Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Helens and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $1,993 in St Helens, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

97

Cost of Living Index in St Helens
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St Helens Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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St Helens

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,993

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,993 per month in St Helens vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

St Helens $1,993
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,045 per month in St Helens vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

St Helens $3,045
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,098 per month in St Helens vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

St Helens $4,098
Nosara $3,818

St Helens costs about 8% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both St Helens and Nosara sit above the global median – St Helens by 48%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.90 £20.18

$12.35 ₡5,539

117.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.6 £59.0

$61.2 ₡27.4K

28.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.48 £7.86

$7.52 ₡3,373

39.36%

Cappuccino

$4.08 £3.06

$4.41 ₡1,978

-7.48%

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

$2.37 £1.78

$1.74 ₡780

36.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 £1.50

$1.31 ₡587

51.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.36 £4.02

$3.28 ₡1,471

63.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 £3.41

$4.47 ₡2,004

1.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.56 ₡701

-14.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 £1.33

$3.02 ₡1,355

-41.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 £1.46

$2.51 ₡1,125

-22.71%

Eggs

$4.01 £3.01

$3.57 ₡1,603

12.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.75

$7.43 ₡3,333

21.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.28 £6.21

$10.52 ₡4,717

-21.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.66 £7.99

$13.97 ₡6,265

-23.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 £2.44

$2.35 ₡1,052

38.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.97

$1.61 ₡720

-19.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$4.80 ₡2,152

-36.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.45 £2.59

$1.61 ₡724

114.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 £0.86

$3.80 ₡1,703

-69.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$3.69 ₡1,657

-50.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.13 ₡507

15.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.98

$2.66 ₡1,191

-51.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.59 £14.70

$5.18 ₡2,321

278.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.96 £7.47

$19.88 ₡8,916

-49.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 £2.14

$2.90 ₡1,300

-1.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 £1.95

$3.63 ₡1,626

-28.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.65 £1.99

$1.12 ₡504

136.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 £75.1

$72.6 ₡32.6K

37.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.37 £2.53

$2.14 ₡958

57.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.57 ₡703

31.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.82 £11.87

$8.52 ₡3,823

85.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.52 ₡682

27.63%

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

$26.4K £19.8K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

22.23%

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

$33.6K £25.2K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-2.54%

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

$365 £274

$96.3 ₡43.2K

278.67%

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

$17.20 £12.91

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-52.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.87 £32.91

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-18.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.94 £20.21

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-62.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.85 £2.89

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-88.97%

Cinema Ticket

$13.42 £10.07

$7.89 ₡3,539

70.09%

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

$805 £604

$494 ₡221.6K

62.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,625 £4,971

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-44.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.0 £48.78

$53.9 ₡24.2K

20.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.08 £29.32

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-29.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.3 £54.3

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-7.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 £81.7

$79.6 ₡35.7K

36.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$797 £598

$788 ₡353.4K

1.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$636 £477

$794 ₡356.2K

-19.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,503 £1,128

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-61.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,257 £943

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-11.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,315 £2,487

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-52.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,308 £1,731

$1,224 ₡549.0K

88.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,863 £1,398

$864 ₡387.3K

115.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

8.62

-39.56%

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

Last update for St Helens: 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

St Helens

$636 31.9%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 25% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Helens

$426 21.4%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 56.4% $240

Eating Out

St Helens

$349 17.5%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 39.3% $137

Groceries & Markets

St Helens

$276 13.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 27.6% $76

Clothing & Footwear

St Helens

$128 6.4%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 6.5% $8.3

Getting Around

St Helens

$124 6.2%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 30% $37

Sport & Entertainment

St Helens

$54 2.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 62.5% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $797 in St Helens 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 116% higher in St Helens, 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 $79.0 in St Helens versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $276 in St Helens vs $352 in Nosara – so St Helens wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St Helens

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

11:39 11:39 AM

04:39 4:39 AM

7 h behind St Helens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,200

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 18, 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 18, 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

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Between locations

St Helens Nosara 8,650 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

St Helens
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

St Helens vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,993 in St Helens, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 8% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,989 per month in St Helens 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 38% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $805 per month in St Helens 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 St Helens at $1,993. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in St Helens 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 $1,993 in St Helens. 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, St Helens makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.