Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wallingford and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,387 in Wallingford, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Wallingford
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Wallingford Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Wallingford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,387

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,387 per month in Wallingford vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Wallingford $2,387
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,565 per month in Wallingford vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Wallingford $3,565
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,743 per month in Wallingford vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Wallingford $4,743
Nosara $3,818

Wallingford costs about 30% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Wallingford and Nosara sit above the global median – Wallingford by 77%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.00 £19.51

$12.35 ₡5,539

110.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.4 £69.3

$61.2 ₡27.4K

51.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.11 £7.58

$7.52 ₡3,373

34.44%

Cappuccino

$4.76 £3.57

$4.41 ₡1,978

7.94%

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

$2.93 £2.20

$1.74 ₡780

68.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.31 ₡587

59.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.64 £6.48

$3.28 ₡1,471

163.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.45 £5.59

$4.47 ₡2,004

66.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.56 ₡701

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.54

$3.02 ₡1,355

-31.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 £1.74

$2.51 ₡1,125

-7.57%

Eggs

$3.62 £2.72

$3.57 ₡1,603

1.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.29 £8.47

$7.43 ₡3,333

51.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.49 £7.12

$10.52 ₡4,717

-9.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.60 £11.70

$13.97 ₡6,265

11.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.04 £2.28

$2.35 ₡1,052

29.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.61 ₡720

-16.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 £2.12

$4.80 ₡2,152

-41.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.15 £2.37

$1.61 ₡724

95.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$3.80 ₡1,703

-58.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$3.69 ₡1,657

-53.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 £1.07

$1.13 ₡507

25.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 £1.39

$2.66 ₡1,191

-30.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.13 £17.35

$5.18 ₡2,321

346.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.26 £9.95

$19.88 ₡8,916

-33.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 £2.24

$2.90 ₡1,300

2.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 £2.63

$3.63 ₡1,626

-3.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.45 £2.59

$1.12 ₡504

208.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.8 £71.1

$72.6 ₡32.6K

30.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.72 £5.04

$2.14 ₡958

214.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.31 £2.48

$1.57 ₡703

110.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.50 £19.13

$8.52 ₡3,823

199.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.52 ₡682

35.53%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

74.42%

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

$39.9K £30.0K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

15.67%

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

$275 £206

$96.3 ₡43.2K

185.56%

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

$17.77 £13.33

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-50.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.32 £30.25

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-24.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.24 £34.69

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-35.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.14 £11.36

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-56.63%

Cinema Ticket

$13.12 £9.84

$7.89 ₡3,539

66.29%

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

$1,777 £1,333

$494 ₡221.6K

259.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.0K £21.8K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

144.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.3 £57.3

$53.9 ₡24.2K

41.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.73

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-2.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 £84.6

$77.9 ₡34.9K

44.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 £79.7

$79.6 ₡35.7K

33.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,234 £926

$788 ₡353.4K

56.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$996 £747

$794 ₡356.2K

25.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,101 £1,576

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-46.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 £1,240

$1,419 ₡636.5K

16.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,096 £3,823

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-26.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,800 £2,851

$1,224 ₡549.0K

210.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,520 £1,891

$864 ₡387.3K

191.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

8.62

-46.06%

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

Last update for Wallingford: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wallingford

$996 41.7%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 20.2% $201

Eating Out

Wallingford

$374 15.7%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 43.3% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wallingford

$333 14%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 44.2% $147

Groceries & Markets

Wallingford

$323 13.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 9% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Wallingford

$157 6.6%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 23.7% $37

Getting Around

Wallingford

$132 5.5%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 33.9% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Wallingford

$72 3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 20.5% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,234 in Wallingford 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 192% higher in Wallingford, 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 $92.0 in Wallingford versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $323 in Wallingford vs $352 in Nosara – so Wallingford wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Wallingford

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

09:29 9:29 AM

02:29 2:29 AM

7 h behind Wallingford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,600

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 20, 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 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Wallingford Nosara 8,760 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Wallingford
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

Wallingford vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,387 in Wallingford, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 30% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,581 per month in Wallingford 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 30% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,777 per month in Wallingford 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 Wallingford at $2,387. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Wallingford 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 $2,387 in Wallingford. 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, Wallingford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.