Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas: $745 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
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Santa Lucía Milpas Altas Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$745

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Buenos Aires and in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $745 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas $745

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,244 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas $1,244

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,742 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas $1,742

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 122% more expensive than in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Santa Lucía Milpas Altas is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$6.87 Q 52.6

177.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$49.85 Q 381

32.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$8.01 Q 61.3

64.79%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$3.42 Q 26.11

12.57%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.11 Q 8.45

79.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.96 Q 7.38

66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$3.23 Q 24.68

21.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$4.63 Q 35.41

-0.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$2.01 Q 15.40

-25.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$3.09 Q 23.61

-18.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$2.01 Q 15.39

-19.90%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.58 Q 19.72

10.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$6.49 Q 49.62

58.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$9.20 Q 70.3

8.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$13.01 Q 99.5

2.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$3.98 Q 30.40

-27.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.72 Q 13.13

27.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$2.78 Q 21.23

-49.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.65 Q 12.63

20.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$1.47 Q 11.23

-17.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$2.18 Q 16.69

-42.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.73 Q 5.59

134.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$1.16 Q 8.84

48.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$4.10 Q 31.31

4.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$8.29 Q 63.4

-31.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.81 Q 13.84

19.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$2.68 Q 20.48

2.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$5.19 Q 39.68

-69.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$10.41 Q 79.6

-24.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.34 Q 10.27

5.97%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$26.9K Q 206.0K

3.74%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$25.2K Q 192.4K

38.93%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$72.3 Q 553

169.91%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$28.68 Q 219

-12.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$45.93 Q 351

-31.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$6.30 Q 48.15

64.13%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$344 Q 2,631

34.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$6,648 Q 50.8K

32.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$50.3 Q 385

138.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$46.72 Q 357

104.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$118 Q 900

-3.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$112 Q 857

24.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

11.62

392.69%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Santa Lucía Milpas Altas: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$280 37.6% 1.2% $3.3

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$154 20.6% 45.4% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$147 19.7% 41.7% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$147 19.7% 30.3% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$13 * 1.7% 82.4% $59

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$5.2 * 0.7% 86% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $50.0 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $280 per month, with Santa Lucía Milpas Altas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇬🇹 Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

🕒 Local time

06:12 6:12 AM

03:12 3:12 AM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

12,234

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 7.65 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.6 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Santa Lucía Milpas Altas 6,440 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

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

Buenos Aires vs Santa Lucía Milpas Altas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Santa Lucía Milpas Altas differ by about 122% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $745 including rent). Santa Lucía Milpas Altas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,484 in Buenos Aires and $1,118 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $344 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $745 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Lucía Milpas Altas 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.

Safety-wise, Buenos Aires and Santa Lucía Milpas Altas 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 Santa Lucía Milpas Altas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 122% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.