Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan de Pasto and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan de Pasto: $1,371 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in San Juan de Pasto
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San Juan de Pasto Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,371

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,371 per month in San Juan de Pasto vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

San Juan de Pasto $1,371
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $2,031 per month in San Juan de Pasto vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

San Juan de Pasto $2,031
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $2,691 per month in San Juan de Pasto vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

San Juan de Pasto $2,691
Nosara $3,818

San Juan de Pasto is about 25% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both San Juan de Pasto and Nosara sit above the global median – San Juan de Pasto by 2%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.63 COP 21.0K

$12.35 ₡5,539

-46.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.64 COP 144.7K

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-25.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 COP 31.6K

$7.52 ₡3,373

32.45%

Cappuccino

$2.57 COP 8,146

$4.41 ₡1,978

-41.72%

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

$1.56 COP 4,948

$1.74 ₡780

-10.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 COP 2,715

$1.31 ₡587

-34.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 COP 9,733

$3.28 ₡1,471

-6.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.05 COP 12.9K

$4.47 ₡2,004

-9.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 COP 4,538

$1.56 ₡701

-8.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.41 COP 7,629

$3.02 ₡1,355

-20.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 COP 5,795

$2.51 ₡1,125

-27.09%

Eggs

$3.33 COP 10.6K

$3.57 ₡1,603

-6.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.27 COP 23.1K

$7.43 ₡3,333

-2.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.06 COP 35.1K

$10.52 ₡4,717

5.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.41 COP 42.5K

$13.97 ₡6,265

-4.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.58 COP 11.3K

$2.35 ₡1,052

52.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 COP 4,426

$1.61 ₡720

-13.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 COP 6,359

$4.80 ₡2,152

-58.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.78 COP 5,640

$1.61 ₡724

10.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 COP 4,481

$3.80 ₡1,703

-62.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 COP 4,041

$3.69 ₡1,657

-65.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 COP 3,566

$1.13 ₡507

-0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 COP 3,555

$2.66 ₡1,191

-57.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.65 COP 11.6K

$5.18 ₡2,321

-29.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.43 COP 42.6K

$19.88 ₡8,916

-32.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 COP 4,635

$2.90 ₡1,300

-49.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 COP 8,670

$3.63 ₡1,626

-24.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 COP 3,390

$1.12 ₡504

-4.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 COP 5,102

$2.14 ₡958

-24.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.39 COP 7,590

$1.57 ₡703

52.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.04 COP 28.7K

$8.52 ₡3,823

6.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 COP 3,770

$1.52 ₡682

-21.71%

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

$22.6K COP 71.7M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

4.62%

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

$32.0K COP 101.4M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-7.37%

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

$124 COP 392.5K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

28.56%

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

$13.01 COP 41.2K

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-63.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.19 COP 92.5K

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-45.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.67 COP 135.3K

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-40.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$6.19 COP 19.6K

$7.89 ₡3,539

-21.55%

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

$682 COP 2.2M

$494 ₡221.6K

38.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,774 COP 21.5M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-42.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.0 COP 288.5K

$53.9 ₡24.2K

68.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.1 COP 193.8K

$55.4 ₡24.8K

10.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$153 COP 486.6K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

96.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 COP 323.0K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

27.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$706 COP 2.2M

$788 ₡353.4K

-10.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$518 COP 1.6M

$794 ₡356.2K

-34.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,082 COP 3.4M

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-72.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$789 COP 2.5M

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-44.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-70.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,580 COP 5.0M

$1,224 ₡549.0K

29.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.58

8.62

34.34%

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

Last update for San Juan de Pasto: 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

San Juan de Pasto

$518 37.8%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 53.2% $276

Groceries & Markets

San Juan de Pasto

$284 20.7%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 24.1% $68

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan de Pasto

$183 13.4%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 34.5% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan de Pasto

$166 12.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 11.9% $20

Eating Out

San Juan de Pasto

$147 10.7%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 44.2% $65

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan de Pasto

$55 4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 58.7% $32

Getting Around

San Juan de Pasto

$18 * 1.3%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 388% $69

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $706 in San Juan de Pasto 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $284 vs $352 – making San Juan de Pasto the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

17:25 5:25 PM

16:25 4:25 PM

1 h behind San Juan de Pasto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

392,930

4,912

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 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 COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Juan de Pasto Nosara 1,340 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

San Juan de Pasto
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

San Juan de Pasto vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 34% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,057 per month in San Juan de Pasto 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 San Juan de Pasto, 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 $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto 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 24% 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 San Juan de Pasto, where all-in costs run around $1,371, than in Nosara at $1,839. In San Juan de Pasto 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 $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto 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 San Juan de Pasto. 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.