Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rosarito and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Rosarito: $1,173 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Rosarito
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Rosarito Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Rosarito

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,173

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,173 per month in Rosarito vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Rosarito $1,173
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $1,900 per month in Rosarito vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Rosarito $1,900
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $2,628 per month in Rosarito vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Rosarito $2,628
Nosara $3,712

Rosarito is about 36% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Rosarito sits 12% below the global median, while Nosara is 37% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.41 MX$228

$12.22 ₡5,509

1.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.87 MX$640

$60.2 ₡27.1K

-42.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.82 MX$180

$7.54 ₡3,399

30.24%

Cappuccino

$4.26 MX$78.2

$4.31 ₡1,941

-1.16%

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

$1.37 MX$25.20

$1.72 ₡773

-20.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.83

$1.35 ₡608

-8.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 MX$62.7

$3.24 ₡1,459

5.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.57 MX$121

$4.48 ₡2,018

46.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.03

$1.57 ₡707

14.65%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 MX$55.3

$3.17 ₡1,429

-5.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.27

$2.42 ₡1,091

-27.27%

Eggs

$3.31 MX$60.7

$3.57 ₡1,609

-7.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.34 MX$153

$7.43 ₡3,349

12.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.32 MX$134

$10.42 ₡4,697

-29.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.88 MX$218

$13.66 ₡6,156

-13.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 MX$52.5

$2.32 ₡1,044

23.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 MX$30.79

$1.61 ₡728

4.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 MX$35.02

$4.74 ₡2,138

-59.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.30

$1.66 ₡747

-0.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 MX$28.93

$3.72 ₡1,679

-57.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 MX$35.07

$3.57 ₡1,611

-46.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.10 ₡497

33.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.73

$2.55 ₡1,149

-58.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.37 MX$80.2

$4.95 ₡2,232

-11.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.20 MX$151

$20.01 ₡9,020

-59.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 MX$42.15

$2.79 ₡1,256

-17.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 MX$75.5

$3.53 ₡1,589

16.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 MX$12.11

$1.19 ₡537

-44.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 MX$55.2

$2.24 ₡1,011

33.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.28 MX$41.84

$1.55 ₡701

47.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.05 MX$203

$8.86 ₡3,993

24.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.12

$1.57 ₡708

-16.56%

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

$21.2K MX$389.6K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

-2.68%

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

$24.4K MX$448.8K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-29.42%

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

$48.34 MX$887

$93.5 ₡42.1K

-48.27%

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

$34.02 MX$625

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-3.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.93 MX$550

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-41.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.33 MX$649

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-50.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.08 MX$369

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-43.34%

Cinema Ticket

$6.88 MX$126

$7.84 ₡3,535

-12.24%

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

$210 MX$3,849

$490 ₡220.7K

-57.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,684 MX$86.0K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-60.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.5 MX$1,000

$53.5 ₡24.1K

1.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.77 MX$859

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-16.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 MX$1,901

$79.3 ₡35.7K

30.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.5 MX$1,277

$78.9 ₡35.6K

-11.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$624 MX$11.5K

$786 ₡354.3K

-20.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$396 MX$7,274

$780 ₡351.6K

-49.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 MX$19.0K

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-73.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$776 MX$14.2K

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-44.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,894 MX$34.8K

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-72.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,146 MX$21.0K

$1,201 ₡541.3K

-4.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 ₡395.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.07

8.62

40.02%

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

Last update for Rosarito: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rosarito

$396 33.4%

Nosara

$780 43% 96.8% $384

Groceries & Markets

Rosarito

$269 22.7%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 29.8% $80

Eating Out

Rosarito

$220 18.6%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 5% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Rosarito

$123 10.4%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 2.5% $3.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rosarito

$112 9.5%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 60.3% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Rosarito

$49 4.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 77.4% $38

Getting Around

Rosarito

$17 * 1.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 410% $70

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $624 in Rosarito 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $35.00 in Rosarito versus $60.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $269 vs $350 – making Rosarito the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Rosarito

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

01:48 1:48 AM

02:48 2:48 AM

1 h ahead of Rosarito

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,660

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

Rosarito Nosara 4,070 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Rosarito
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

Rosarito vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,173 in Rosarito, $1,837 in Nosara – roughly 57% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,759 per month in Rosarito 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 Rosarito, 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 $35.00 in Rosarito 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 30% 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 Rosarito, where all-in costs run around $1,173, than in Nosara at $1,837. In Rosarito 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 $1,173 in Rosarito 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 Rosarito. 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.