Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and San Juan

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $771 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 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
37

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

San Juan

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in San Juan

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

A single person spends $1,839 per month in Nosara vs $771 in San Juan, rent included.

Nosara $1,839
San Juan $771

A couple spends around $2,828 per month in Nosara vs $1,321 in San Juan, rent included.

Nosara $2,828
San Juan $1,321

A family of three spends $3,818 per month in Nosara vs $1,870 in San Juan, rent included.

Nosara $3,818
San Juan $1,870

Nosara costs about 138% more than San Juan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Nosara sits 36% above the global median, while San Juan is 43% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$10.47 TTD 70.4

17.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$59.2 TTD 398

3.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$7.95 TTD 53.5

-5.41%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$3.63 TTD 24.39

21.49%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.21 TTD 8.15

43.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.75 TTD 5.07

74.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.23 TTD 14.98

47.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$3.01 TTD 20.23

48.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.98 TTD 13.33

-21.21%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$2.36 TTD 15.86

27.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$2.91 TTD 19.56

-13.75%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$3.74 TTD 25.14

-4.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$6.80 TTD 45.75

9.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$10.15 TTD 68.3

3.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$8.89 TTD 59.8

57.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$5.51 TTD 37.04

-57.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$2.53 TTD 17.00

-36.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$3.60 TTD 24.22

33.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$4.25 TTD 28.57

-62.12%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$0.77 TTD 5.17

393.51%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$0.71 TTD 4.81

419.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.45 TTD 9.76

-22.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$1.21 TTD 8.13

119.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$5.77 TTD 38.81

-10.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$18.00 TTD 121

10.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.56 TTD 10.49

85.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$3.01 TTD 20.23

20.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$0.87 TTD 5.82

145.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.85 TTD 5.71

84.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$14.64 TTD 98.5

-41.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.16 TTD 7.78

31.03%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$37.6K TTD 253.1K

-42.56%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$41.0K TTD 275.6K

-15.76%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$43.82 TTD 295

119.74%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$42.30 TTD 285

-15.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$44.86 TTD 302

19.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$8.95 TTD 60.2

-11.84%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$398 TTD 2,678

24.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$10.8K TTD 72.6K

9.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$53.8 TTD 362

0.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$37.61 TTD 253

47.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$87.8 TTD 591

-11.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$89.9 TTD 605

-11.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.75

49.91%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for San Juan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

San Juan

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

San Juan

$320 41.5% 9.2% $32

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

San Juan

$176 22.8% 16.9% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

San Juan

$131 17% 29.5% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

San Juan

$121 15.7% 0.8% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

San Juan

$18 * 2.3% 79.5% $69

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

San Juan

$5.1 * 0.7% 94.1% $82

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara versus $59.0 in San Juan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $352 vs $320 – making San Juan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇹🇹 San Juan

🕒 Local time

06:01 6:01 AM

08:01 8:01 AM

2 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, 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).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara San Juan 2,650 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
San Juan

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 San Juan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,839 in Nosara, $771 in San Juan – roughly 138% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,758 per month in Nosara and $1,157 in San Juan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara and $59.0 in San Juan. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 10% more in Nosara, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in San Juan, where all-in costs run around $771, than in Nosara at $1,839. In San Juan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Nosara has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $771 in San Juan to $1,839 in Nosara. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with San Juan. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Nosara makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.