Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Puerto Penasco and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Puerto Penasco: $1,216 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Penasco
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Puerto Penasco Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Puerto Penasco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,216

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Puerto Penasco and in Nosara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Puerto Penasco and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,216 per month in Puerto Penasco vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Puerto Penasco $1,216
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $1,963 per month in Puerto Penasco vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Puerto Penasco $1,963
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $2,710 per month in Puerto Penasco vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Puerto Penasco $2,710
Nosara $3,712

Puerto Penasco is about 34% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Puerto Penasco sits 9% below the global median, while Nosara is 37% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.20 MX$224

$12.22 ₡5,509

-0.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.66 MX$820

$60.2 ₡27.1K

-25.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.56 MX$157

$7.54 ₡3,399

13.53%

Cappuccino

$4.83 MX$88.7

$4.31 ₡1,941

12.06%

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

$1.40 MX$25.67

$1.72 ₡773

-18.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 MX$19.32

$1.35 ₡608

-22.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 MX$49.05

$3.24 ₡1,459

-17.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 MX$72.6

$4.48 ₡2,018

-11.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 MX$29.32

$1.57 ₡707

1.91%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$55.9

$3.17 ₡1,429

-3.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MX$30.92

$2.42 ₡1,091

-30.58%

Eggs

$2.99 MX$54.8

$3.57 ₡1,609

-16.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.88 MX$89.7

$7.43 ₡3,349

-34.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.75 MX$197

$10.42 ₡4,697

3.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.68 MX$178

$13.66 ₡6,156

-29.14%

Apples (1kg)

$4.47 MX$82.1

$2.32 ₡1,044

92.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 MX$35.06

$1.61 ₡728

18.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.15 MX$57.8

$4.74 ₡2,138

-33.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.11 MX$38.80

$1.66 ₡747

27.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.88

$3.72 ₡1,679

-47.58%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.14

$3.57 ₡1,611

-43.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$26.85

$1.10 ₡497

32.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.19

$2.55 ₡1,149

-37.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.48 MX$82.2

$4.95 ₡2,232

-9.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.70 MX$252

$20.01 ₡9,020

-31.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 MX$28.91

$2.79 ₡1,256

-43.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 MX$28.67

$3.53 ₡1,589

-55.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MX$11.71

$1.19 ₡537

-46.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.25 MX$41.40

$2.24 ₡1,011

0.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.13 MX$57.5

$1.55 ₡701

101.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.22 MX$206

$8.86 ₡3,993

26.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$25.27

$1.57 ₡708

-12.10%

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

$21.3K MX$391.3K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

-2.26%

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

$24.4K MX$448.1K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-29.54%

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

$71.5 MX$1,314

$93.5 ₡42.1K

-23.45%

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

$12.60 MX$231

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-64.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.81 MX$804

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-14.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.41 MX$613

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-53.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.26 MX$372

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-42.83%

Cinema Ticket

$5.43 MX$99.6

$7.84 ₡3,535

-30.74%

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

$226 MX$4,143

$490 ₡220.7K

-53.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,696 MX$86.2K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-60.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.9 MX$1,026

$53.5 ₡24.1K

4.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.12 MX$773

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-24.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 MX$1,839

$79.3 ₡35.7K

26.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 MX$1,664

$78.9 ₡35.6K

14.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$533 MX$9,787

$786 ₡354.3K

-32.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$387 MX$7,112

$780 ₡351.6K

-50.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$958 MX$17.6K

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-75.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$764 MX$14.0K

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-45.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,873 MX$34.4K

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-73.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,168 MX$21.4K

$1,201 ₡541.3K

-2.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$596 MX$10.9K

$876 ₡395.0K

-32.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.55

8.62

22.39%

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

Last update for Puerto Penasco: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Puerto Penasco

$387 31.9%

Nosara

$780 43% 101% $392

Groceries & Markets

Puerto Penasco

$293 24.1%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 19.4% $57

Eating Out

Puerto Penasco

$212 17.5%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 1.4% $2.9

Clothing & Footwear

Puerto Penasco

$130 10.7%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 7.4% $9.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Puerto Penasco

$128 10.5%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 40.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Puerto Penasco

$44 3.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 96.7% $43

Getting Around

Puerto Penasco

$20 * 1.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 325% $66

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $533 in Puerto Penasco versus $786 in Nosara. 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 47% higher in Nosara, 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 $45.00 in Puerto Penasco versus $60.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $293 vs $350 – making Puerto Penasco the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Puerto Penasco

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

19:55 7:55 PM

20:55 8:55 PM

1 h ahead of Puerto Penasco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,756

4,912

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Puerto Penasco Nosara 3,730 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Puerto Penasco
Nosara

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

Puerto Penasco vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,216 in Puerto Penasco, $1,837 in Nosara – roughly 51% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,824 per month in Puerto Penasco and $2,756 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Puerto Penasco and $60.0 in Nosara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 19% 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 $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Puerto Penasco, where all-in costs run around $1,216, than in Nosara at $1,837. In Puerto Penasco 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 $1,216 in Puerto Penasco to $1,837 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 Puerto Penasco. 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.