Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stavanger and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $3,140 in Stavanger, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

153

Cost of Living Index in Stavanger
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Stavanger Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Stavanger

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,140

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,140 per month in Stavanger vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Stavanger $3,140
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $4,513 per month in Stavanger vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Stavanger $4,513
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $5,886 per month in Stavanger vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Stavanger $5,886
Nosara $3,712

Stavanger costs about 71% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Stavanger and Nosara sit above the global median – Stavanger by 134%, Nosara by 37%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.58 NOK 235

$12.22 ₡5,509

101.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.3 NOK 929

$60.2 ₡27.1K

61.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.95 NOK 152

$7.54 ₡3,399

111.54%

Cappuccino

$6.25 NOK 59.7

$4.31 ₡1,941

45.01%

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

$5.41 NOK 51.7

$1.72 ₡773

214.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 NOK 40.57

$1.35 ₡608

214.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 NOK 130

$3.24 ₡1,459

321.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$11.78 NOK 112

$4.48 ₡2,018

162.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.37 NOK 22.61

$1.57 ₡707

50.96%

White Bread (500g)

$3.47 NOK 33.14

$3.17 ₡1,429

9.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.83 NOK 36.59

$2.42 ₡1,091

58.26%

Eggs

$4.70 NOK 44.87

$3.57 ₡1,609

31.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.36 NOK 137

$7.43 ₡3,349

93.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.81 NOK 161

$10.42 ₡4,697

61.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$34.43 NOK 329

$13.66 ₡6,156

152.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.42 NOK 32.68

$2.32 ₡1,044

47.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.72 NOK 26.00

$1.61 ₡728

68.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.54 NOK 33.78

$4.74 ₡2,138

-25.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.91 NOK 46.90

$1.66 ₡747

195.78%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 NOK 24.35

$3.72 ₡1,679

-31.45%

Onion (1kg)

$3.12 NOK 29.79

$3.57 ₡1,611

-12.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.81 NOK 26.81

$1.10 ₡497

155.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 NOK 22.33

$2.55 ₡1,149

-8.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.13 NOK 164

$4.95 ₡2,232

246.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.45 NOK 176

$20.01 ₡9,020

-7.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.72 NOK 35.54

$2.79 ₡1,256

33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 NOK 42.52

$3.53 ₡1,589

26.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.76 NOK 45.49

$1.19 ₡537

300.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.0 NOK 831

$72.1 ₡32.5K

20.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.09 NOK 58.2

$2.24 ₡1,011

171.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 NOK 16.69

$1.55 ₡701

12.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$103 NOK 981

$8.86 ₡3,993

1059.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 NOK 22.50

$1.57 ₡708

50.32%

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

$47.3K NOK 451.6K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

116.90%

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

$40.4K NOK 386.0K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

16.69%

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

$245 NOK 2,337

$93.5 ₡42.1K

161.84%

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

$35.29 NOK 337

$35.11 ₡15.8K

0.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.6 NOK 779

$51.5 ₡23.2K

58.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.3 NOK 480

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-29.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.81 NOK 352

$35.44 ₡16.0K

3.87%

Cinema Ticket

$22.03 NOK 210

$7.84 ₡3,535

180.99%

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

$322 NOK 3,080

$490 ₡220.7K

-34.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K NOK 134.4K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

18.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$127 NOK 1,212

$53.5 ₡24.1K

137.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.1 NOK 574

$55.8 ₡25.1K

7.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$153 NOK 1,459

$79.3 ₡35.7K

92.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$204 NOK 1,948

$78.9 ₡35.6K

158.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,658 NOK 15.8K

$786 ₡354.3K

110.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,380 NOK 13.2K

$780 ₡351.6K

76.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,766 NOK 26.4K

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-28.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,016 NOK 19.3K

$1,407 ₡634.4K

43.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,196 NOK 59.2K

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-11.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,307 NOK 50.7K

$1,201 ₡541.3K

341.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,951 NOK 47.3K

$876 ₡395.0K

464.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.27

8.62

-38.86%

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

Last update for Stavanger: 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

Stavanger

$1.4K 43.6%

Nosara

$780 43% 43.5% $600

Groceries & Markets

Stavanger

$513 16.2%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 31.8% $163

Eating Out

Stavanger

$450 14.2%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 53.5% $241

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stavanger

$362 11.4%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 50.2% $182

Clothing & Footwear

Stavanger

$245 7.7%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 50.8% $124

Getting Around

Stavanger

$121 3.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 28.2% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Stavanger

$94 3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 7.7% $7.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,658 in Stavanger 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 465% higher in Stavanger, 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 $97.0 in Stavanger versus $60.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $513 vs $350 – making Nosara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Stavanger

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

07:02 7:02 AM

23:02 11:02 PM

8 h behind Stavanger

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,330

4,912

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.47 USD

100 NOK = 9.34 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.55 NOK (1 NOK = 0.105 USD). 1 EUR = 10.71 NOK (100 NOK = 9.34 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Stavanger Nosara 9,140 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Stavanger
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

Stavanger vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,140 in Stavanger, $1,837 in Nosara – roughly 71% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,710 per month in Stavanger 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 21% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $322 per month in Stavanger 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 Stavanger at $3,140. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Stavanger it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Stavanger has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,837 in Nosara to $3,140 in Stavanger. 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, Stavanger makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.