Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rochester and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,128 in Rochester, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rochester outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

104

Cost of Living Index in Rochester
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Rochester Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Rochester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,128

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rochester 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 Rochester and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,128 per month in Rochester vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Rochester $2,128
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,234 per month in Rochester vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Rochester $3,234
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,339 per month in Rochester vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Rochester $4,339
Nosara $3,818

Rochester costs about 16% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Rochester and Nosara sit above the global median – Rochester by 58%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.24 £18.94

$12.35 ₡5,539

104.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$95.4 £71.6

$61.2 ₡27.4K

56.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 £7.47

$7.52 ₡3,373

32.45%

Cappuccino

$4.96 £3.72

$4.41 ₡1,978

12.47%

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

$2.34 £1.75

$1.74 ₡780

34.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 £1.85

$1.31 ₡587

87.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.25 £3.94

$3.28 ₡1,471

60.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 £3.45

$4.47 ₡2,004

2.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.56 ₡701

11.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 £1.53

$3.02 ₡1,355

-32.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.15 £1.61

$2.51 ₡1,125

-14.34%

Eggs

$3.51 £2.63

$3.57 ₡1,603

-1.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.11 £4.58

$7.43 ₡3,333

-17.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.49 £5.62

$10.52 ₡4,717

-28.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.70 £11.03

$13.97 ₡6,265

5.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.74 £2.06

$2.35 ₡1,052

16.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.61 ₡720

21.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.28 £1.71

$4.80 ₡2,152

-52.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 £2.55

$1.61 ₡724

111.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$3.80 ₡1,703

-49.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 £0.93

$3.69 ₡1,657

-66.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 £0.85

$1.13 ₡507

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 £1.27

$2.66 ₡1,191

-36.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.77 £17.84

$5.18 ₡2,321

358.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.74 £8.06

$19.88 ₡8,916

-45.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.94 £2.21

$2.90 ₡1,300

1.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.14 £2.35

$3.63 ₡1,626

-13.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.02 £3.02

$1.12 ₡504

258.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.13 £3.85

$2.14 ₡958

139.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.66 £2.00

$1.57 ₡703

69.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.46 £29.60

$8.52 ₡3,823

363.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.55

$1.52 ₡682

35.53%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

74.37%

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

$40.7K £30.5K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

17.77%

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

$227 £171

$96.3 ₡43.2K

136.24%

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

$16.59 £12.45

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-53.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.47 £27.36

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-31.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.43 £29.58

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-44.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$17.18 £12.89

$7.89 ₡3,539

117.74%

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

$1,312 £984

$494 ₡221.6K

165.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.0K £22.5K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

152.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.3 £67.8

$53.9 ₡24.2K

67.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.47 £33.36

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-19.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £78.0

$77.9 ₡34.9K

33.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.7 £65.8

$79.6 ₡35.7K

10.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,539 £1,155

$788 ₡353.4K

95.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$959 £719

$794 ₡356.2K

20.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,994 £1,496

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-49.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,645 £1,234

$1,419 ₡636.5K

15.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,236 £3,928

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-24.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,491 £3,369

$1,224 ₡549.0K

266.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,376 £2,533

$864 ₡387.3K

290.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

8.62

-40.60%

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

Last update for Rochester: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rochester

$959 45.1%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 17.1% $164

Eating Out

Rochester

$346 16.3%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 38.8% $134

Groceries & Markets

Rochester

$287 13.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 22.6% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rochester

$281 13.2%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 33.8% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Rochester

$147 6.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 18.3% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Rochester

$74 3.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 18.4% $14

Getting Around

Rochester

$35 * 1.6%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 152% $53

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,539 in Rochester versus $788 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 291% higher in Rochester, 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 $95.0 in Rochester versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $287 in Rochester vs $352 in Nosara – so Rochester wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Rochester

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

19:29 7:29 PM

12:29 12:29 PM

7 h behind Rochester

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,982

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

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).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rochester Nosara 8,880 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Rochester
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

Rochester vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,128 in Rochester, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 16% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,192 per month in Rochester and $2,758 in Nosara. 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $95.0 in Rochester and $61.0 in Nosara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 23% cheaper in Rochester – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,839, than in Rochester at $2,128. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rochester 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 $1,839 in Nosara to $2,128 in Rochester. 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, Rochester makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.