Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Higuey

For one person, living is cheaper in Higuey: $912 a month against $1,846 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Higuey
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Higuey Living Index

Jump to prices

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,846

/mo nomad

Higuey

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$912

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Higuey

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,846 in Nosara versus $912 in Higuey.

Nosara $1,846
Higuey $912

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,833 in Nosara versus $1,495 in Higuey.

Nosara $2,833
Higuey $1,495

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,820 in Nosara versus $2,078 in Higuey.

Nosara $3,820
Higuey $2,078

Living in Nosara is roughly 102% more expensive than in Higuey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Higuey is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.36 ₡5,575

$9.75 DOP 597

26.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.8 ₡27.4K

$50.0 DOP 3,064

21.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.88 ₡3,557

$7.46 DOP 457

5.63%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₡1,986

$1.99 DOP 122

121.11%

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

$1.72 ₡776

$1.04 DOP 63.9

65.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 ₡603

$0.51 DOP 31.17

162.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.34 ₡1,505

$2.51 DOP 154

33.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 ₡2,048

$3.17 DOP 194

43.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 ₡739

$1.19 DOP 73.1

37.82%

White Bread (500g)

$3.16 ₡1,426

$1.57 DOP 96.2

101.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 ₡1,080

$1.35 DOP 82.8

77.04%

Eggs

$3.47 ₡1,564

$1.95 DOP 119

77.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.13 ₡3,217

$7.30 DOP 447

-2.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.32 ₡4,655

$5.29 DOP 324

95.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,302

$6.56 DOP 402

112.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₡1,031

$3.00 DOP 183

-23.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ₡731

$0.70 DOP 43.08

131.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.81 ₡2,169

$1.46 DOP 89.1

229.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 ₡758

$1.29 DOP 79.0

30.23%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 ₡1,765

$1.16 DOP 71.0

237.07%

Onion (1kg)

$3.63 ₡1,640

$1.11 DOP 68.2

227.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡509

$0.59 DOP 36.00

91.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 ₡1,188

$0.47 DOP 28.95

459.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.02 ₡2,267

$5.38 DOP 330

-6.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.71 ₡8,893

$10.11 DOP 619

94.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.91 ₡1,314

$2.42 DOP 148

20.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₡1,597

$2.87 DOP 176

23.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 ₡545

$0.81 DOP 49.35

49.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.8 ₡33.3K

$49.72 DOP 3,045

48.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.15 ₡969

$3.32 DOP 203

-35.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡738

$2.26 DOP 139

-27.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.77 ₡3,958

$5.84 DOP 358

50.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡700

$1.36 DOP 83.5

13.97%

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

$33.9K ₡15.3M

$24.8K DOP 1.5M

36.68%

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

$38.5K ₡17.4M

$30.7K DOP 1.9M

25.30%

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

$95.2 ₡43.0K

$90.5 DOP 5,540

5.24%

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

$36.29 ₡16.4K

$16.40 DOP 1,004

121.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.0 ₡23.5K

$32.65 DOP 2,000

59.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.6 ₡30.5K

$24.74 DOP 1,515

173.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.55 ₡16.0K

$65.4 DOP 4,003

-45.62%

Cinema Ticket

$7.54 ₡3,404

$7.38 DOP 452

2.17%

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

$496 ₡224.0K

$98.6 DOP 6,039

403.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.8K ₡5.3M

$2,173 DOP 133.1K

441.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.1 ₡24.9K

$44.71 DOP 2,738

23.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 ₡25.3K

$45.17 DOP 2,766

24.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.8 ₡35.1K

$86.2 DOP 5,279

-9.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.1 ₡35.7K

$79.6 DOP 4,873

-0.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$817 ₡368.9K

$289 DOP 17.7K

183.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$806 ₡363.6K

$209 DOP 12.8K

285.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,988 ₡1.8M

$566 DOP 34.6K

604.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,429 ₡644.9K

$401 DOP 24.6K

256.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,068 ₡3.2M

$1,809 DOP 110.8K

290.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,197 ₡540.1K

$1,240 DOP 75.9K

-3.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$888 ₡400.7K

$434 DOP 26.6K

104.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

11.5

-25.04%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 24, 2026

Last update for Higuey: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$806 43.7%

Higuey

$209 22.9% 74% $597

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$351 19%

Higuey

$192 21.1% 45.3% $159

Eating Out

Nosara

$213 11.6%

Higuey

$149 16.4% 30% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$184 9.9%

Higuey

$140 15.3% 24% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$121 6.5%

Higuey

$115 12.6% 4.6% $5.6

Getting Around

Nosara

$89 4.8%

Higuey

$68 7.4% 24% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$83 4.5%

Higuey

$40 4.3% 52.2% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $817 in Nosara and $289 in Higuey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Nosara vs $50 in Higuey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $351 vs $192 per month, with Higuey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇩🇴 Higuey

🕒 Local time

13:17 1:17 PM

15:17 3:17 PM

2 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

123,787

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 61.24 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.47 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Higuey 2,060 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Higuey

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 Higuey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Higuey is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 102% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Nosara is about 2 times higher, 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: $817 in Nosara versus $289 in Higuey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,846 per month in Nosara versus $912 in Higuey – a 102% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Higuey runs roughly 33% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Nosara and Higuey 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 Higuey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.