Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St.James and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in St.James: $921 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in St.James
Learn more

St.James Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

St.James

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$921

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $921 per month in St.James vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

St.James $921
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $1,596 per month in St.James vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

St.James $1,596
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $2,270 per month in St.James vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

St.James $2,270
Nosara $3,818

St.James is about 50% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

St.James sits 32% below the global median, while Nosara is 36% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.17 TTD 68.4

$12.35 ₡5,539

-17.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.9 TTD 585

$61.2 ₡27.4K

42.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.91 TTD 60.0

$7.52 ₡3,373

18.48%

Cappuccino

$3.75 TTD 25.23

$4.41 ₡1,978

-14.97%

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

$0.99 TTD 6.66

$1.74 ₡780

-43.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 TTD 5.18

$1.31 ₡587

-41.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 TTD 15.30

$3.28 ₡1,471

-30.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 TTD 24.50

$4.47 ₡2,004

-18.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.49 TTD 16.76

$1.56 ₡701

59.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 TTD 17.04

$3.02 ₡1,355

-16.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.93 TTD 19.68

$2.51 ₡1,125

16.73%

Eggs

$4.31 TTD 29.00

$3.57 ₡1,603

20.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.62 TTD 44.56

$7.43 ₡3,333

-10.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.12 TTD 68.1

$10.52 ₡4,717

-3.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.49 TTD 77.3

$13.97 ₡6,265

-17.75%

Apples (1kg)

$5.57 TTD 37.50

$2.35 ₡1,052

137.02%

Banana (1kg)

$2.98 TTD 20.02

$1.61 ₡720

85.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.71 TTD 24.94

$4.80 ₡2,152

-22.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.17 TTD 28.05

$1.61 ₡724

159.01%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 TTD 14.22

$3.80 ₡1,703

-44.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 TTD 12.49

$3.69 ₡1,657

-49.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 TTD 12.68

$1.13 ₡507

67.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 TTD 9.05

$2.66 ₡1,191

-49.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.83 TTD 39.19

$5.18 ₡2,321

12.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.53 TTD 131

$19.88 ₡8,916

-1.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 TTD 15.64

$2.90 ₡1,300

-19.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 TTD 20.51

$3.63 ₡1,626

-15.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.05 TTD 7.06

$2.14 ₡958

-50.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 TTD 8.27

$1.57 ₡703

-21.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.78 TTD 99.5

$8.52 ₡3,823

73.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 TTD 7.56

$1.52 ₡682

-26.32%

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

$36.5K TTD 245.8K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

69.10%

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

$41.8K TTD 281.1K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

21.05%

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

$90.1 TTD 606

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-6.39%

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

$52.6 TTD 354

$35.89 ₡16.1K

46.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.5 TTD 380

$53.6 ₡24.0K

5.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$9.09 TTD 61.2

$7.89 ₡3,539

15.21%

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

$398 TTD 2,676

$494 ₡221.6K

-19.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K TTD 72.9K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-8.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.7 TTD 375

$53.9 ₡24.2K

3.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.7 TTD 354

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-4.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$148 TTD 997

$77.9 ₡34.9K

90.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 TTD 692

$79.6 ₡35.7K

29.26%

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)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

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 %)

5.75

8.62

-33.29%

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

Last update for St.James: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

St.James

$356 38.7%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 1.1% $3.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St.James

$199 21.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 6.8% $13

Eating Out

St.James

$179 19.4%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 18.5% $33

Clothing & Footwear

St.James

$162 17.6%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 25.8% $42

Sport & Entertainment

St.James

$18 * 2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 380% $69

Getting Around

St.James

$7.2 * 0.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 1110% $80

Accommodation & Living

St.James

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

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 $87.0 in St.James versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $356 vs $352 – making Nosara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇹 St.James

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

04:16 4:16 AM

02:16 2:16 AM

2 h behind St.James

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,342

4,912

💱 Currency

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to TTD – Trinidad and Tobago Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar ($)

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 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 TTD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

St.James Nosara 2,640 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

St.James
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.James vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $921 in St.James, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 100% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,382 per month in St.James 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 $87.0 in St.James 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 1% cheaper in Nosara – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in St.James, where all-in costs run around $921, than in Nosara at $1,839. In St.James 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 $921 in St.James 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 St.James. 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.