Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Ibaraki

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibaraki: $1,130 a month against $1,835 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Ibaraki
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Ibaraki Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Ibaraki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,130

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Ibaraki

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,835 in Nosara versus $1,130 in Ibaraki.

Nosara $1,835
Ibaraki $1,130

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,825 in Nosara versus $1,756 in Ibaraki.

Nosara $2,825
Ibaraki $1,756

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,814 in Nosara versus $2,383 in Ibaraki.

Nosara $3,814
Ibaraki $2,383

Living in Nosara is roughly 62% more expensive than in Ibaraki, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 35% above, Ibaraki is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.34 ₡5,535

$6.43 ¥1,016

91.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 ₡27.5K

$30.94 ¥4,888

98.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.76 ₡3,481

$4.95 ¥781

56.77%

Cappuccino

$4.44 ₡1,992

$3.04 ¥480

46.05%

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

$1.79 ₡803

$1.15 ¥182

55.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 ₡580

$0.75 ¥119

72.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,451

$2.66 ¥421

21.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 ₡1,985

$3.16 ¥499

40.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡696

$2.70 ¥427

-42.59%

White Bread (500g)

$3.08 ₡1,380

$1.54 ¥244

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.53 ₡1,133

$4.04 ¥638

-37.38%

Eggs

$3.45 ₡1,546

$2.12 ¥334

62.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.32 ₡3,284

$10.53 ¥1,663

-30.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 ₡4,594

$6.66 ¥1,053

53.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.10 ₡6,326

$16.42 ¥2,594

-14.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₡1,027

$3.79 ¥599

-39.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 ₡737

$2.26 ¥357

-27.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.79 ₡2,149

$2.81 ¥443

70.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 ₡735

$4.08 ¥645

-59.80%

Potato (1kg)

$3.85 ₡1,727

$2.43 ¥384

58.44%

Onion (1kg)

$3.75 ₡1,681

$2.56 ¥404

46.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 ₡488

$1.24 ¥196

-12.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 ₡1,160

$0.85 ¥134

204.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.12 ₡2,295

$3.33 ¥526

53.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.92 ₡8,931

$6.66 ¥1,052

199.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₡1,255

$1.78 ¥282

57.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 ₡1,580

$2.15 ¥340

63.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.22 ₡549

$1.68 ¥266

-27.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.9 ₡33.1K

$54.3 ¥8,582

36.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.17 ₡973

$4.65 ¥735

-53.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 ₡698

$2.81 ¥444

-44.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.67 ₡3,886

$18.30 ¥2,890

-52.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡697

$1.13 ¥178

37.17%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$21.4K ¥3.4M

61.76%

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

$38.7K ₡17.4M

$15.1K ¥2.4M

155.90%

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

$94.8 ₡42.5K

$136 ¥21.5K

-30.25%

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

$36.15 ₡16.2K

$23.88 ¥3,773

51.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.1 ₡23.8K

$31.10 ¥4,913

70.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.8 ₡33.1K

$51.5 ¥8,140

43.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.63 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$7.91 ₡3,548

$12.95 ¥2,046

-38.92%

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

$490 ₡219.9K

$464 ¥73.3K

5.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$13.6K ¥2.1M

-12.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.8 ₡24.6K

$26.48 ¥4,184

106.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.9 ₡25.1K

$31.63 ¥4,997

76.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.4 ₡36.0K

$67.2 ¥10.6K

19.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$79.9 ¥12.6K

-2.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$801 ₡359.1K

$401 ¥63.4K

99.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$790 ₡354.1K

$260 ¥41.1K

203.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,005 ₡1.8M

$1,102 ¥174.2K

263.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 ₡632.0K

$528 ¥83.3K

167.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,064 ₡3.2M

$3,937 ¥622.0K

79.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,236 ₡554.3K

$1,554 ¥245.6K

-20.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$887 ₡397.6K

$2,553 ¥403.3K

-65.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

2.21

290.05%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Last update for Ibaraki: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$790 43%

Ibaraki

$260 23% 67% $529

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.1%

Ibaraki

$300 26.5% 14.3% $50

Eating Out

Nosara

$213 11.6%

Ibaraki

$130 11.5% 38.9% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$184 10%

Ibaraki

$191 16.9% 3.7% $6.9

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$121 6.6%

Ibaraki

$92 8.2% 23.7% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$90 4.9%

Ibaraki

$77 6.9% 13.6% $12

Getting Around

Nosara

$89 4.8%

Ibaraki

$80 7.1% 10.1% $9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $801 in Nosara and $401 in Ibaraki. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ibaraki pays 188% 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 $31.00 in Ibaraki for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $300 per month, with Ibaraki cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇯🇵 Ibaraki

🕒 Local time

16:24 4:24 PM

07:24 7:24 AM

15 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

287,730

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Ibaraki 13,410 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Ibaraki

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 Ibaraki: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara and Ibaraki differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($1,835 vs $1,130 including rent). Ibaraki is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 188% lower in Ibaraki. 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: $801 in Nosara versus $401 in Ibaraki. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ibaraki – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,130 in Ibaraki versus $1,835 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ibaraki but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Ibaraki the clear choice for anyone on this 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 Ibaraki 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 Ibaraki gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.