Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Columbia, MO and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $2,125 in Columbia, MO, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Columbia, MO
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Columbia, MO Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Columbia, MO

🇺🇸 United States

$2,125

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,125 in Columbia, MO versus $1,042 in Lima.

Columbia, MO $2,125
Lima $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,981 in Columbia, MO versus $1,651 in Lima.

Columbia, MO $2,981
Lima $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,837 in Columbia, MO versus $2,259 in Lima.

Columbia, MO $3,837
Lima $2,259

Living in Columbia, MO is roughly 104% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Columbia, MO is 57% above, Lima is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.29 $16.29

$4.64 PEN 15.95

251.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.5 $73.5

$34.34 PEN 118

114.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 $11.94

$7.01 PEN 24.12

70.33%

Cappuccino

$4.74 $4.74

$3.22 PEN 11.09

47.20%

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

$2.56 $2.56

$1.13 PEN 3.90

126.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 $2.14

$0.61 PEN 2.09

250.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 $5.02

$2.93 PEN 10.08

71.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 $5.62

$4.25 PEN 14.63

32.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-27.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.92 $2.92

$2.61 PEN 8.98

11.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.45 $4.45

$1.30 PEN 4.47

242.31%

Eggs

$3.35 $3.35

$2.92 PEN 10.05

14.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.65 $11.65

$9.54 PEN 32.82

22.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.15 $12.15

$5.71 PEN 19.66

112.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.25 $14.25

$9.47 PEN 32.58

50.48%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 $4.02

$2.01 PEN 6.91

100.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 $1.91

$1.02 PEN 3.52

87.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.64 $4.64

$1.45 PEN 4.99

220.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.70 $4.70

$1.49 PEN 5.14

215.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.78 $2.78

$0.91 PEN 3.14

205.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.69 $2.69

$0.89 PEN 3.07

202.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.72 $1.72

$0.86 PEN 2.97

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 $2.04

$0.89 PEN 3.06

129.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.19 $8.19

$5.47 PEN 18.83

49.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.32 $16.32

$10.17 PEN 35.00

60.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 $1.90

$1.81 PEN 6.21

4.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 $2.38

$3.15 PEN 10.84

-24.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 PEN 2.28

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.89 PEN 110

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 $4.91

$3.43 PEN 11.79

43.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.98 PEN 6.80

-46.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.38 $22.38

$9.60 PEN 33.04

133.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 $1.09

$1.71 PEN 5.89

-36.26%

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

$35.1K $35.1K

$21.9K PEN 75.3K

60.37%

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

$26.6K $26.6K

$29.0K PEN 100.0K

-8.28%

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

$184 $184

$65.8 PEN 227

180.01%

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

$45.73 $45.73

$15.26 PEN 52.5

199.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.4 $57.4

$26.87 PEN 92.5

113.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.31 $22.31

$32.91 PEN 113

-32.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.60 $23.60

$20.12 PEN 69.2

17.30%

Cinema Ticket

$12.59 $12.59

$7.12 PEN 24.49

76.83%

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

$1,188 $1,188

$309 PEN 1,064

284.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K $15.2K

$21.4K PEN 73.5K

-28.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.72 $46.72

$52.0 PEN 179

-10.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.85 $32.85

$35.69 PEN 123

-7.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.5 $93.5

$81.8 PEN 281

14.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.9 $87.9

$78.0 PEN 268

12.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,427 $1,427

$727 PEN 2,501

96.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 $1,008

$373 PEN 1,284

170.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,061 $2,061

$1,249 PEN 4,297

65.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,323 $1,323

$739 PEN 2,544

78.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,214 $2,214

$2,380 PEN 8,191

-7.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,828 $1,828

$1,365 PEN 4,697

33.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,079 $4,079

$650 PEN 2,238

527.30%

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 Columbia, MO: October 31, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Columbia, MO

$1K 47.5%

Lima

$373 35.8% 63% $635

Groceries & Markets

Columbia, MO

$376 17.7%

Lima

$228 21.9% 39.3% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Columbia, MO

$287 13.5%

Lima

$108 10.4% 62.4% $179

Eating Out

Columbia, MO

$278 13.1%

Lima

$127 12.2% 54.4% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Columbia, MO

$117 5.5%

Lima

$111 10.7% 5.2% $6.1

Sport & Entertainment

Columbia, MO

$47 2.2%

Lima

$47 4.5% 0.7% $0.3

Getting Around

Columbia, MO

$10 * 0.5%

Lima

$48 4.6% 371% $38

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 $1,427 in Columbia, MO and $727 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Columbia, MO pays about 6.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $73 in Columbia, MO vs $34 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $376 vs $228 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Columbia, MO

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

02:23 2:23 AM

03:23 3:23 AM

1 h ahead of Columbia, MO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

139,698

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 = 3.87 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Columbia, MO Lima 5,890 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Columbia, MO
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

Columbia, MO vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima is about 51% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Columbia, MO is about 6.3 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: $1,427 in Columbia, MO versus $727 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,188 in Columbia, MO versus $309 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Lima – a meal for two runs $34 versus $73 in Columbia, MO. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,042 in Lima versus $2,125 in Columbia, MO, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Columbia, MO. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Lima wins on affordability, Columbia, MO on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.