Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and Cusco

For one person, living is cheaper in Cusco: $683 a month against $2,689 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $24,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Cusco
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Cusco Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,689

/mo nomad

Cusco

🇵🇪 Peru

$683

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Austin, TX and in Cusco

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Austin, TX and in Cusco actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,689 in Austin, TX versus $683 in Cusco.

Austin, TX $2,689
Cusco $683

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,112 in Austin, TX versus $1,092 in Cusco.

Austin, TX $4,112
Cusco $1,092

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,534 in Austin, TX versus $1,502 in Cusco.

Austin, TX $5,534
Cusco $1,502

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 294% more expensive than in Cusco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 99% above, Cusco is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.34 $21.34

$2.07 PEN 7.13

930.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.9 $87.9

$19.81 PEN 68.2

343.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.44 $12.44

$6.34 PEN 21.83

96.21%

Cappuccino

$5.60 $5.60

$2.14 PEN 7.35

161.68%

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

$3.65 $3.65

$0.79 PEN 2.71

362.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 $2.39

$0.35 PEN 1.22

582.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.82 $7.82

$1.78 PEN 6.13

339.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.75 $8.75

$4.30 PEN 14.81

103.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 $1.12

$1.27 PEN 4.36

-11.81%

White Bread (500g)

$3.62 $3.62

$2.29 PEN 7.88

58.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.50 $3.50

$1.32 PEN 4.55

165.15%

Eggs

$4.45 $4.45

$3.67 PEN 12.65

21.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.18 $13.18

$4.77 PEN 16.43

176.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.94 $13.94

$4.38 PEN 15.08

218.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.46 $16.46

$7.01 PEN 24.13

134.81%

Apples (1kg)

$4.73 $4.73

$2.57 PEN 8.85

84.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 $1.50

$0.82 PEN 2.84

82.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.64 $4.64

$1.46 PEN 5.03

217.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.52 $4.52

$0.89 PEN 3.06

407.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 $2.55

$0.98 PEN 3.38

160.20%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 $2.39

$1.11 PEN 3.82

115.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.84 $1.84

$0.48 PEN 1.64

283.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 $2.13

$0.74 PEN 2.55

187.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.05 $10.05

Wine (Bottle)

$14.88 $14.88

$5.82 PEN 20.02

155.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 $2.82

$1.84 PEN 6.35

53.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 $3.29

$4.12 PEN 14.17

-20.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.23 $1.23

$0.30 PEN 1.04

310.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.43 $41.43

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 $2.68

$1.69 PEN 5.81

58.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 $1.63

$1.86 PEN 6.39

-12.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.20 $35.20

$2.86 PEN 9.84

1130.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.51 PEN 5.18

-35.10%

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

$34.4K $34.4K

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

$26.8K $26.8K

$29.1K PEN 100.1K

-7.80%

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

$252 $252

$28.92 PEN 99.5

772.16%

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

$59.8 $59.8

$14.18 PEN 48.81

322.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.7 $69.7

$43.31 PEN 149

60.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.4 $60.4

$28.36 PEN 97.6

112.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.14 $18.14

Cinema Ticket

$13.75 $13.75

$4.24 PEN 14.58

224.29%

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

$1,458 $1,458

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.6K $26.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 $52.6

$37.61 PEN 129

39.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 $45.76

$32.57 PEN 112

40.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.5 $85.5

$54.1 PEN 186

57.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 $106

$70.9 PEN 244

49.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,195 $2,195

$219 PEN 755

901.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,269 $1,269

$190 PEN 655

566.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,000 $4,000

$531 PEN 1,827

653.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,406 $2,406

$422 PEN 1,452

470.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,381 $7,381

$3,197 PEN 11.0K

130.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,964 $2,964

$1,830 PEN 6,299

61.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,043 $5,043

$419 PEN 1,442

1103.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.82

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

Last update for Austin, TX: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cusco: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 47.2%

Cusco

$190 27.9% 85% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$407 15.2%

Cusco

$186 27.2% 54.4% $221

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$382 14.2%

Cusco

$86 12.7% 77.4% $295

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$356 13.2%

Cusco

$83 12.2% 76.6% $273

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$130 4.9%

Cusco

$88 12.9% 32.6% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$88 3.3%

Cusco

$37 5.4% 58.1% $51

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$57 2.1%

Cusco

$12 * 1.8% 78.7% $45

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,195 in Austin, TX and $219 in Cusco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays about 12 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $88 in Austin, TX vs $20 in Cusco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $407 vs $186 per month, with Cusco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇵🇪 Cusco

🕒 Local time

19:41 7:41 PM

20:41 8:41 PM

1 h ahead of Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

428,450

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.891 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.891 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Austin, TX Cusco 5,600 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
Cusco

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

Austin, TX vs Cusco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cusco wins on cost – living expenses run 75% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cusco the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Austin, TX is about 12 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,195 in Austin, TX versus $219 in Cusco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,689 per month in Austin, TX versus $683 in Cusco – Cusco is about 75% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Supermarket bills run roughly 119% higher in Austin, TX. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $683 in Cusco versus $2,689 in Austin, TX, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cusco but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Cusco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Cusco wins on affordability, Austin, TX on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.