Cost of living comparison

Nicaragua

compared to

Saint Lucia

Castries vs. Managua Cost of Living Summary

Castries is 37.4% more expensive than Managua.

Restaurants: pay 11.2% more in Castries
Groceries: pay 73.9% more in Castries
Transportation: pay 14.1% more in Castries
Housing: pay 61.3% more in Castries
Childcare: pay 9.8% less in Castries
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.1% more in Castries
Clothing: pay 6.8% less in Castries

The cost of groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and restaurants in Castries are more expensive than in Managua. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Castries.

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Castries vs. Managua Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Castries instead of Managua, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 11.2% more for restaurants

	Managua	Castries
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 NIO368.55	$9.25 EC$25.00	-7.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.61 NIO280.46	$8.33 EC$22.50	+9.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 NIO32.54	$1.94 EC$5.25	+120.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 NIO26.22	$0.97 EC$2.62	+36.5%
Average			+11.2%

Managua vs. Castries - Cost of restaurants

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pay 73.9% more for groceries

	Managua	Castries
Bread 1 loaf	$2.37 NIO87.46	$1.86 EC$5.02	-21.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.80 NIO213.64	$5.61 EC$15.17	-3.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.68 NIO172.61	$7.75 EC$20.95	+65.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.37 NIO87.18	$4.61 EC$12.47	+95.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 NIO105.79	$4.10 EC$11.09	+42.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.82 NIO67.08	$3.89 EC$10.50	+113.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.27 NIO10.03	$0.75 EC$2.02	+174.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 NIO30.09	$3.70 EC$10.00	+353.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 NIO41.05	$6.66 EC$18.00	+498.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.79 NIO65.90	$1.54 EC$4.17	-13.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 NIO37.13	$0.93 EC$2.50	-8.2%
Average			+73.9%

Managua vs. Castries - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.1% more for transportation

	Managua	Castries
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.06 NIO186.38	$5.83 EC$15.75	+15.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.01 NIO221.41	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,973.64 NIO847K	$25,901.46 EC$70,000.00	+12.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.69 NIO541.39	??
Average			+14.1%

Managua vs. Castries - Cost of transportation

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pay 61.3% more for housing

	Managua	Castries
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	$48.60 EC$131.33	+49.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	$456.36 EC$1,233.33	+78.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$181.00 NIO6,670.67	$345.35 EC$933.33	+90.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	$94.32 EC$254.90	-18.6%
Average			+61.3%

Managua vs. Castries - Cost of housing

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pay 9.8% less for childcare

	Managua	Castries
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	$212.76 EC$575.00	-9.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,060.00 NIO223K	??
Average			-9.8%

Managua vs. Castries - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Managua	Castries
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 NIO55.28	$2.78 EC$7.50	+85.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.60 NIO95.82	$3.70 EC$10.00	+42.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.73 NIO100.51	$9.25 EC$25.00	+239.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	$41.63 EC$112.50	+19.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.00 NIO331.69	$5.55 EC$15.00	-38.3%
Average			+27.1%

Managua vs. Castries - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.8% less for clothing

	Managua	Castries
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	$83.25 EC$225.00	+39.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	$50.88 EC$137.50	-21.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	$111.01 EC$300.00	-9.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	$111.01 EC$300.00	-23.4%
Average			-6.8%

Managua vs. Castries - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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