Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ensenada and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,077 in Ensenada, rent and utilities included – about $970 less a year. The total is higher in Ensenada despite lower rent and utilities.

53

Cost of Living Index in Ensenada
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Ensenada Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Ensenada

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,077

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,077 in Ensenada versus $996 in Lima.

Ensenada $1,077
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,707 in Ensenada versus $1,594 in Lima.

Ensenada $1,707
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,336 in Ensenada versus $2,191 in Lima.

Ensenada $2,336
Lima $2,191

Living in Ensenada is roughly 8% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ensenada 20% lower, Lima 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.98 MX$218

$4.42 PEN 15.21

171.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.40 MX$626

$35.04 PEN 121

-1.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.38 MX$134

$6.84 PEN 23.52

7.89%

Cappuccino

$3.06 MX$55.6

$3.27 PEN 11.26

-6.42%

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

$1.18 MX$21.51

$1.10 PEN 3.80

7.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 MX$12.55

$0.65 PEN 2.23

6.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.84 MX$51.7

$2.58 PEN 8.88

10.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.97 MX$72.3

$4.47 PEN 15.39

-11.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 MX$32.00

$1.59 PEN 5.48

10.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.63 MX$47.86

$2.58 PEN 8.89

1.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.11

$1.36 PEN 4.67

25.74%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$49.57

$2.95 PEN 10.14

-7.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.54 MX$155

$9.10 PEN 31.30

-6.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.75 MX$123

$5.81 PEN 19.98

16.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.39 MX$189

$9.83 PEN 33.80

5.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 MX$39.40

$2.01 PEN 6.92

7.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 MX$29.81

$1.08 PEN 3.70

51.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.06

$1.37 PEN 4.71

32.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.58 MX$28.78

$1.48 PEN 5.08

6.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 MX$24.50

$0.96 PEN 3.32

40.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 MX$33.41

$0.85 PEN 2.93

116.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$26.84

$0.88 PEN 3.03

68.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$18.89

$0.87 PEN 2.98

19.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.06 MX$73.8

$5.90 PEN 20.31

-31.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.45 MX$245

$8.81 PEN 30.31

52.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 MX$32.87

$1.92 PEN 6.59

-5.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$48.58

$3.20 PEN 11.02

-16.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$15.81

$0.68 PEN 2.33

27.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.92 MX$653

$26.74 PEN 92.0

34.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.97 MX$54.0

$3.81 PEN 13.10

-22.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.98 MX$36.04

$2.04 PEN 7.02

-2.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.57 MX$356

$7.14 PEN 24.57

174.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$24.87

$1.65 PEN 5.67

-16.97%

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

$20.0K MX$364.0K

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

-9.75%

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

$24.6K MX$447.3K

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

-4.19%

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

$48.01 MX$873

$73.0 PEN 251

-34.27%

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

$32.03 MX$583

$16.26 PEN 55.9

96.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.68 MX$485

$27.60 PEN 94.9

-3.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.95 MX$563

$33.07 PEN 114

-6.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.17 MX$203

$19.49 PEN 67.1

-42.69%

Cinema Ticket

$4.65 MX$84.5

$7.39 PEN 25.41

-37.08%

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

$197 MX$3,582

$182 PEN 626

8.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,889 MX$88.9K

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

-63.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 MX$985

$52.6 PEN 181

3.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.13 MX$803

$34.23 PEN 118

28.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 MX$1,875

$83.8 PEN 288

23.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.9 MX$1,054

$79.0 PEN 272

-26.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$528 MX$9,610

$723 PEN 2,488

-26.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$333 MX$6,052

$340 PEN 1,170

-2.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,007 MX$18.3K

$1,184 PEN 4,074

-14.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$649 MX$11.8K

$635 PEN 2,183

2.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,345 MX$24.5K

$2,449 PEN 8,423

-45.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$687 MX$12.5K

$1,372 PEN 4,718

-49.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$673 MX$12.2K

$653 PEN 2,245

3.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

8.94

26.40%

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

Last update for Ensenada: October 6, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ensenada

$333 30.6%

Lima

$340 33.6% 2.2% $7.4

Groceries & Markets

Ensenada

$255 23.5%

Lima

$226 22.4% 11.4% $29

Eating Out

Ensenada

$184 16.9%

Lima

$124 12.3% 32.7% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Ensenada

$117 10.7%

Lima

$112 11.1% 3.7% $4.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ensenada

$107 9.8%

Lima

$117 11.6% 9.5% $10

Getting Around

Ensenada

$52 4.8%

Lima

$43 4.3% 16.8% $8.8

Sport & Entertainment

Ensenada

$40 3.7%

Lima

$48 4.7% 18.9% $7.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $528 in Ensenada and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ensenada pays 3% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $34.00 in Ensenada vs $35.00 in Lima. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $226, with Lima cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ensenada

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

19:21 7:21 PM

21:21 9:21 PM

2 h ahead of Ensenada

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

330,652

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ensenada Lima 6,450 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Ensenada
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

Ensenada vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ensenada and Lima differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($1,077 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Ensenada, 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: $528 in Ensenada versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,077 per month in Ensenada versus $996 in Lima – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Lima runs roughly 34% less than in Ensenada. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,077 in Ensenada, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Ensenada. 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.

Safety-wise, Ensenada 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Ensenada. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.