Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,133 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Scarborough outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

103

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
Learn more

Scarborough Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,133

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,133 per month in Scarborough vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Scarborough $2,133
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,068 per month in Scarborough vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Scarborough $3,068
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,002 per month in Scarborough vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Scarborough $4,002
Nosara $3,818

Scarborough costs about 16% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.76 £11.07

$12.35 ₡5,539

19.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.4 £52.0

$61.2 ₡27.4K

13.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 £8.76

$7.52 ₡3,373

55.32%

Cappuccino

$3.37 £2.53

$4.41 ₡1,978

-23.58%

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

$2.08 £1.56

$1.74 ₡780

19.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 £0.74

$1.31 ₡587

-24.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.76 £3.57

$3.28 ₡1,471

45.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 £3.25

$4.47 ₡2,004

-2.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 £0.91

$1.56 ₡701

-21.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 £1.02

$3.02 ₡1,355

-55.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 £0.81

$2.51 ₡1,125

-57.37%

Eggs

$3.57 £2.68

$3.57 ₡1,603

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.78 £5.84

$7.43 ₡3,333

4.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.28 £5.46

$10.52 ₡4,717

-30.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.08 £10.57

$13.97 ₡6,265

0.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 £2.41

$2.35 ₡1,052

37.02%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.61 ₡720

28.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$4.80 ₡2,152

-44.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.61 ₡724

29.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$3.80 ₡1,703

-53.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$3.69 ₡1,657

-56.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.13 ₡507

1.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 £1.48

$2.66 ₡1,191

-25.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.60 £16.95

$5.18 ₡2,321

336.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.06 £6.80

$19.88 ₡8,916

-54.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.55 £2.67

$2.90 ₡1,300

22.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 £2.73

$3.63 ₡1,626

0.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.35 £2.51

$1.12 ₡504

199.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.0 £65.3

$72.6 ₡32.6K

19.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 £4.09

$2.14 ₡958

154.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.05 £3.79

$1.57 ₡703

221.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.92 £24.70

$8.52 ₡3,823

286.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.52 ₡682

27.63%

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

$35.7K £26.7K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

65.00%

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

$39.0K £29.2K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

12.86%

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

$356 £267

$96.3 ₡43.2K

269.46%

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

$25.73 £19.30

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-28.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.36 £25.02

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-37.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 £48.70

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-9.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.72 £9.54

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-63.56%

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 £7.93

$7.89 ₡3,539

33.97%

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

$1,742 £1,307

$494 ₡221.6K

252.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K £11.0K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

23.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.7 £50.0

$53.9 ₡24.2K

23.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.45 £26.59

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-36.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.2

$77.9 ₡34.9K

35.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.6

$79.6 ₡35.7K

43.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 £651

$788 ₡353.4K

10.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$842 £632

$794 ₡356.2K

6.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,535 £1,152

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-61.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 £999

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-6.17%

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)

$914 £686

$864 ₡387.3K

5.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

8.62

-35.85%

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

Last update for Scarborough: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Scarborough

$842 39.5%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 5.7% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$415 19.5%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 55.2% $229

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$276 12.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 27.8% $77

Eating Out

Scarborough

$238 11.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 11.1% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$145 6.8%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 17.1% $25

Getting Around

Scarborough

$131 6.2%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 33.5% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$86 4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 1.5% $1.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $867 in Scarborough 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 6% higher in Scarborough, 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 $69.0 in Scarborough versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $276 in Scarborough vs $352 in Nosara – so Scarborough wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

10:14 10:14 AM

03:14 3:14 AM

7 h behind Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

61,749

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 20, 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 20, 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

Scarborough Nosara 8,800 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
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

Scarborough vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,133 in Scarborough, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 16% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,199 per month in Scarborough 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.

Public transport costs about 20% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,742 per month in Scarborough and $494 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,839, than in Scarborough at $2,133. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Scarborough 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 $2,133 in Scarborough. 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, Scarborough makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.