Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Foca

For one person, living is cheaper in Foca: $952 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Foca
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Foca Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Foca

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$952

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Foca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $952 in Foca.

Nosara $1,839
Foca $952

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,369 in Foca.

Nosara $2,828
Foca $1,369

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $1,786 in Foca.

Nosara $3,818
Foca $1,786

Living in Nosara is roughly 93% more expensive than in Foca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Foca is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$5.40 BAM 9.39

128.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$21.90 BAM 38.08

179.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$4.68 BAM 8.14

60.68%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$1.53 BAM 2.66

188.24%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.36 BAM 2.37

27.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.78 BAM 1.36

67.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$1.75 BAM 3.04

87.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$2.26 BAM 3.92

97.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.16 BAM 2.03

34.48%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.11 BAM 1.94

172.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.62 BAM 2.82

54.94%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.11 BAM 3.67

69.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$6.89 BAM 11.99

7.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$6.45 BAM 11.22

63.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$10.11 BAM 17.59

38.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$0.88 BAM 1.54

167.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.74 BAM 3.02

-7.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$2.24 BAM 3.90

114.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.73 BAM 3.01

-6.94%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.02 BAM 1.77

272.55%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.34 BAM 2.34

175.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.17 BAM 2.03

-3.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.86 BAM 1.50

209.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$3.43 BAM 5.96

51.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$7.93 BAM 13.79

150.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$0.82 BAM 1.43

253.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$1.11 BAM 1.93

227.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$1.28 BAM 2.22

-12.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$1.66 BAM 2.89

28.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.59 BAM 1.03

166.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$17.47 BAM 30.37

-51.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.48 BAM 2.57

2.70%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$30.3K BAM 52.6K

-28.62%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$21.2K BAM 36.8K

62.88%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$157 BAM 274

-38.79%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$16.59 BAM 28.85

116.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$33.72 BAM 58.6

58.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$29.19 BAM 50.8

145.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$5.76 BAM 10.02

36.98%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$289 BAM 503

70.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$3,628 BAM 6,308

226.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$84.9 BAM 148

-36.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$36.14 BAM 62.9

53.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$68.8 BAM 120

13.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$142 BAM 246

-43.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$155 BAM 269

409.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$251 BAM 437

216.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$515 BAM 896

664.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$368 BAM 641

285.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$2,431 BAM 4,228

184.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,663 BAM 2,892

-26.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

4.44

94.14%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Foca: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Foca

$251 26.4% 68.4% $543

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Foca

$196 20.6% 44.3% $156

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Foca

$97 10.2% 54% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Foca

$208 21.8% 11.8% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Foca

$149 15.7% 24.2% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Foca

$41 4.3% 53.4% $47

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Foca

$9.7 * 1% 88.8% $77

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 $788 in Nosara and $155 in Foca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Nosara vs $22.00 in Foca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $196 per month, with Foca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇧🇦 Foca

🕒 Local time

21:59 9:59 PM

05:59 5:59 AM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

12,334

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 BAM = 0.575 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Foca 10,380 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Foca

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 Foca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Foca is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 93% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,758 in Nosara and $1,428 in Foca 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: $788 in Nosara versus $155 in Foca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $494 in Nosara versus $289 in Foca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Foca – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $952 in Foca versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Foca but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Foca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Foca 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 Foca 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 Foca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.