Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cajamarca and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Cajamarca: $695 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Cajamarca
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Cajamarca Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index

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Cajamarca

🇵🇪 Peru

$695

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cajamarca and in Buenos Aires

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $695 in Cajamarca versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Cajamarca $695
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,177 in Cajamarca versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Cajamarca $1,177
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,658 in Cajamarca versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Cajamarca $1,658
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Cajamarca costs roughly 59% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cajamarca is 48% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.57 PEN 12.25

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-80.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.96 PEN 99.3

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-55.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.95 PEN 20.39

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-53.80%

Cappuccino

$2.64 PEN 9.05

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-33.67%

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

$0.79 PEN 2.71

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-61.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-60.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.30 PEN 7.89

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-40.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 PEN 12.46

$4.60 ARS 6,970

-20.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 PEN 4.75

$1.44 ARS 2,181

-4.17%

White Bread (500g)

$3.27 PEN 11.21

$2.46 ARS 3,738

32.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 PEN 4.42

$1.63 ARS 2,467

-20.86%

Eggs

$2.28 PEN 7.82

$2.89 ARS 4,385

-21.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.58 PEN 26.00

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-28.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.28 PEN 21.52

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-37.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.12 PEN 44.97

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-4.51%

Apples (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.65

$2.75 ARS 4,166

-61.45%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 PEN 2.68

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-64.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.23 PEN 4.20

$1.45 ARS 2,205

-15.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.70

$1.99 ARS 3,013

-45.73%

Potato (1kg)

$0.74 PEN 2.52

$1.24 ARS 1,885

-40.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 PEN 3.41

$1.27 ARS 1,921

-21.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 PEN 2.48

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-57.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 PEN 2.56

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-56.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.98 PEN 30.79

$4.18 ARS 6,337

114.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 PEN 34.93

$5.80 ARS 8,790

75.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 PEN 8.89

$2.09 ARS 3,163

23.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 PEN 8.41

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-11.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.56 PEN 1.93

$0.75 ARS 1,132

-25.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.93 PEN 30.62

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

-67.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.76 PEN 6.03

$1.62 ARS 2,451

8.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 PEN 4.55

$0.98 ARS 1,481

35.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.05 PEN 17.31

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

-34.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 PEN 5.19

$1.36 ARS 2,058

11.03%

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

$23.7K PEN 81.3K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-15.28%

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

$25.9K PEN 88.6K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-25.12%

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

$49.76 PEN 171

$216 ARS 326.9K

-76.92%

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

$9.79 PEN 33.57

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-61.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.01 PEN 99.5

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

-7.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.97 PEN 106

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-37.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.52 PEN 70.3

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

20.28%

Cinema Ticket

$4.76 PEN 16.32

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-54.36%

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

$137 PEN 471

$466 ARS 706.7K

-70.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,463 PEN 15.3K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-50.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 PEN 177

$122 ARS 185.2K

-57.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.33 PEN 101

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-69.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.8 PEN 277

$117 ARS 177.4K

-30.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.9 PEN 277

$140 ARS 211.9K

-42.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$199 PEN 681

$763 ARS 1.2M

-73.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$103 PEN 353

$505 ARS 766.1K

-79.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$527 PEN 1,806

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-67.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$317 PEN 1,085

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-73.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,338 PEN 8,015

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-12.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$727 PEN 2,491

$954 ARS 1.4M

-23.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.5

57.25

-81.66%

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

Last update for Cajamarca: October 5, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Cajamarca

$229 33.1%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 24.1% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Cajamarca

$109 15.8%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 96.1% $105

Accommodation & Living

Cajamarca

$103 14.9%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 391% $402

Eating Out

Cajamarca

$103 14.8%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 172% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cajamarca

$89 12.8%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 208% $184

Sport & Entertainment

Cajamarca

$40 5.9%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 74.6% $30

Getting Around

Cajamarca

$20 2.8%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 87.2% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $199 in Cajamarca and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 31% 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: $29.00 in Cajamarca vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $229 vs $284 per month, with Cajamarca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Cajamarca

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

22:42 10:42 PM

00:42 12:42 AM

2 h ahead of Cajamarca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

218,741

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cajamarca Buenos Aires 3,680 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cajamarca
Buenos Aires

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

Cajamarca vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cajamarca and Buenos Aires differ by about 142% in total monthly costs ($695 vs $1,685 including rent). Cajamarca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 31% lower in Buenos Aires. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $199 in Cajamarca versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $137 in Cajamarca versus $466 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $695 in Cajamarca versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cajamarca but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Cajamarca 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, Cajamarca and Buenos Aires 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 Cajamarca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 142% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.