Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stafford and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $2,210 in Stafford, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Stafford
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Stafford Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Stafford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,210

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Stafford vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Stafford $2,210
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $3,285 per month in Stafford vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Stafford $3,285
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $4,361 per month in Stafford vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Stafford $4,361
Nosara $3,712

Stafford costs about 20% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Stafford and Nosara sit above the global median – Stafford by 65%, Nosara by 37%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.20 £15.27

$12.22 ₡5,509

65.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.3 £54.6

$60.2 ₡27.1K

20.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 £8.03

$7.54 ₡3,399

40.98%

Cappuccino

$4.50 £3.40

$4.31 ₡1,941

4.41%

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

$2.10 £1.59

$1.72 ₡773

22.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.35 ₡608

26.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.12

$3.24 ₡1,459

109.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.37 £4.06

$4.48 ₡2,018

19.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.57 ₡707

11.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 £1.13

$3.17 ₡1,429

-52.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.55

$2.42 ₡1,091

-15.29%

Eggs

$3.51 £2.65

$3.57 ₡1,609

-1.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.13 £7.66

$7.43 ₡3,349

36.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.01 £6.81

$10.42 ₡4,697

-13.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.65 £9.57

$13.66 ₡6,156

-7.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 £2.20

$2.32 ₡1,044

25.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 £1.27

$1.61 ₡728

4.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.72 £2.81

$4.74 ₡2,138

-21.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.68

$1.66 ₡747

113.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 £1.51

$3.72 ₡1,679

-46.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$3.57 ₡1,611

-50.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.89

$1.10 ₡497

6.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.25

$2.55 ₡1,149

-35.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.98 £15.86

$4.95 ₡2,232

323.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.13 £6.90

$20.01 ₡9,020

-54.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.36 £2.54

$2.79 ₡1,256

20.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 £2.89

$3.53 ₡1,589

8.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.76 £3.60

$1.19 ₡537

300.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.7 £70.8

$72.1 ₡32.5K

30.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 £1.98

$2.24 ₡1,011

16.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.55 ₡701

-13.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.91 £18.83

$8.86 ₡3,993

181.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.57 ₡708

36.94%

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

$37.9K £28.7K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

73.86%

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

$40.9K £31.0K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

18.23%

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

$291 £220

$93.5 ₡42.1K

211.74%

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

$19.35 £14.63

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-44.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.69 £31.51

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-19.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.25 £30.43

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-43.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.84 £14.24

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-46.84%

Cinema Ticket

$15.84 £11.97

$7.84 ₡3,535

102.04%

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

$926 £700

$490 ₡220.7K

89.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.9K £20.4K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

126.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.9 £55.9

$53.5 ₡24.1K

38.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.31 £35.01

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-16.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.5 £63.1

$79.3 ₡35.7K

5.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 £74.6

$78.9 ₡35.6K

25.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,134 £857

$786 ₡354.3K

44.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$938 £709

$780 ₡351.6K

20.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,596 £1,206

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-58.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,604 £1,213

$1,407 ₡634.4K

14.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,938 £2,977

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-43.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,404 £2,573

$1,201 ₡541.3K

183.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,016 £2,280

$876 ₡395.0K

244.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.37

8.62

-37.70%

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

Last update for Stafford: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stafford

$938 42.1%

Nosara

$780 43% 16.9% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stafford

$352 15.8%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 48.9% $172

Eating Out

Stafford

$307 13.8%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 31.8% $98

Groceries & Markets

Stafford

$302 13.6%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 15.6% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Stafford

$136 6.1%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 11.5% $16

Getting Around

Stafford

$122 5.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 28.9% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Stafford

$72 3.2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 21.1% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,134 in Stafford versus $786 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 244% higher in Stafford, 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 $72.0 in Stafford versus $60.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $302 in Stafford vs $350 in Nosara – so Stafford wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stafford

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

00:48 12:48 AM

17:48 5:48 PM

7 h behind Stafford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,673

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 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 9, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 9, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Stafford Nosara 8,690 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Stafford
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

Stafford vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,210 in Stafford, $1,837 in Nosara – roughly 20% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,315 per month in Stafford and $2,756 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 30% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $926 per month in Stafford and $490 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 $1,837, than in Stafford at $2,210. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Stafford 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 $1,837 in Nosara to $2,210 in Stafford. 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, Stafford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.