Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brea, CA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,014 a month against $3,716 in Brea, CA, rent and utilities included – about $32,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

180

Cost of Living Index in Brea, CA
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Brea, CA Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Brea, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,716

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Brea, CA and in Lima

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,716 in Brea, CA versus $1,014 in Lima.

Brea, CA $3,716
Lima $1,014

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,124 in Brea, CA versus $1,613 in Lima.

Brea, CA $5,124
Lima $1,613

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,532 in Brea, CA versus $2,211 in Lima.

Brea, CA $6,532
Lima $2,211

Living in Brea, CA is roughly 266% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Brea, CA is 174% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.18 $25.18

$4.42 PEN 15.19

469.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.5 $78.5

$34.56 PEN 119

127.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.18 $12.18

$6.80 PEN 23.37

79.12%

Cappuccino

$5.59 $5.59

$3.30 PEN 11.34

69.39%

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

$2.69 $2.69

$1.06 PEN 3.64

153.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 $1.98

$0.66 PEN 2.26

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.34 $7.34

$2.54 PEN 8.71

188.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.46 $9.46

$4.24 PEN 14.55

123.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 $1.18

$1.58 PEN 5.43

-25.32%

White Bread (500g)

$5.29 $5.29

$2.61 PEN 8.97

102.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.41 $4.41

$1.34 PEN 4.60

229.10%

Eggs

$4.86 $4.86

$2.93 PEN 10.08

65.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.38 $15.38

$9.45 PEN 32.45

62.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.87 $8.87

$5.75 PEN 19.75

54.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.91 $13.91

$9.69 PEN 33.29

43.55%

Apples (1kg)

$4.66 $4.66

$2.02 PEN 6.95

130.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 $1.80

$1.07 PEN 3.66

68.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.30 $4.30

$1.37 PEN 4.70

213.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.77 $5.77

$1.47 PEN 5.05

292.52%

Potato (1kg)

$3.61 $3.61

$0.95 PEN 3.25

280.00%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 $3.07

$0.91 PEN 3.14

237.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.14 $2.14

$0.90 PEN 3.10

137.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 $2.18

$0.89 PEN 3.04

144.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.95 $11.95

$5.74 PEN 19.71

108.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.14 $15.14

$9.21 PEN 31.64

64.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 $1.77

$1.84 PEN 6.31

-3.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 $3.21

$3.11 PEN 10.67

3.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.46

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.58 $4.58

$3.54 PEN 12.17

29.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 $1.81

$2.07 PEN 7.12

-12.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.28 $36.28

$7.75 PEN 26.62

368.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 $1.57

$1.71 PEN 5.86

-8.19%

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

$27.8K $27.8K

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

28.68%

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

$26.0K $26.0K

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

-8.97%

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

$218 $218

$68.2 PEN 234

219.62%

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

$70.8 $70.8

$15.73 PEN 54.0

350.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.1 $69.1

$26.48 PEN 90.9

161.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.08 $30.08

$33.94 PEN 117

-11.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.02 $20.02

$20.10 PEN 69.0

-0.40%

Cinema Ticket

$19.98 $19.98

$7.22 PEN 24.80

176.73%

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

$1,162 $1,162

$201 PEN 689

479.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$42.8K $42.8K

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

231.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.2 $62.2

$53.7 PEN 184

15.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.12 $41.12

$35.88 PEN 123

14.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.9 $80.9

$83.8 PEN 288

-3.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 $104

$78.8 PEN 271

32.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,241 $2,241

$729 PEN 2,505

207.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,354 $2,354

$349 PEN 1,197

575.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,133 $3,133

$1,186 PEN 4,073

164.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,521 $3,521

$696 PEN 2,391

405.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,884 $5,884

$2,360 PEN 8,105

149.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,172 $6,172

$1,356 PEN 4,657

355.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$9,939 $9,939

$663 PEN 2,278

1398.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.31

8.78

-28.13%

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

Last update for Brea, CA: October 17, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brea, CA

$2.4K 63.4%

Lima

$349 34.4% 85.2% $2K

Groceries & Markets

Brea, CA

$411 11.1%

Lima

$227 22.4% 44.8% $184

Eating Out

Brea, CA

$379 10.2%

Lima

$123 12.2% 67.5% $256

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brea, CA

$358 9.6%

Lima

$110 10.9% 69.2% $247

Clothing & Footwear

Brea, CA

$130 3.5%

Lima

$113 11.2% 12.6% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Brea, CA

$70 1.9%

Lima

$48 4.8% 30.9% $22

Getting Around

Brea, CA

$14 * 0.4%

Lima

$43 4.2% 214% $29

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 $2,241 in Brea, CA and $729 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brea, CA pays 1399% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $79.0 in Brea, CA vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $411 vs $227 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Brea, CA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

14:48 2:48 PM

16:48 4:48 PM

2 h ahead of Brea, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,585

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 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 October 21, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 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

Brea, CA Lima 6,690 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Brea, CA
Lima

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

Brea, CA vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima wins on cost – living expenses run 266% lower than in Brea, CA. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Lima the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1399% higher in Brea, CA, 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: $2,241 in Brea, CA versus $729 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,162 in Brea, CA versus $201 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Lima – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $79.0 in Brea, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,014 in Lima versus $3,716 in Brea, CA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Brea, CA. The gap between the two cities makes Lima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Lima delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,014 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Lima hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Brea, CA and Lima are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 266% less than in Brea, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.