Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Dongying

For one person, living is cheaper in Dongying: $705 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Dongying
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Dongying Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Dongying

🇨🇳 China

$705

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Dongying

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 Dongying actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,837 in Nosara versus $705 in Dongying.

Nosara $1,837
Dongying $705

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,775 in Nosara versus $1,139 in Dongying.

Nosara $2,775
Dongying $1,139

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,712 in Nosara versus $1,572 in Dongying.

Nosara $3,712
Dongying $1,572

Living in Nosara is roughly 160% more expensive than in Dongying, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 37% above, Dongying is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 ₡5,498

$2.86 ¥19.13

327.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 ₡27.1K

$21.81 ¥146

176.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₡3,391

$4.92 ¥32.86

53.25%

Cappuccino

$4.31 ₡1,937

$3.10 ¥20.71

39.03%

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

$1.72 ₡772

$0.44 ¥2.93

290.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₡606

$0.29 ¥1.95

365.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,456

$0.95 ¥6.37

241.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 ₡2,014

$2.10 ¥14.05

113.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡705

$1.88 ¥12.59

-16.49%

White Bread (500g)

$3.17 ₡1,426

$1.61 ¥10.78

96.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,089

$0.92 ¥6.12

163.04%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,605

$1.60 ¥10.71

123.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,342

$12.91 ¥86.3

-42.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.42 ₡4,687

$3.16 ¥21.13

229.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.66 ₡6,143

$10.03 ¥67.0

36.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 ₡1,042

$1.86 ¥12.40

24.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡726

$1.21 ¥8.10

33.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.74 ₡2,133

$1.48 ¥9.86

220.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ₡746

$1.15 ¥7.66

44.35%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,675

$0.69 ¥4.60

439.13%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,608

$0.98 ¥6.52

264.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₡496

$0.57 ¥3.78

92.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ₡1,147

$0.52 ¥3.45

390.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 ₡2,227

$3.16 ¥21.14

56.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.01 ₡9,001

$10.48 ¥70.0

90.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₡1,253

$0.81 ¥5.39

244.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ₡1,586

$1.65 ¥11.01

113.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 ₡536

$0.29 ¥1.96

310.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.4K

$16.73 ¥112

330.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,009

$1.43 ¥9.53

56.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 ₡699

$0.33 ¥2.18

369.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₡3,985

$6.80 ¥45.42

30.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡706

$1.12 ¥7.47

40.18%

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

$19.5K ¥130.4K

11.73%

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

$34.6K ₡15.6M

$17.4K ¥116.0K

99.51%

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

$93.5 ₡42.0K

$44.89 ¥300

108.18%

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

$35.11 ₡15.8K

$9.96 ¥66.6

252.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 ₡23.2K

$11.55 ¥77.2

345.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ₡32.1K

$41.59 ¥278

71.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡15.9K

$14.06 ¥93.9

152.06%

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 ₡3,528

$5.79 ¥38.69

35.41%

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

$490 ₡220.2K

$336 ¥2,245

45.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$16.9K ¥113.1K

-29.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ₡24.1K

$43.57 ¥291

22.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.1K

$30.12 ¥201

85.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

$70.7 ¥473

12.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 ₡35.5K

$72.7 ¥486

8.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$786 ₡353.6K

$275 ¥1,839

185.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 ₡350.8K

$194 ¥1,296

302.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,860 ₡1.7M

$581 ¥3,880

564.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 ₡633.0K

$360 ¥2,406

290.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,972 ₡3.1M

$2,987 ¥20.0K

133.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 ₡540.2K

$2,015 ¥13.5K

-40.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 ₡394.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

3.89

121.59%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Last update for Dongying: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$780 43%

Dongying

$194 27% 75.1% $586

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.3%

Dongying

$199 27.7% 43.2% $151

Eating Out

Nosara

$209 11.6%

Dongying

$87 12.1% 58.6% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$180 9.9%

Dongying

$66 9.3% 63.1% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.6%

Dongying

$98 13.6% 18.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Dongying

$53 7.4% 38.9% $34

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Dongying

$21 2.9% 75.9% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $786 in Nosara and $275 in Dongying. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $60.0 in Nosara vs $22.00 in Dongying for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $199 per month, with Dongying cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇨🇳 Dongying

🕒 Local time

02:39 2:39 AM

16:39 4:39 PM

14 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

2,035,300

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

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Between locations

Nosara Dongying 14,170 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Dongying

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 Dongying: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dongying is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 160% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,756 in Nosara and $1,058 in Dongying to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $786 in Nosara versus $275 in Dongying. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $490 in Nosara versus $336 in Dongying. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 76% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $705 in Dongying versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dongying but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Dongying the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dongying 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 Dongying 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 Dongying gentler on the wallet – expenses run 160% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.