Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Spanish Town and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Spanish Town: $994 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Spanish Town
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Spanish Town Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Spanish Town

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$994

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $994 per month in Spanish Town vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Spanish Town $994
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $1,895 per month in Spanish Town vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Spanish Town $1,895
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $2,796 per month in Spanish Town vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Spanish Town $2,796
Nosara $3,818

Spanish Town is about 46% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Spanish Town sits 26% below the global median, while Nosara is 36% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.25 JMD 2,094

$12.35 ₡5,539

7.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.2 JMD 11.7K

$61.2 ₡27.4K

21.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.01 JMD 1,265

$7.52 ₡3,373

6.52%

Cappuccino

$5.31 JMD 840

$4.41 ₡1,978

20.41%

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

$1.14 JMD 179

$1.74 ₡780

-34.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 JMD 117

$1.31 ₡587

-43.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 JMD 355

$3.28 ₡1,471

-31.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 JMD 483

$4.47 ₡2,004

-31.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.14 JMD 655

$1.56 ₡701

165.38%

White Bread (500g)

$3.76 JMD 594

$3.02 ₡1,355

24.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 JMD 260

$2.51 ₡1,125

-34.26%

Eggs

$3.56 JMD 562

$3.57 ₡1,603

-0.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.22 JMD 1,773

$7.43 ₡3,333

51.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.38 JMD 1,008

$10.52 ₡4,717

-39.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.21 JMD 1,614

$13.97 ₡6,265

-26.91%

Apples (1kg)

$6.16 JMD 973

$2.35 ₡1,052

162.13%

Banana (1kg)

$3.85 JMD 609

$1.61 ₡720

139.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.38 JMD 1,166

$4.80 ₡2,152

53.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 JMD 483

$1.61 ₡724

90.06%

Potato (1kg)

$3.17 JMD 500

$3.80 ₡1,703

-16.58%

Onion (1kg)

$2.13 JMD 336

$3.69 ₡1,657

-42.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.09 JMD 489

$1.13 ₡507

173.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 JMD 228

$2.66 ₡1,191

-45.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.46 JMD 1,494

$5.18 ₡2,321

82.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.20 JMD 1,769

$19.88 ₡8,916

-43.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 JMD 439

$2.90 ₡1,300

-4.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 JMD 624

$3.63 ₡1,626

8.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 JMD 183

$2.14 ₡958

-45.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.05 JMD 483

$1.57 ₡703

94.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.21 JMD 981

$8.52 ₡3,823

-27.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 JMD 231

$1.52 ₡682

-3.95%

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

$43.9K JMD 6.9M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

103.22%

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

$32.2K JMD 5.1M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-6.72%

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

$165 JMD 26.1K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

71.77%

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

$29.30 JMD 4,629

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-18.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.8 JMD 8,179

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-3.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$12.95 JMD 2,047

$7.89 ₡3,539

64.13%

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

$356 JMD 56.3K

$494 ₡221.6K

-27.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,212 JMD 1.3M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-30.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.80 JMD 3,760

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-55.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.13 JMD 4,918

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-43.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.3 JMD 12.1K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-2.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 JMD 15.9K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

26.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$633 JMD 100.0K

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-83.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 JMD 78.9K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-64.82%

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)

$1,155 JMD 182.5K

$864 ₡387.3K

33.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

8.62

9.63%

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

Last update for Spanish Town: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Spanish Town

$382 38.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 7.9% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Spanish Town

$246 24.8%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 24.6% $61

Eating Out

Spanish Town

$219 22%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 3.1% $6.8

Clothing & Footwear

Spanish Town

$104 10.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 15.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Spanish Town

$26 * 2.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 237% $61

Getting Around

Spanish Town

$16 * 1.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 430% $71

Accommodation & Living

Spanish Town

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 34% higher in Spanish Town, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $74.0 in Spanish Town versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $382 vs $352 – making Nosara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Spanish Town

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

23:15 11:15 PM

22:15 10:15 PM

1 h behind Spanish Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

131,056

4,912

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 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 JMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Spanish Town Nosara 1,290 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Spanish Town
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

Spanish Town vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $994 in Spanish Town, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 85% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,491 per month in Spanish Town 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 $74.0 in Spanish Town 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 9% cheaper in Nosara – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Spanish Town, where all-in costs run around $994, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Spanish Town 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 $994 in Spanish Town 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 Spanish Town. 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.