Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Nagoya

For one person, living is cheaper in Nagoya: $1,369 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
67

Cost of Living Index in Nagoya
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Nagoya Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Nagoya

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,369

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Nagoya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $1,369 in Nagoya.

Nosara $1,839
Nagoya $1,369

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $2,170 in Nagoya.

Nosara $2,828
Nagoya $2,170

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,972 in Nagoya.

Nosara $3,818
Nagoya $2,972

Living in Nosara is roughly 34% more expensive than in Nagoya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nosara 36% above, Nagoya 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$8.57 ¥1,355

44.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$31.14 ¥4,919

96.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$5.11 ¥808

47.16%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$2.39 ¥377

84.52%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.24 ¥195

40.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.85 ¥135

54.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$3.09 ¥489

6.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$3.20 ¥505

39.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.51 ¥239

3.31%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.52 ¥241

98.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$4.03 ¥637

-37.72%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.15 ¥339

66.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$15.68 ¥2,477

-52.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$7.14 ¥1,129

47.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$16.92 ¥2,674

-17.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$8.42 ¥1,330

-72.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$2.90 ¥459

-44.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$4.86 ¥768

-1.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$7.84 ¥1,238

-79.46%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$4.08 ¥645

-6.86%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$4.75 ¥750

-22.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.14 ¥180

-0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.94 ¥148

182.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$3.86 ¥610

34.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$9.47 ¥1,496

109.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$2.49 ¥393

16.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$2.18 ¥345

66.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$1.49 ¥235

-24.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

$118 ¥18.6K

-38.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$3.20 ¥505

-33.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$2.85 ¥451

-44.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$15.80 ¥2,495

-46.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.10 ¥173

38.18%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$21.6K ¥3.4M

-0.12%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$14.9K ¥2.4M

131.88%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$115 ¥18.2K

-16.31%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$23.65 ¥3,736

51.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$31.18 ¥4,926

71.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$50.5 ¥7,971

41.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$13.41 ¥2,119

160.33%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$11.29 ¥1,784

-30.12%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$572 ¥90.3K

-13.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$14.8K ¥2.3M

-19.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$49.53 ¥7,826

8.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$35.86 ¥5,666

54.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$59.7 ¥9,427

30.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$99.5 ¥15.7K

-20.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$537 ¥84.9K

46.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$352 ¥55.6K

125.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$1,199 ¥189.5K

228.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$749 ¥118.3K

89.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$2,031 ¥320.8K

240.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,030 ¥162.7K

18.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$1,882 ¥297.4K

-54.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

2.02

326.73%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nagoya: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Nagoya

$352 25.7% 55.7% $443

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Nagoya

$380 27.8% 7.9% $28

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Nagoya

$143 10.4% 32.6% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Nagoya

$170 12.4% 8.5% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Nagoya

$110 8% 8.3% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Nagoya

$73 5.3% 16.4% $14

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Nagoya

$141 10.3% 62.2% $54

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $788 in Nosara and $537 in Nagoya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nagoya pays 118% 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 Nagoya. Groceries flip the comparison at $352 vs $380, with Nosara cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇯🇵 Nagoya

🕒 Local time

01:56 1:56 AM

16:56 4:56 PM

15 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

2,236,000

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Nagoya 13,290 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Nagoya

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 Nagoya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nagoya is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. The 34% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 118% lower in Nagoya. 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 $537 in Nagoya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Nagoya runs roughly 62% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $494 in Nosara versus $572 in Nagoya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,369 in Nagoya versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Nagoya but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Nagoya the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Nagoya 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 Nagoya 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 Nagoya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.