Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between La Paz and Santa Cruz

For one person, living is cheaper in La Paz: $497 a month against $639 in Santa Cruz, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in La Paz
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La Paz Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz
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Santa Cruz Living Index

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La Paz

🇧🇴 Bolivia

$497

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz

🇧🇴 Bolivia

$639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in La Paz and in Santa Cruz

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in La Paz and in Santa Cruz actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $497 in La Paz versus $639 in Santa Cruz.

La Paz $497
Santa Cruz $639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $755 in La Paz versus $1,172 in Santa Cruz.

La Paz $755
Santa Cruz $1,172

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,012 in La Paz versus $1,704 in Santa Cruz.

La Paz $1,012
Santa Cruz $1,704

Living in La Paz costs roughly 22% less than in Santa Cruz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: La Paz 63% lower, Santa Cruz 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.09 BOB 24.23

$2.00 BOB 23.19

4.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$9.26 BOB 108

$16.80 BOB 195

-44.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.06 BOB 47.08

$5.10 BOB 59.2

-20.39%

Cappuccino

$1.72 BOB 19.97

$1.77 BOB 20.52

-2.82%

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

$0.67 BOB 7.74

$0.49 BOB 5.72

36.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.43 BOB 5.04

$0.43 BOB 4.97

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 BOB 14.30

$0.86 BOB 9.97

43.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 BOB 26.35

$1.24 BOB 14.35

83.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.74 BOB 8.63

$0.71 BOB 8.23

4.23%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 BOB 9.73

$0.94 BOB 10.88

-10.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.73 BOB 8.49

$1.03 BOB 11.93

-29.13%

Eggs

$1.22 BOB 14.11

$1.06 BOB 12.27

15.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.56 BOB 41.37

$3.15 BOB 36.56

13.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.37 BOB 39.17

$2.58 BOB 29.92

30.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.46 BOB 51.8

$4.98 BOB 57.8

-10.44%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 BOB 19.46

$1.82 BOB 21.12

-7.69%

Banana (1kg)

$0.50 BOB 5.85

$0.62 BOB 7.24

-19.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.49 BOB 5.72

$0.76 BOB 8.81

-35.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.77 BOB 8.89

$0.73 BOB 8.48

5.48%

Potato (1kg)

$0.56 BOB 6.50

$0.74 BOB 8.55

-24.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 BOB 5.52

$0.67 BOB 7.75

-28.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 BOB 6.18

$0.57 BOB 6.66

-7.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 BOB 7.87

$0.63 BOB 7.36

7.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.88 BOB 21.82

$1.92 BOB 22.25

-2.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$2.94 BOB 34.11

$4.32 BOB 50.2

-31.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 BOB 15.28

$1.02 BOB 11.86

29.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 BOB 18.62

$1.64 BOB 19.01

-2.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 BOB 2.33

$0.24 BOB 2.78

-16.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.66 BOB 193

$22.48 BOB 261

-25.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.03 BOB 11.97

$1.64 BOB 19.05

-37.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.87 BOB 10.12

$0.91 BOB 10.58

-4.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.60 BOB 99.9

$6.31 BOB 73.3

36.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.49 BOB 5.72

$0.57 BOB 6.59

-14.04%

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

$9,427 BOB 109.4K

$14.1K BOB 163.3K

-32.98%

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

$11.9K BOB 137.7K

$19.3K BOB 223.6K

-38.44%

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

$23.37 BOB 271

$34.84 BOB 405

-32.92%

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

$14.42 BOB 167

$19.67 BOB 228

-26.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.78 BOB 218

$17.53 BOB 204

7.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.76 BOB 183

$19.56 BOB 227

-19.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.62 BOB 112

$12.84 BOB 149

-25.08%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 BOB 47.71

$5.86 BOB 68.1

-29.86%

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

$126 BOB 1,468

$112 BOB 1,303

12.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,288 BOB 15.0K

$2,950 BOB 34.2K

-56.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.80 BOB 183

$27.21 BOB 316

-41.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.79 BOB 299

$35.79 BOB 416

-27.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$41.15 BOB 478

$66.3 BOB 769

-37.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.03 BOB 418

$58.3 BOB 677

-38.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$252 BOB 2,927

$267 BOB 3,105

-5.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$165 BOB 1,921

$247 BOB 2,869

-33.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$393 BOB 4,567

$909 BOB 10.6K

-56.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$297 BOB 3,450

$830 BOB 9,630

-64.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,213 BOB 14.1K

$1,299 BOB 15.1K

-6.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$507 BOB 5,887

$737 BOB 8,551

-31.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$247 BOB 2,870

$276 BOB 3,204

-10.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.94

6.17

28.69%

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

Last update for La Paz: October 12, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

La Paz

$165 33.3%

Santa Cruz

$247 38.6% 49.3% $82

Groceries & Markets

La Paz

$110 22.2%

Santa Cruz

$112 17.5% 1.6% $1.8

Eating Out

La Paz

$65 13%

Santa Cruz

$63 9.8% 2.6% $1.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

La Paz

$57 11.4%

Santa Cruz

$72 11.3% 27.4% $15

Clothing & Footwear

La Paz

$53 10.8%

Santa Cruz

$84 13.2% 57.9% $31

Sport & Entertainment

La Paz

$24 4.8%

Santa Cruz

$31 4.9% 30.4% $7.3

Getting Around

La Paz

$23 4.6%

Santa Cruz

$30 4.6% 29.7% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $252 in La Paz and $267 in Santa Cruz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Cruz pays 12% 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: $9.00 in La Paz vs $17.00 in Santa Cruz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $110 vs $112 per month, with La Paz cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇴 La Paz

🇧🇴 Santa Cruz

🕒 Local time

08:37 8:37 AM

Same time as La Paz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

715,900 Capital

1,800,000

💱 Currency

Bolivian Boliviano BOB Bs.

📈 Exchange rate

100 BOB = 8.61 USD

100 BOB = 7.66 EUR

100 BOB = 8.61 USD

100 BOB = 7.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

La Paz Santa Cruz 550 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

La Paz
Santa Cruz

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

La Paz vs Santa Cruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

La Paz and Santa Cruz differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($497 vs $639 including rent). La Paz is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 12% lower in Santa Cruz. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $252 in La Paz versus $267 in Santa Cruz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $497 per month in La Paz versus $639 in Santa Cruz – a 29% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in La Paz runs roughly 35% less than in Santa Cruz. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though La Paz gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Expats usually find La Paz gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Santa Cruz. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.