24.8K

0.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 $117

$77.9 ₡34.9K

50.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$211 $211

$79.6 ₡35.7K

164.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 $1,565

$788 ₡353.4K

98.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,283 $1,283

$794 ₡356.2K

61.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,549 $2,549

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-35.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,171 $2,171

$1,419 ₡636.5K

52.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,733 $2,733

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-60.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,066 $2,066

$1,224 ₡549.0K

68.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 $1,575

$864 ₡387.3K

82.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.31

8.62

-26.80%

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

Last update for Monterey Park, CA: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterey Park, CA

$1.3K 44.8%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 38.1% $489

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterey Park, CA

$439 15.3%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 57.7% $253

Groceries & Markets

Monterey Park, CA

$422 14.7%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 16.5% $70

Eating Out

Monterey Park, CA

$414 14.5%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 48.9% $202

Clothing & Footwear

Monterey Park, CA

$201 7%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 40.4% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Monterey Park, CA

$86 3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 1.3% $1.1

Getting Around

Monterey Park, CA

$20 * 0.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 334% $67

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,565 in Monterey Park, CA and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterey Park, CA pays 82% 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: $80.0 in Monterey Park, CA vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $422 vs $352 per month, with Nosara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Monterey Park, CA

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

13:02 1:02 PM

14:02 2:02 PM

1 h ahead of Monterey Park, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

60,269

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

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Highest

Between locations

Monterey Park, CA Nosara 4,250 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterey Park, CA
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

Monterey Park, CA vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara wins on cost – living expenses run 56% lower than in Monterey Park, CA. 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 82% higher in Monterey Park, CA, 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: $1,565 in Monterey Park, CA versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Monterey Park, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,866 per month in Monterey Park, CA versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 56% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,866 in Monterey Park, CA, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Monterey Park, CA. 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, Monterey Park, CA 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 56% less than in Monterey Park, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.