Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Scarborough

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,835 a month against $2,130 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Scarborough outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
103

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,130

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Scarborough

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

A single person spends $1,835 per month in Nosara vs $2,130 in Scarborough, rent included.

Nosara $1,835
Scarborough $2,130

A couple spends around $2,825 per month in Nosara vs $3,096 in Scarborough, rent included.

Nosara $2,825
Scarborough $3,096

A family of three spends $3,814 per month in Nosara vs $4,062 in Scarborough, rent included.

Nosara $3,814
Scarborough $4,062

Nosara is about 14% cheaper than Scarborough, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Nosara and Scarborough sit above the global median – Nosara by 35%, Scarborough by 57%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.34 ₡5,535

$15.36 £11.53

-19.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 ₡27.5K

$71.1 £53.4

-13.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.76 ₡3,481

$12.12 £9.09

-35.97%

Cappuccino

$4.44 ₡1,992

$3.51 £2.63

26.50%

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

$1.79 ₡803

$2.05 £1.53

-12.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 ₡580

$1.02 £0.77

26.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,451

$4.58 £3.44

-29.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 ₡1,985

$4.29 £3.22

3.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡696

$1.29 £0.97

20.16%

White Bread (500g)

$3.08 ₡1,380

$1.37 £1.03

124.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.53 ₡1,133

$1.08 £0.81

134.26%

Eggs

$3.45 ₡1,546

$3.60 £2.70

-4.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.32 ₡3,284

$7.92 £5.94

-7.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 ₡4,594

$7.18 £5.39

42.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.10 ₡6,326

$13.94 £10.46

1.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₡1,027

$3.13 £2.35

-26.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 ₡737

$1.99 £1.49

-17.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.79 ₡2,149

$2.65 £1.99

80.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 ₡735

$2.09 £1.57

-21.53%

Potato (1kg)

$3.85 ₡1,727

$1.74 £1.30

121.26%

Onion (1kg)

$3.75 ₡1,681

$1.62 £1.21

131.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 ₡488

$1.15 £0.87

-5.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 ₡1,160

$1.91 £1.43

35.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.12 ₡2,295

$22.58 £16.94

-77.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.92 ₡8,931

$9.59 £7.19

107.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₡1,255

$3.65 £2.74

-23.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 ₡1,580

$3.60 £2.70

-2.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.22 ₡549

$3.30 £2.48

-63.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.9 ₡33.1K

$86.0 £64.5

-14.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.17 ₡973

$5.73 £4.30

-62.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 ₡698

$4.97 £3.73

-68.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.67 ₡3,886

$33.58 £25.19

-74.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡697

$1.98 £1.48

-21.72%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$36.0K £27.0K

-3.95%

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

$38.7K ₡17.4M

$39.9K £29.9K

-2.91%

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

$94.8 ₡42.5K

$356 £267

-73.37%

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

$36.15 ₡16.2K

$25.99 £19.50

39.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.1 ₡23.8K

$32.74 £24.56

62.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.8 ₡33.1K

$66.1 £49.59

11.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.63 ₡16.0K

$12.67 £9.50

181.22%

Cinema Ticket

$7.91 ₡3,548

$10.66 £7.99

-25.80%

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

$490 ₡219.9K

$1,804 £1,353

-72.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$14.7K £11.1K

-19.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.8 ₡24.6K

$66.3 £49.73

-17.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.9 ₡25.1K

$35.54 £26.66

57.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.4 ₡36.0K

$108 £81.3

-25.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$114 £85.2

-31.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$801 ₡359.1K

$867 £651

-7.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$790 ₡354.1K

$831 £624

-4.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,005 ₡1.8M

$1,524 £1,143

162.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 ₡632.0K

$1,365 £1,024

3.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,064 ₡3.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,236 ₡554.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$887 ₡397.6K

$910 £683

-2.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.53

55.88%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Last update for Scarborough: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$790 43%

Scarborough

$831 39% 5.3% $42

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.1%

Scarborough

$276 13% 21.1% $74

Eating Out

Nosara

$213 11.6%

Scarborough

$245 11.5% 15.3% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$184 10%

Scarborough

$415 19.5% 125% $231

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$121 6.6%

Scarborough

$146 6.8% 20.4% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$90 4.9%

Scarborough

$87 4.1% 2.4% $2.2

Getting Around

Nosara

$89 4.8%

Scarborough

$130 6.1% 46.3% $41

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $801 in Nosara versus $867 in Scarborough. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 3% higher in Scarborough, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara versus $71.0 in Scarborough. Groceries tell a different story – $350 in Nosara vs $276 in Scarborough – so Scarborough wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🕒 Local time

07:22 7:22 AM

14:22 2:22 PM

7 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

61,749

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, 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).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Scarborough 8,800 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Scarborough

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 Scarborough: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,835 in Nosara, $2,130 in Scarborough – roughly 16% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,753 per month in Nosara and $3,195 in Scarborough. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nosara, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 16% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $490 per month in Nosara and $1,804 in Scarborough. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,835, than in Scarborough at $2,130. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Scarborough 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 $1,835 in Nosara to $2,130 in Scarborough. 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 Nosara. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Scarborough makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.