Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cochabamba and Santa Cruz

For one person, living is cheaper in Cochabamba: $448 a month against $639 in Santa Cruz, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Cochabamba
Learn more

Cochabamba Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz
Learn more

Santa Cruz Living Index

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Cochabamba

🇧🇴 Bolivia

$448

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz

🇧🇴 Bolivia

$639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cochabamba and in Santa Cruz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $448 in Cochabamba versus $639 in Santa Cruz.

Cochabamba $448
Santa Cruz $639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $701 in Cochabamba versus $1,172 in Santa Cruz.

Cochabamba $701
Santa Cruz $1,172

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $955 in Cochabamba versus $1,704 in Santa Cruz.

Cochabamba $955
Santa Cruz $1,704

Living in Cochabamba costs roughly 30% less than in Santa Cruz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cochabamba 67% lower, Santa Cruz 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.65 BOB 19.20

$2.00 BOB 23.19

-17.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.17 BOB 118

$16.80 BOB 195

-39.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 BOB 59.1

$5.10 BOB 59.2

-0.20%

Cappuccino

$1.54 BOB 17.84

$1.77 BOB 20.52

-12.99%

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

$0.44 BOB 5.15

$0.49 BOB 5.72

-10.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 BOB 4.69

$0.43 BOB 4.97

-6.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 BOB 11.91

$0.86 BOB 9.97

19.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 BOB 20.15

$1.24 BOB 14.35

40.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.61 BOB 7.04

$0.71 BOB 8.23

-14.08%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 BOB 8.38

$0.94 BOB 10.88

-23.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.08 BOB 12.59

$1.03 BOB 11.93

4.85%

Eggs

$1.04 BOB 12.10

$1.06 BOB 12.27

-1.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.88 BOB 33.42

$3.15 BOB 36.56

-8.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.13 BOB 24.71

$2.58 BOB 29.92

-17.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.42 BOB 51.3

$4.98 BOB 57.8

-11.24%

Apples (1kg)

$1.51 BOB 17.49

$1.82 BOB 21.12

-17.03%

Banana (1kg)

$0.71 BOB 8.20

$0.62 BOB 7.24

14.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.14 BOB 13.27

$0.76 BOB 8.81

50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.98 BOB 11.40

$0.73 BOB 8.48

34.25%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 BOB 10.26

$0.74 BOB 8.55

18.92%

Onion (1kg)

$0.66 BOB 7.70

$0.67 BOB 7.75

-1.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 BOB 7.06

$0.57 BOB 6.66

7.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 BOB 8.19

$0.63 BOB 7.36

12.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.55 BOB 18.04

$1.92 BOB 22.25

-19.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.04 BOB 58.6

$4.32 BOB 50.2

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 BOB 13.98

$1.02 BOB 11.86

17.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 BOB 23.26

$1.64 BOB 19.01

21.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 BOB 3.03

$0.24 BOB 2.78

8.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.48 BOB 261

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.45 BOB 16.82

$1.64 BOB 19.05

-11.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.86 BOB 10.01

$0.91 BOB 10.58

-5.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.18 BOB 48.47

$6.31 BOB 73.3

-33.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.48 BOB 5.59

$0.57 BOB 6.59

-15.79%

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

$17.4K BOB 202.4K

$14.1K BOB 163.3K

23.97%

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

$19.3K BOB 223.6K

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

$31.39 BOB 364

$34.84 BOB 405

-9.90%

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

$17.61 BOB 204

$19.67 BOB 228

-10.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.38 BOB 271

$17.53 BOB 204

33.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.74 BOB 252

$19.56 BOB 227

11.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.34 BOB 50.4

$12.84 BOB 149

-66.20%

Cinema Ticket

$3.00 BOB 34.82

$5.86 BOB 68.1

-48.81%

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

$111 BOB 1,292

$112 BOB 1,303

-0.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,444 BOB 40.0K

$2,950 BOB 34.2K

16.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.64 BOB 472

$27.21 BOB 316

49.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.41 BOB 249

$35.79 BOB 416

-40.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$37.71 BOB 438

$66.3 BOB 769

-43.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.1 BOB 640

$58.3 BOB 677

-5.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$158 BOB 1,829

$267 BOB 3,105

-41.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$102 BOB 1,183

$247 BOB 2,869

-58.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$306 BOB 3,551

$909 BOB 10.6K

-66.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$225 BOB 2,615

$830 BOB 9,630

-72.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$858 BOB 9,964

$1,299 BOB 15.1K

-33.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$677 BOB 7,857

$737 BOB 8,551

-8.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$389 BOB 4,515

$276 BOB 3,204

40.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.17

6.17

32.41%

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

Last update for Cochabamba: October 11, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Cochabamba

$111 24.7%

Santa Cruz

$112 17.5% 1.3% $1.5

Accommodation & Living

Cochabamba

$102 22.7%

Santa Cruz

$247 38.6% 143% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cochabamba

$72 16.2%

Santa Cruz

$72 11.3% 0.5% $0.3

Clothing & Footwear

Cochabamba

$70 15.6%

Santa Cruz

$84 13.2% 21.1% $15

Eating Out

Cochabamba

$59 13.2%

Santa Cruz

$63 9.8% 6.8% $4

Sport & Entertainment

Cochabamba

$28 6.2%

Santa Cruz

$31 4.9% 12.8% $3.5

Getting Around

Cochabamba

$6.8 * 1.5%

Santa Cruz

$30 4.6% 336% $23

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 $158 in Cochabamba and $267 in Santa Cruz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cochabamba pays 41% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $10.00 in Cochabamba vs $17.00 in Santa Cruz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $111 vs $112 per month, with Cochabamba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇴 Cochabamba

🇧🇴 Santa Cruz

🕒 Local time

20:08 8:08 PM

Same time as Cochabamba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

856,198

1,800,000

💱 Currency

Bolivian Boliviano BOB Bs.

📈 Exchange rate

100 BOB = 8.61 USD

100 BOB = 7.66 EUR

100 BOB = 8.61 USD

100 BOB = 7.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cochabamba Santa Cruz 320 km

From you

Cochabamba
Santa Cruz

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

Cochabamba vs Santa Cruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cochabamba and Santa Cruz differ by about 43% in total monthly costs ($448 vs $639 including rent). Cochabamba is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 41% higher in Cochabamba, 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: $158 in Cochabamba versus $267 in Santa Cruz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 1% higher in Santa Cruz. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $448 per month in Cochabamba versus $639 in Santa Cruz – a 43% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Cochabamba gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Expats usually find Cochabamba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Santa Cruz. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.