Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between College Station, TX and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $2,148 in College Station, TX, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in College Station, TX
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College Station, TX Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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College Station, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,148

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,148 in College Station, TX versus $1,042 in Lima.

College Station, TX $2,148
Lima $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,142 in College Station, TX versus $1,651 in Lima.

College Station, TX $3,142
Lima $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,136 in College Station, TX versus $2,259 in Lima.

College Station, TX $4,136
Lima $2,259

Living in College Station, TX is roughly 106% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: College Station, TX is 59% above, Lima is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.01 $15.01

$4.64 PEN 15.95

223.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.6 $76.6

$34.34 PEN 118

122.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.02 $12.02

$7.01 PEN 24.12

71.47%

Cappuccino

$5.63 $5.63

$3.22 PEN 11.09

74.84%

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

$2.96 $2.96

$1.13 PEN 3.90

161.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 $1.74

$0.61 PEN 2.09

185.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 $5.02

$2.93 PEN 10.07

71.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.41 $7.41

$4.25 PEN 14.63

74.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.77 $0.77

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-51.27%

White Bread (500g)

$3.18 $3.18

$2.61 PEN 8.98

21.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.76 $3.76

$1.30 PEN 4.46

189.23%

Eggs

$2.92 $2.92

$2.92 PEN 10.04

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.95 $11.95

$9.54 PEN 32.82

25.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.34 $9.34

$5.71 PEN 19.66

63.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 $13.10

$9.47 PEN 32.57

38.33%

Apples (1kg)

$6.46 $6.46

$2.01 PEN 6.91

221.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 $1.56

$1.02 PEN 3.52

52.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.61 $6.61

$1.45 PEN 4.99

355.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.91 $4.91

$1.49 PEN 5.14

229.53%

Potato (1kg)

$3.96 $3.96

$0.91 PEN 3.14

335.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.95 $2.95

$0.89 PEN 3.07

231.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 $1.78

$0.86 PEN 2.97

106.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 $1.83

$0.89 PEN 3.05

105.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.90 $9.90

$5.47 PEN 18.83

80.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.16 $14.16

$10.17 PEN 34.99

39.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 $1.70

$1.81 PEN 6.21

-6.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 $3.77

$3.15 PEN 10.83

19.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 $0.98

$0.66 PEN 2.28

48.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.49 $44.49

$31.89 PEN 110

39.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.82 $9.82

$3.43 PEN 11.79

186.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.89 $1.89

$1.98 PEN 6.80

-4.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$61.0 $61.0

$9.60 PEN 33.03

535.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 $1.00

$1.71 PEN 5.89

-41.52%

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

$26.7K $26.7K

$21.9K PEN 75.2K

22.16%

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

$25.8K $25.8K

$29.0K PEN 99.9K

-11.16%

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

$177 $177

$65.8 PEN 227

168.39%

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

$39.95 $39.95

$15.26 PEN 52.5

161.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.1 $55.1

$26.87 PEN 92.5

105.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.48 $18.48

$32.91 PEN 113

-43.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.46 $17.46

$20.12 PEN 69.2

-13.22%

Cinema Ticket

$10.82 $10.82

$7.12 PEN 24.49

51.97%

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

$749 $749

$309 PEN 1,063

142.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K $10.5K

$21.4K PEN 73.5K

-50.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.1 $60.1

$52.0 PEN 179

15.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.92 $38.92

$35.69 PEN 123

9.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.3 $82.3

$81.8 PEN 281

0.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 $120

$78.0 PEN 268

53.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,272 $1,272

$727 PEN 2,501

74.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$979 $979

$373 PEN 1,284

162.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,818 $1,818

$1,249 PEN 4,296

45.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,488 $1,488

$739 PEN 2,543

101.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,383 $2,383

$2,380 PEN 8,190

0.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,002 $2,002

$1,365 PEN 4,696

46.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,279 $4,279

$650 PEN 2,237

558.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.57

8.38

-21.60%

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

Last update for College Station, TX: November 1, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

College Station, TX

$979 45.6%

Lima

$373 35.8% 61.9% $606

Groceries & Markets

College Station, TX

$372 17.3%

Lima

$228 21.9% 38.7% $144

Eating Out

College Station, TX

$282 13.2%

Lima

$127 12.2% 55.1% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

College Station, TX

$272 12.7%

Lima

$108 10.4% 60.3% $164

Clothing & Footwear

College Station, TX

$136 6.3%

Lima

$111 10.7% 17.9% $24

Getting Around

College Station, TX

$68 3.2%

Lima

$48 4.6% 29.3% $20

Sport & Entertainment

College Station, TX

$40 1.9%

Lima

$47 4.5% 17.5% $7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,272 in College Station, TX and $727 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

College Station, TX pays about 6.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $77 in College Station, TX vs $34 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $372 vs $228 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 College Station, TX

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

10:13 10:13 AM

11:13 11:13 AM

1 h ahead of College Station, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,511

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 November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

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Between locations

College Station, TX Lima 5,180 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

College Station, TX
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

College Station, TX vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima wins on cost – living expenses run 51% lower than in College Station, TX. 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 College Station, TX is about 6.6 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: $1,272 in College Station, TX versus $727 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Lima runs roughly 28% less than in College Station, TX. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $749 in College Station, TX versus $309 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,042 in Lima versus $2,148 in College Station, TX, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in College Station, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Lima 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in College Station, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.