Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cuernavaca and Lima

For one person, living costs are similar in Cuernavaca and in Lima: $1,011 and $1,012 a month, rent and utilities included.

49

Cost of Living Index in Cuernavaca
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Cuernavaca Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Cuernavaca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,011

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,011 in Cuernavaca versus $1,012 in Lima.

Cuernavaca $1,011
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,692 in Cuernavaca versus $1,589 in Lima.

Cuernavaca $1,692
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,373 in Cuernavaca versus $2,167 in Lima.

Cuernavaca $2,373
Lima $2,167

Monthly costs are close between Cuernavaca and Lima; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cuernavaca 25% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.05 MX$149

$4.40 PEN 15.10

82.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.27 MX$707

$35.17 PEN 121

8.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.24 MX$134

$6.89 PEN 23.65

5.08%

Cappuccino

$2.43 MX$44.98

$3.26 PEN 11.20

-25.46%

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

$1.27 MX$23.43

$1.12 PEN 3.84

13.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 MX$11.60

$0.62 PEN 2.11

1.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.50 MX$46.29

$2.65 PEN 9.09

-5.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 MX$60.3

$4.41 PEN 15.15

-26.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.33

$1.63 PEN 5.61

4.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$2.56 PEN 8.78

-13.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.52

$1.35 PEN 4.65

6.67%

Eggs

$1.92 MX$35.49

$2.90 PEN 9.96

-33.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.08 MX$149

$8.85 PEN 30.38

-8.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.89 MX$90.4

$5.98 PEN 20.52

-18.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.78 MX$255

$9.78 PEN 33.59

40.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.23 MX$41.24

$2.05 PEN 7.02

8.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 MX$25.02

$1.06 PEN 3.66

27.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 MX$40.07

$1.35 PEN 4.64

60.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 MX$30.92

$1.50 PEN 5.15

11.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.62

$0.88 PEN 3.03

94.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 MX$32.06

$0.92 PEN 3.15

89.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 MX$28.25

$0.89 PEN 3.07

71.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$16.78

$0.90 PEN 3.10

1.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.39 MX$81.2

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-25.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.15 MX$151

$8.52 PEN 29.26

-4.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.55

$1.88 PEN 6.45

-35.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 MX$61.4

$3.22 PEN 11.05

3.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.51

$0.68 PEN 2.33

-16.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.69 MX$512

$26.86 PEN 92.2

3.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.90 MX$35.20

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-50.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.63 MX$48.52

$2.02 PEN 6.93

30.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.93 MX$202

$7.11 PEN 24.41

53.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 MX$26.26

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-17.44%

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

$21.0K MX$387.9K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

-5.92%

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

$24.1K MX$444.6K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

-5.65%

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

$57.3 MX$1,059

$73.1 PEN 251

-21.61%

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

$18.78 MX$347

$16.35 PEN 56.2

14.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.19 MX$465

$27.47 PEN 94.3

-8.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.75 MX$476

$31.90 PEN 110

-19.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$5.44 MX$100

$7.05 PEN 24.23

-22.84%

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

$217 MX$4,018

$182 PEN 627

19.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,075 MX$93.8K

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

-61.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.29 MX$763

$53.8 PEN 185

-23.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.18 MX$613

$34.32 PEN 118

-3.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.0 MX$1,719

$82.8 PEN 284

12.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.1 MX$1,832

$78.2 PEN 269

26.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,110

$721 PEN 2,476

-46.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$332 MX$6,140

$343 PEN 1,179

-3.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 MX$17.7K

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-21.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$804 MX$14.9K

$651 PEN 2,235

23.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$870 MX$16.1K

$2,414 PEN 8,292

-63.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$606 MX$11.2K

$1,357 PEN 4,660

-55.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$649 MX$12.0K

$648 PEN 2,226

0.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.4

8.94

27.52%

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

Last update for Cuernavaca: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cuernavaca

$332 32.9%

Lima

$343 33.9% 3.4% $11

Groceries & Markets

Cuernavaca

$234 23.1%

Lima

$226 22.3% 3.3% $7.6

Eating Out

Cuernavaca

$142 14.1%

Lima

$124 12.3% 12.7% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Cuernavaca

$120 11.9%

Lima

$112 11.1% 6.6% $7.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cuernavaca

$101 10%

Lima

$117 11.6% 15.4% $16

Getting Around

Cuernavaca

$45 4.5%

Lima

$43 4.3% 3.4% $1.5

Sport & Entertainment

Cuernavaca

$37 3.6%

Lima

$46 4.6% 25.6% $9.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $385 in Cuernavaca and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cuernavaca pays 0% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38.00 in Cuernavaca vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Cuernavaca

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

04:14 4:14 AM

05:14 5:14 AM

1 h ahead of Cuernavaca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

341,029

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cuernavaca Lima 4,220 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cuernavaca
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

Cuernavaca vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 0% higher in Cuernavaca, 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: $385 in Cuernavaca versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cuernavaca runs roughly 3% less than in Lima. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Shoppers in Lima pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,011 in Cuernavaca versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cuernavaca but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Cuernavaca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cuernavaca is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lima, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cuernavaca and Lima are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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