Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and St.James

For one person, living is cheaper in St.James: $921 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 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
45

Cost of Living Index in St.James
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St.James Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

St.James

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$921

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in St.James

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

A single person spends $1,839 per month in Nosara vs $921 in St.James, rent included.

Nosara $1,839
St.James $921

A couple spends around $2,828 per month in Nosara vs $1,596 in St.James, rent included.

Nosara $2,828
St.James $1,596

A family of three spends $3,818 per month in Nosara vs $2,270 in St.James, rent included.

Nosara $3,818
St.James $2,270

Nosara costs about 100% more than St.James, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Nosara sits 36% above the global median, while St.James is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$10.17 TTD 68.4

21.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$86.9 TTD 585

-29.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$8.91 TTD 60.0

-15.60%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$3.75 TTD 25.23

17.60%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$0.99 TTD 6.66

75.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.77 TTD 5.18

70.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.27 TTD 15.30

44.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$3.64 TTD 24.50

22.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$2.49 TTD 16.76

-37.35%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$2.53 TTD 17.04

19.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$2.93 TTD 19.68

-14.33%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$4.31 TTD 29.00

-17.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$6.62 TTD 44.56

12.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$10.12 TTD 68.1

3.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$11.49 TTD 77.3

21.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$5.57 TTD 37.50

-57.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$2.98 TTD 20.02

-45.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$3.71 TTD 24.94

29.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$4.17 TTD 28.05

-61.39%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$2.11 TTD 14.22

80.09%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.86 TTD 12.49

98.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.89 TTD 12.68

-40.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$1.35 TTD 9.05

97.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$5.83 TTD 39.19

-11.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$19.53 TTD 131

1.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$2.33 TTD 15.64

24.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$3.05 TTD 20.51

19.02%

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

$1.05 TTD 7.06

103.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$1.23 TTD 8.27

27.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$14.78 TTD 99.5

-42.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.12 TTD 7.56

35.71%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$36.5K TTD 245.8K

-40.86%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$41.8K TTD 281.1K

-17.39%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$90.1 TTD 606

6.82%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$52.6 TTD 354

-31.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$56.5 TTD 380

-5.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$9.09 TTD 61.2

-13.20%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$398 TTD 2,676

24.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$10.8K TTD 72.9K

9.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$55.7 TTD 375

-3.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$52.7 TTD 354

5.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$148 TTD 997

-47.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$103 TTD 692

-22.63%

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 St.James: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

St.James

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

St.James

$356 38.7% 1.1% $3.8

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

St.James

$179 19.4% 15.6% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

St.James

$199 21.6% 7.3% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

St.James

$162 17.6% 34.7% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

St.James

$18 * 2% 79.2% $69

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

St.James

$7.2 * 0.8% 91.7% $80

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 $87.0 in St.James. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $352 vs $356 – making Nosara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇹🇹 St.James

🕒 Local time

03:05 3:05 AM

05:05 5:05 AM

2 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

4,342

💱 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 St.James 2,640 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
St.James

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 St.James: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,839 in Nosara, $921 in St.James – roughly 100% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,758 per month in Nosara and $1,382 in St.James. 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 $87.0 in St.James. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 1% cheaper in Nosara – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in St.James, where all-in costs run around $921, than in Nosara at $1,839. In St.James 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 $921 in St.James 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 St.James. 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.