Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Anshan

For one person, living is cheaper in Anshan: $630 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Anshan
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Anshan Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Anshan

🇨🇳 China

$630

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Anshan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nosara and in Anshan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $630 in Anshan.

Nosara $1,839
Anshan $630

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,018 in Anshan.

Nosara $2,828
Anshan $1,018

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $1,406 in Anshan.

Nosara $3,818
Anshan $1,406

Living in Nosara is roughly 192% more expensive than in Anshan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Anshan is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$3.08 ¥20.59

300.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$18.82 ¥126

225.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$4.36 ¥29.16

72.48%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$2.49 ¥16.65

77.11%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$0.39 ¥2.58

346.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.23 ¥1.54

469.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$0.78 ¥5.25

320.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$1.66 ¥11.09

169.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.77 ¥11.83

-11.86%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.29 ¥8.64

134.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$0.35 ¥2.37

617.14%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$1.06 ¥7.12

236.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$8.74 ¥58.4

-14.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$1.77 ¥11.82

494.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$9.11 ¥60.9

53.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$1.06 ¥7.11

121.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.17 ¥7.82

37.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.18 ¥7.88

306.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.17 ¥7.81

37.61%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$0.31 ¥2.09

1125.81%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$0.89 ¥5.95

314.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$0.29 ¥1.94

289.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.43 ¥2.89

518.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$3.66 ¥24.45

41.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$7.66 ¥51.2

159.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$0.77 ¥5.14

276.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$1.10 ¥7.38

230.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.29 ¥1.94

286.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

$17.75 ¥119

309.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$1.07 ¥7.13

100.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.16 ¥1.06

881.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$2.92 ¥19.53

191.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.06 ¥7.07

43.40%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$19.5K ¥130.6K

10.61%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$15.2K ¥101.9K

126.50%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$29.30 ¥196

228.63%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$7.25 ¥48.47

395.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$14.66 ¥98.0

265.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$42.00 ¥281

70.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$15.17 ¥101

130.13%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$5.91 ¥39.53

33.50%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$221 ¥1,478

123.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$21.7K ¥144.9K

-45.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$37.91 ¥253

42.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$33.24 ¥222

66.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$60.1 ¥402

29.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$70.2 ¥470

13.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$298 ¥1,996

164.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$184 ¥1,229

332.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$626 ¥4,187

528.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$380 ¥2,540

273.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$3,597 ¥24.0K

92.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,957 ¥13.1K

-37.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$960 ¥6,418

-10.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

331.00%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Anshan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Anshan

$184 29.2% 76.9% $611

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Anshan

$152 24.1% 56.9% $200

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Anshan

$77 12.3% 63.5% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Anshan

$51 8.1% 72.4% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Anshan

$91 14.4% 24.5% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Anshan

$54 8.6% 38.4% $34

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Anshan

$21 3.3% 76.2% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $788 in Nosara and $298 in Anshan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Anshan pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Nosara vs $19.00 in Anshan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $152 per month, with Anshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇨🇳 Anshan

🕒 Local time

11:34 11:34 AM

01:34 1:34 AM

14 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

1,543,696

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nosara Anshan 13,620 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Anshan

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

Nosara vs Anshan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Anshan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 192% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 11% lower in Anshan. 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: $788 in Nosara versus $298 in Anshan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Anshan – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,839 per month in Nosara versus $630 in Anshan – a 192% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $630 in Anshan versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Anshan but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Anshan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Anshan 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, Nosara and Anshan 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 Anshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 192% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.