Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Joplin, MO and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $2,028 in Joplin, MO, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

97

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

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Joplin, MO

🇺🇸 United States

$2,028

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,028 in Joplin, MO versus $1,042 in Lima.

Joplin, MO $2,028
Lima $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,758 in Joplin, MO versus $1,651 in Lima.

Joplin, MO $2,758
Lima $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,488 in Joplin, MO versus $2,259 in Lima.

Joplin, MO $3,488
Lima $2,259

Living in Joplin, MO is roughly 95% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Joplin, MO is 50% above, Lima is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.80 $14.80

$4.64 PEN 15.95

218.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.5 $54.5

$34.34 PEN 118

58.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.43 $10.43

$7.01 PEN 24.12

48.79%

Cappuccino

$4.44 $4.44

$3.22 PEN 11.09

37.89%

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

$2.01 $2.01

$1.13 PEN 3.90

77.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 $1.87

$0.61 PEN 2.09

206.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.40 $5.40

$2.93 PEN 10.08

84.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.12 $6.12

$4.25 PEN 14.63

44.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.84 $0.84

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-46.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 $2.79

$2.61 PEN 8.98

6.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.15 $2.15

$1.30 PEN 4.47

65.38%

Eggs

$3.17 $3.17

$2.92 PEN 10.05

8.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 $9.06

$9.54 PEN 32.82

-5.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.76 $6.76

$5.71 PEN 19.66

18.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.22 $17.22

$9.47 PEN 32.58

81.84%

Apples (1kg)

$3.78 $3.78

$2.01 PEN 6.91

88.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 $1.18

$1.02 PEN 3.52

15.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 $2.61

$1.45 PEN 4.99

80.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 $2.14

$1.49 PEN 5.14

43.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 $1.24

$0.91 PEN 3.14

36.26%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 $2.33

$0.89 PEN 3.07

161.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 $1.89

$0.86 PEN 2.97

119.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 $2.20

$0.89 PEN 3.06

147.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.00 $10.00

$5.47 PEN 18.83

82.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.19 $15.19

$10.17 PEN 35.00

49.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 $1.75

$1.81 PEN 6.21

-3.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 $1.51

$3.15 PEN 10.84

-52.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.04 $2.04

$0.66 PEN 2.28

209.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.89 PEN 110

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.51 $2.51

$3.43 PEN 11.79

-26.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 $1.57

$1.98 PEN 6.80

-20.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.72 $39.72

$9.60 PEN 33.04

313.75%

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)

$28.6K $28.6K

$21.9K PEN 75.3K

30.98%

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

$26.3K $26.3K

$29.0K PEN 100.0K

-9.60%

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

$270 $270

$65.8 PEN 227

309.54%

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

$42.79 $42.79

$15.26 PEN 52.5

180.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.6 $63.6

$26.87 PEN 92.5

136.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.09 $15.09

$32.91 PEN 113

-54.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.12 PEN 69.2

Cinema Ticket

$13.52 $13.52

$7.12 PEN 24.49

89.89%

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

$921 $921

$309 PEN 1,064

198.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.9K $17.9K

$21.4K PEN 73.5K

-16.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.60 $40.60

$52.0 PEN 179

-21.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.26 $30.26

$35.69 PEN 123

-15.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.4 $98.4

$81.8 PEN 281

20.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.7 $70.7

$78.0 PEN 268

-9.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 $1,227

$727 PEN 2,501

68.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$924 $924

$373 PEN 1,284

147.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 $1,702

$1,249 PEN 4,297

36.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,229 $1,229

$739 PEN 2,544

66.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,485 $1,485

$2,380 PEN 8,191

-37.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 $1,513

$1,365 PEN 4,697

10.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,276 $3,276

$650 PEN 2,238

403.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.49

8.38

-22.55%

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

Last update for Joplin, MO: November 1, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Joplin, MO

$924 45.6%

Lima

$373 35.8% 59.6% $551

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Joplin, MO

$376 18.5%

Lima

$108 10.4% 71.3% $268

Groceries & Markets

Joplin, MO

$302 14.9%

Lima

$228 21.9% 24.4% $74

Eating Out

Joplin, MO

$258 12.7%

Lima

$127 12.2% 50.8% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Joplin, MO

$108 5.3%

Lima

$111 10.7% 3.1% $3.3

Sport & Entertainment

Joplin, MO

$42 2.1%

Lima

$47 4.5% 11.9% $5

Getting Around

Joplin, MO

$19 * 0.9%

Lima

$48 4.6% 158% $29

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 $1,227 in Joplin, MO and $727 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Joplin, MO pays about 5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Joplin, MO vs $34 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $228 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Joplin, MO

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

22:45 10:45 PM

23:45 11:45 PM

1 h ahead of Joplin, MO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

51,762

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.891 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 = 0.891 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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Between locations

Joplin, MO Lima 5,760 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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Joplin, 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

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

Lima is about 49% 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 Joplin, MO is about 5 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: $1,227 in Joplin, MO versus $727 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Joplin, MO. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,028 per month in Joplin, MO versus $1,042 in Lima – Lima is about 49% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,042 in Lima versus $2,028 in Joplin, MO, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Joplin, 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, Joplin, MO on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.