Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Burlington, IA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $1,818 in Burlington, IA, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Burlington, IA
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Burlington, IA Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Burlington, IA

🇺🇸 United States

$1,818

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Burlington, IA 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 Burlington, IA and in Lima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,818 in Burlington, IA versus $1,042 in Lima.

Burlington, IA $1,818
Lima $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,753 in Burlington, IA versus $1,651 in Lima.

Burlington, IA $2,753
Lima $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,688 in Burlington, IA versus $2,259 in Lima.

Burlington, IA $3,688
Lima $2,259

Living in Burlington, IA is roughly 74% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Burlington, IA is 34% above, Lima is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.52 $11.52

$4.64 PEN 15.98

148.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.5 $59.5

$34.34 PEN 118

73.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.13 $9.13

$7.01 PEN 24.16

30.24%

Cappuccino

$4.77 $4.77

$3.22 PEN 11.11

48.14%

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

$1.98 $1.98

$1.13 PEN 3.91

75.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 $1.95

$0.61 PEN 2.10

219.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.51 $3.51

$2.93 PEN 10.09

19.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 $4.54

$4.25 PEN 14.65

6.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.86 $0.86

$1.58 PEN 5.45

-45.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 $2.87

$2.61 PEN 8.99

9.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.47 $4.47

$1.30 PEN 4.47

243.85%

Eggs

$3.03 $3.03

$2.92 PEN 10.06

3.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.60 $11.60

$9.54 PEN 32.87

21.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.93 $11.93

$5.71 PEN 19.69

108.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.30 $14.30

$9.47 PEN 32.63

51.00%

Apples (1kg)

$4.19 $4.19

$2.01 PEN 6.92

108.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 $1.91

$1.02 PEN 3.53

87.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.70 $4.70

$1.45 PEN 5.00

224.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.65 $4.65

$1.49 PEN 5.15

212.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.77 $2.77

$0.91 PEN 3.14

204.40%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 $2.65

$0.89 PEN 3.08

197.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 $1.46

$0.86 PEN 2.97

69.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.12 $2.12

$0.89 PEN 3.06

138.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.08 $8.08

$5.47 PEN 18.86

47.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.91 $15.91

$10.17 PEN 35.05

56.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.00 $2.00

$1.81 PEN 6.22

10.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 $2.36

$3.15 PEN 10.85

-25.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$0.66 PEN 2.29

200.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 $61.0

$31.89 PEN 110

91.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.85 $4.85

$3.43 PEN 11.81

41.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.98 PEN 6.81

-46.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.11 $22.11

$9.60 PEN 33.09

130.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.71 PEN 5.90

-48.54%

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

$23.0K $23.0K

$21.9K PEN 75.4K

5.22%

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

$25.1K $25.1K

$29.0K PEN 100.1K

-13.50%

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

$184 $184

$65.8 PEN 227

178.99%

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

$46.38 $46.38

$15.26 PEN 52.6

203.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.7 $58.7

$26.87 PEN 92.6

118.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.81 $39.81

$32.91 PEN 113

20.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.12 PEN 69.4

Cinema Ticket

$11.83 $11.83

$7.12 PEN 24.53

66.15%

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

$1,186 $1,186

$309 PEN 1,065

283.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.4K $15.4K

$21.4K PEN 73.6K

-27.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.45 $44.45

$52.0 PEN 179

-14.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.47 $30.47

$35.69 PEN 123

-14.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.5 $88.5

$81.8 PEN 282

8.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.77 $37.77

$78.0 PEN 269

-51.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 $735

$727 PEN 2,505

1.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$707 $707

$373 PEN 1,286

89.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 $1,208

$1,249 PEN 4,303

-3.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,285 $1,285

$739 PEN 2,548

73.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,057 $1,057

$2,380 PEN 8,203

-55.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,034 $1,034

$1,365 PEN 4,704

-24.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,380 $4,380

$650 PEN 2,241

573.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.54

8.38

-21.96%

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

Last update for Burlington, IA: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Burlington, IA

$707 38.9%

Lima

$373 35.8% 47.2% $334

Groceries & Markets

Burlington, IA

$371 20.4%

Lima

$228 21.9% 38.4% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Burlington, IA

$289 15.9%

Lima

$108 10.4% 62.6% $181

Eating Out

Burlington, IA

$219 12.1%

Lima

$127 12.2% 42.1% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Burlington, IA

$91 5%

Lima

$111 10.7% 23% $21

Getting Around

Burlington, IA

$79 4.4%

Lima

$48 4.6% 39.5% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Burlington, IA

$63 3.5%

Lima

$47 4.5% 25.7% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $735 in Burlington, IA and $727 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Burlington, IA pays about 6.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $60 in Burlington, IA vs $34 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $371 vs $228 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Burlington, IA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

12:53 12:53 PM

13:53 1:53 PM

1 h ahead of Burlington, IA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

44,743

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.258 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 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.87 PEN (1 PEN = 0.258 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

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Burlington, IA Lima 6,050 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Burlington, IA
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

Burlington, IA vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima wins on cost – living expenses run 43% lower than in Burlington, IA. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Lima the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Burlington, IA is about 6.7 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: $735 in Burlington, IA versus $727 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,186 in Burlington, IA versus $309 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 62% higher in Burlington, IA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 – Lima wins on affordability, Burlington, IA on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.