Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jefferson City, MO and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $1,839 in Jefferson City, MO, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Jefferson City, MO
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Jefferson City, MO Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Jefferson City, MO

🇺🇸 United States

$1,839

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Jefferson City, MO versus $1,042 in Lima.

Jefferson City, MO $1,839
Lima $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,904 in Jefferson City, MO versus $1,651 in Lima.

Jefferson City, MO $2,904
Lima $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,970 in Jefferson City, MO versus $2,259 in Lima.

Jefferson City, MO $3,970
Lima $2,259

Living in Jefferson City, MO is roughly 76% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Jefferson City, MO is 36% above, Lima is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.98 $14.98

$4.64 PEN 15.95

222.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.64 $40.64

$34.34 PEN 118

18.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.16 $10.16

$7.01 PEN 24.12

44.94%

Cappuccino

$5.44 $5.44

$3.22 PEN 11.09

68.94%

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

$1.99 $1.99

$1.13 PEN 3.90

76.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 $2.18

$0.61 PEN 2.09

257.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.65 $5.65

$2.93 PEN 10.07

92.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.62 $6.62

$4.25 PEN 14.63

55.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.93 $0.93

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-41.14%

White Bread (500g)

$3.35 $3.35

$2.61 PEN 8.98

28.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.33 $4.33

$1.30 PEN 4.46

233.08%

Eggs

$4.29 $4.29

$2.92 PEN 10.04

46.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.54 $4.54

$9.54 PEN 32.82

-52.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 $9.53

$5.71 PEN 19.66

66.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.51 $13.51

$9.47 PEN 32.57

42.66%

Apples (1kg)

$4.39 $4.39

$2.01 PEN 6.91

118.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 $1.62

$1.02 PEN 3.52

58.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.47 $4.47

$1.45 PEN 4.99

208.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.50 $4.50

$1.49 PEN 5.14

202.01%

Potato (1kg)

$3.14 $3.14

$0.91 PEN 3.14

245.05%

Onion (1kg)

$3.42 $3.42

$0.89 PEN 3.07

284.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.36 $2.36

$0.86 PEN 2.97

174.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 $1.95

$0.89 PEN 3.05

119.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.84 $7.84

$5.47 PEN 18.83

43.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.55 $12.55

$10.17 PEN 34.99

23.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 $1.93

$1.81 PEN 6.21

6.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.86 $3.86

$3.15 PEN 10.83

22.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.94 $2.94

$0.66 PEN 2.28

345.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.89 PEN 110

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.57 $2.57

$3.43 PEN 11.79

-25.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.28 $1.28

$1.98 PEN 6.80

-35.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.73 $41.73

$9.60 PEN 33.03

334.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.84 $0.84

$1.71 PEN 5.89

-50.88%

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

$35.2K $35.2K

$21.9K PEN 75.2K

60.76%

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

$25.8K $25.8K

$29.0K PEN 99.9K

-11.13%

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

$200 $200

$65.8 PEN 227

203.31%

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

$65.3 $65.3

$15.26 PEN 52.5

327.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$72.5 $72.5

$26.87 PEN 92.5

169.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.91 PEN 113

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.12 PEN 69.2

Cinema Ticket

$14.76 $14.76

$7.12 PEN 24.49

107.30%

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

$1,122 $1,122

$309 PEN 1,063

262.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.8K $23.8K

$21.4K PEN 73.5K

11.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.90 $49.90

$52.0 PEN 179

-4.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.02 $43.02

$35.69 PEN 123

20.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 $104

$81.8 PEN 281

26.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 $126

$78.0 PEN 268

61.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$869 $869

$727 PEN 2,501

19.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$689 $689

$373 PEN 1,284

84.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,828 $1,828

$1,249 PEN 4,296

46.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,602 $1,602

$739 PEN 2,543

116.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,557 $1,557

$2,380 PEN 8,190

-34.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,785 $1,785

$1,365 PEN 4,696

30.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,877 $1,877

$650 PEN 2,237

188.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.71

8.38

-19.93%

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

Last update for Jefferson City, MO: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jefferson City, MO

$689 37.5%

Lima

$373 35.8% 45.9% $316

Groceries & Markets

Jefferson City, MO

$343 18.6%

Lima

$228 21.9% 33.4% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jefferson City, MO

$337 18.4%

Lima

$108 10.4% 68% $229

Eating Out

Jefferson City, MO

$274 14.9%

Lima

$127 12.2% 53.7% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Jefferson City, MO

$145 7.9%

Lima

$111 10.7% 23.3% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Jefferson City, MO

$30 * 1.6%

Lima

$47 4.5% 59.7% $18

Getting Around

Jefferson City, MO

$21 * 1.1%

Lima

$48 4.6% 131% $27

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 $869 in Jefferson City, MO and $727 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jefferson City, MO pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $41 in Jefferson City, MO vs $34 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $343 vs $228 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Jefferson City, MO

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

10:07 10:07 AM

11:07 11:07 AM

1 h ahead of Jefferson City, MO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,079

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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Jefferson City, MO Lima 5,850 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Jefferson City, MO
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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

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

Lima is about 43% 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 Jefferson City, MO is about 2.9 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: $869 in Jefferson City, MO versus $727 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,122 in Jefferson City, 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 $41 in Jefferson City, MO. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Jefferson City, MO on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.