Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilopango and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,625 in Ilopango, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ilopango outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

79

Cost of Living Index in Ilopango
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Ilopango Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Ilopango

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,625

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Ilopango versus $996 in Lima.

Ilopango $1,625
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,858 in Ilopango versus $1,594 in Lima.

Ilopango $1,858
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,090 in Ilopango versus $2,191 in Lima.

Ilopango $2,090
Lima $2,191

Living in Ilopango is roughly 63% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ilopango is 21% above, Lima is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.16 $3.16

$4.42 PEN 15.21

-28.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.12 $44.12

$35.04 PEN 121

25.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.04 $5.04

$6.84 PEN 23.52

-26.32%

Cappuccino

$2.94 $2.94

$3.27 PEN 11.26

-10.09%

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

$0.93 $0.93

$1.10 PEN 3.80

-15.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 $0.97

$0.65 PEN 2.23

49.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.91 $0.91

$2.58 PEN 8.88

-64.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 $1.75

$4.47 PEN 15.39

-60.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.28 $3.28

$1.59 PEN 5.48

106.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 $1.44

$2.58 PEN 8.89

-44.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.07 $3.07

$1.36 PEN 4.67

125.74%

Eggs

$2.92 $2.92

$2.95 PEN 10.14

-1.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.02 $5.02

$9.10 PEN 31.30

-44.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.86 $5.86

$5.81 PEN 19.98

0.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.86 $9.86

$9.83 PEN 33.80

0.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 $2.92

$2.01 PEN 6.92

45.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.08 PEN 3.70

87.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 $2.03

$1.37 PEN 4.71

48.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$1.48 PEN 5.08

31.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 $2.02

$0.96 PEN 3.32

110.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 $1.97

$0.85 PEN 2.93

131.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 $0.93

$0.88 PEN 3.03

5.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 $0.97

$0.87 PEN 2.98

11.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.95 $3.95

$5.90 PEN 20.31

-33.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.18 $12.18

$8.81 PEN 30.31

38.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.92 PEN 6.59

-48.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 $2.06

$3.20 PEN 11.02

-35.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 $0.88

$0.68 PEN 2.33

29.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.67 $35.67

$26.74 PEN 92.0

33.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.16 $7.16

$3.81 PEN 13.10

87.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.16 $2.16

$2.04 PEN 7.02

5.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.71 $4.71

$7.14 PEN 24.57

-34.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.67 $0.67

$1.65 PEN 5.67

-59.39%

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

$19.9K $19.9K

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

-10.07%

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

$26.1K $26.1K

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

1.57%

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

$34.38 $34.38

$73.0 PEN 251

-52.93%

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

$9.97 $9.97

$16.26 PEN 55.9

-38.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.70 $39.70

$27.60 PEN 94.9

43.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.80 $39.80

$33.07 PEN 114

20.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.04 $10.04

$19.49 PEN 67.1

-48.49%

Cinema Ticket

$4.97 $4.97

$7.39 PEN 25.41

-32.75%

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

$104 $104

$182 PEN 626

-42.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,904 $1,904

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

-85.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.18 $20.18

$52.6 PEN 181

-61.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.95 $29.95

$34.23 PEN 118

-12.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.4 $75.4

$83.8 PEN 288

-10.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 $58.9

$79.0 PEN 272

-25.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$677 $677

$723 PEN 2,488

-6.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,038 $1,038

$340 PEN 1,170

205.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$585 $585

$1,184 PEN 4,074

-50.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$640 $640

$635 PEN 2,183

0.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,747 $1,747

$2,449 PEN 8,423

-28.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$949 $949

$1,372 PEN 4,718

-30.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$976 $976

$653 PEN 2,245

49.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

-32.89%

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

Last update for Ilopango: October 3, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ilopango

$1K 62.9%

Lima

$340 33.6% 67.2% $698

Groceries & Markets

Ilopango

$248 15%

Lima

$226 22.4% 8.9% $22

Eating Out

Ilopango

$91 5.5%

Lima

$124 12.3% 35.8% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilopango

$84 5.1%

Lima

$117 11.6% 39.1% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Ilopango

$83 5%

Lima

$112 11.1% 35.4% $29

Getting Around

Ilopango

$57 3.5%

Lima

$43 4.3% 23.9% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Ilopango

$50 3%

Lima

$48 4.7% 3.8% $1.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $677 in Ilopango and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilopango pays 50% 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: $44.00 in Ilopango vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $248 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇻 Ilopango

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

20:46 8:46 PM

21:46 9:46 PM

1 h ahead of Ilopango

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,890

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 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 October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 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).

PEN to USD in detail →

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Ilopango Lima 3,150 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ilopango
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

Ilopango vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. The 63% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 50% higher in Ilopango, 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: $677 in Ilopango versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $104 in Ilopango versus $182 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Ilopango. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,625 in Ilopango, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Ilopango. The gap between the two cities makes Lima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Ilopango. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.