Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chester, CA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,014 a month against $2,629 in Chester, CA, rent and utilities included – about $19,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

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

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Chester, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,629

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,629 in Chester, CA versus $1,014 in Lima.

Chester, CA $2,629
Lima $1,014

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,789 in Chester, CA versus $1,613 in Lima.

Chester, CA $3,789
Lima $1,613

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,949 in Chester, CA versus $2,211 in Lima.

Chester, CA $4,949
Lima $2,211

Living in Chester, CA is roughly 159% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chester, CA is 94% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.13 $15.13

$4.42 PEN 15.19

242.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.1 $56.1

$34.56 PEN 119

62.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.61 $12.61

$6.80 PEN 23.37

85.44%

Cappuccino

$5.06 $5.06

$3.30 PEN 11.34

53.33%

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

$1.94 $1.94

$1.06 PEN 3.64

83.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 $1.46

$0.66 PEN 2.26

121.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.99 $4.99

$2.54 PEN 8.71

96.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.45 $6.45

$4.24 PEN 14.55

52.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 $1.23

$1.58 PEN 5.43

-22.15%

White Bread (500g)

$4.19 $4.19

$2.61 PEN 8.97

60.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.62 $4.62

$1.34 PEN 4.60

244.78%

Eggs

$5.67 $5.67

$2.93 PEN 10.08

93.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.96 $14.96

$9.45 PEN 32.45

58.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.97 $14.97

$5.75 PEN 19.75

160.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.94 $17.94

$9.69 PEN 33.29

85.14%

Apples (1kg)

$5.05 $5.05

$2.02 PEN 6.95

150.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 $1.94

$1.07 PEN 3.66

81.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.30 $4.30

$1.37 PEN 4.70

213.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.74 $5.74

$1.47 PEN 5.05

290.48%

Potato (1kg)

$3.86 $3.86

$0.95 PEN 3.25

306.32%

Onion (1kg)

$3.34 $3.34

$0.91 PEN 3.14

267.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.50 $2.50

$0.90 PEN 3.10

177.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 $2.70

$0.89 PEN 3.04

203.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.06 $9.06

$5.74 PEN 19.71

57.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.92 $13.92

$9.21 PEN 31.64

51.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 $2.58

$1.84 PEN 6.31

40.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 $3.52

$3.11 PEN 10.67

13.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.28 $2.28

$0.72 PEN 2.46

216.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.11 $4.11

$3.54 PEN 12.17

16.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 $1.93

$2.07 PEN 7.12

-6.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.76 $24.76

$7.75 PEN 26.62

219.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 $1.41

$1.71 PEN 5.86

-17.54%

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

$35.2K $35.2K

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

63.19%

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

$27.2K $27.2K

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

-4.77%

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

$227 $227

$68.2 PEN 234

233.43%

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

$60.6 $60.6

$15.73 PEN 54.0

285.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.3 $69.3

$26.48 PEN 90.9

161.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.63 $35.63

$33.94 PEN 117

4.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

Cinema Ticket

$17.07 $17.07

$7.22 PEN 24.80

136.43%

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

$1,537 $1,537

$201 PEN 689

666.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.0K $19.0K

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

46.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 $61.7

$53.7 PEN 184

14.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.31 $46.31

$35.88 PEN 123

29.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.4 $94.4

$83.8 PEN 288

12.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 $126

$78.8 PEN 271

60.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,604 $1,604

$729 PEN 2,505

119.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 $1,300

$349 PEN 1,197

272.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,499 $2,499

$1,186 PEN 4,073

110.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,130 $2,130

$696 PEN 2,391

205.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,448 $2,448

$2,360 PEN 8,105

3.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,699 $2,699

$1,356 PEN 4,657

98.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.5

8.78

-25.97%

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

Last update for Chester, CA: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chester, CA

$1.3K 49.5%

Lima

$349 34.4% 73.2% $951

Groceries & Markets

Chester, CA

$460 17.5%

Lima

$227 22.4% 50.6% $233

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chester, CA

$357 13.6%

Lima

$110 10.9% 69.1% $247

Eating Out

Chester, CA

$271 10.3%

Lima

$123 12.2% 54.4% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Chester, CA

$148 5.6%

Lima

$113 11.2% 23.3% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Chester, CA

$70 2.7%

Lima

$48 4.8% 30.7% $21

Getting Around

Chester, CA

$23 * 0.9%

Lima

$43 4.2% 86.9% $20

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 $1,604 in Chester, CA and $729 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $56.0 in Chester, CA vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $460 vs $227 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Chester, CA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

08:22 8:22 AM

10:22 10:22 AM

2 h ahead of Chester, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

36,801

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 22, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 22, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chester, CA Lima 7,390 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Chester, 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

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

Lima wins on cost – living expenses run 159% lower than in Chester, CA. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Lima the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $3,944 in Chester, CA and $1,522 in Lima 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,604 in Chester, CA versus $729 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 103% higher in Chester, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,629 per month in Chester, CA versus $1,014 in Lima – a 159% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,014 in Lima versus $2,629 in Chester, CA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Chester, 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 159% less than in Chester, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.