Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Salto and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Salto: $825 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Salto
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Salto Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Salto

🇧🇷 Brazil

$825

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $825 per month in Salto vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Salto $825
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $1,286 per month in Salto vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Salto $1,286
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $1,747 per month in Salto vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Salto $1,747
Nosara $3,818

Salto is about 55% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Salto sits 39% below the global median, while Nosara is 36% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.91 R$35.05

$12.35 ₡5,539

-44.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.73 R$141

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-54.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.83 R$34.60

$7.52 ₡3,373

-9.18%

Cappuccino

$1.95 R$9.87

$4.41 ₡1,978

-55.78%

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

$1.09 R$5.51

$1.74 ₡780

-37.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 R$3.87

$1.31 ₡587

-41.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R$14.08

$3.28 ₡1,471

-15.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 R$15.67

$4.47 ₡2,004

-30.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 R$5.46

$1.56 ₡701

-30.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 R$8.63

$3.02 ₡1,355

-43.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 R$5.99

$2.51 ₡1,125

-52.99%

Eggs

$2.71 R$13.76

$3.57 ₡1,603

-24.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.23 R$46.77

$7.43 ₡3,333

24.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.88 R$19.65

$10.52 ₡4,717

-63.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.94 R$50.4

$13.97 ₡6,265

-28.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 R$14.52

$2.35 ₡1,052

21.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 R$9.68

$1.61 ₡720

18.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R$8.99

$4.80 ₡2,152

-63.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 R$9.24

$1.61 ₡724

13.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.42 R$7.18

$3.80 ₡1,703

-62.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 R$7.28

$3.69 ₡1,657

-60.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 R$4.56

$1.13 ₡507

-20.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 R$2.41

$2.66 ₡1,191

-81.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.66 R$13.51

$5.18 ₡2,321

-48.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.13 R$46.27

$19.88 ₡8,916

-54.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 R$8.38

$2.90 ₡1,300

-43.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 R$23.19

$3.63 ₡1,626

25.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 R$4.42

$1.12 ₡504

-22.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.34 R$6.78

$2.14 ₡958

-37.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 R$6.90

$1.57 ₡703

-13.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.65 R$48.92

$8.52 ₡3,823

13.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.02

$1.52 ₡682

-21.71%

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

$23.7K R$120.0K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

9.57%

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

$34.4K R$174.6K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-0.23%

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

$40.22 R$204

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-58.23%

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

$10.00 R$50.7

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-72.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.36 R$93.1

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-65.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.39 R$134

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-63.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$2.94 R$14.92

$7.89 ₡3,539

-62.74%

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

$262 R$1,327

$494 ₡221.6K

-47.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,715 R$39.1K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-34.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R$280

$53.9 ₡24.2K

2.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.4 R$301

$55.4 ₡24.8K

7.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.6 R$490

$77.9 ₡34.9K

23.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.7 R$439

$79.6 ₡35.7K

8.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$238 R$1,206

$794 ₡356.2K

-70.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$595 R$3,014

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-84.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$396 R$2,005

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-72.13%

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 %)

11.12

8.62

29.00%

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

Last update for Salto: 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

Salto

$238 28.8%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 234% $556

Groceries & Markets

Salto

$214 26%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 64.3% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Salto

$134 16.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 10.4% $14

Eating Out

Salto

$127 15.3%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 67.3% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Salto

$69 8.3%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 171% $117

Sport & Entertainment

Salto

$32 3.9%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 171% $55

Getting Around

Salto

$12 * 1.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 649% $75

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 $28.00 in Salto versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $214 vs $352 – making Salto the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Salto

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

12:12 12:12 PM

09:12 9:12 AM

3 h behind Salto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

134,319

4,912

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Salto Nosara 5,570 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Salto
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

Salto vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $825 in Salto, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 123% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,238 per month in Salto and $2,758 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28.00 in Salto and $61.0 in Nosara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 64% 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 Salto, where all-in costs run around $825, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Salto 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 $825 in Salto 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 Salto. 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.