Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Iquique

For one person, living is cheaper in Iquique: $999 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Iquique
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Iquique Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Iquique

🇨🇱 Chile

$999

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Iquique

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $999 in Iquique.

Nosara $1,839
Iquique $999

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,590 in Iquique.

Nosara $2,828
Iquique $1,590

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,180 in Iquique.

Nosara $3,818
Iquique $2,180

Living in Nosara is roughly 84% more expensive than in Iquique, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Iquique is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$7.48 CLP 7,359

65.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$40.30 CLP 39.7K

51.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$7.04 CLP 6,934

6.82%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$3.44 CLP 3,384

28.20%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.23 CLP 1,210

41.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.95 CLP 937

37.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$3.27 CLP 3,222

0.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$3.61 CLP 3,552

23.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.09 CLP 1,077

43.12%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.13 CLP 1,111

167.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.31 CLP 1,285

91.60%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$3.02 CLP 2,972

18.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$10.12 CLP 9,962

-26.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$10.05 CLP 9,896

4.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$2.31 CLP 2,273

1.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$2.15 CLP 2,121

-25.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.51 CLP 1,484

217.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.06 CLP 1,040

51.89%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$0.73 CLP 722

420.55%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$0.64 CLP 628

476.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.00 CLP 981

13.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$1.35 CLP 1,326

97.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$7.25 CLP 7,139

-28.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$7.86 CLP 7,734

152.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$0.84 CLP 828

332.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.69 CLP 679

62.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.44 CLP 1,419

5.56%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$88.6 CLP 87.2K

8.64%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$15.63 CLP 15.4K

129.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$23.17 CLP 22.8K

131.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$50.7 CLP 49.9K

41.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$6.91 CLP 6,803

14.18%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$254 CLP 249.8K

94.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$30.11 CLP 29.6K

79.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$23.04 CLP 22.7K

140.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$46.57 CLP 45.8K

67.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$58.3 CLP 57.4K

36.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$422 CLP 415.4K

86.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$382 CLP 375.7K

108.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$683 CLP 671.9K

477.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$781 CLP 769.3K

81.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$1,718 CLP 1.7M

302.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,926 CLP 1.9M

-36.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$958 CLP 943.5K

-9.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

7.5

14.93%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Iquique: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Iquique

$382 38.2% 51.9% $413

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Iquique

$197 * 19.7% 44.1% $155

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Iquique

$155 15.5% 27.1% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Iquique

$127 12.8% 31.4% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Iquique

$71 7.1% 40.8% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Iquique

$65 6.5% 26.2% $23

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Iquique

$2.8 * 0.3% 96.8% $84

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 $422 in Iquique. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iquique 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 $40.00 in Iquique for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $197 per month, with Iquique cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇨🇱 Iquique

🕒 Local time

09:01 9:01 AM

12:01 12:01 PM

3 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

188,003

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Iquique 3,760 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Iquique

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 Iquique: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara and Iquique differ by about 84% in total monthly costs ($1,839 vs $999 including rent). Iquique is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 11% lower in Iquique. 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 $422 in Iquique. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 79% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,839 per month in Nosara versus $999 in Iquique – a 84% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $999 in Iquique versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Iquique but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Iquique 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 Iquique 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 Iquique gentler on the wallet – expenses run 84% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.