Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Cuautitlan Izcalli

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,069 in Cuautitlan Izcalli, rent and utilities included – about $680 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Lima
🇵🇪 Peru
$1,012
/mo nomad
Cuautitlan Izcalli
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,069
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Cuautitlan Izcalli

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,069 in Cuautitlan Izcalli.

  • Lima $1,012
  • Cuautitlan Izcalli $1,069

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,673 in Cuautitlan Izcalli.

  • Lima $1,589
  • Cuautitlan Izcalli $1,673

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,276 in Cuautitlan Izcalli.

  • Lima $2,167
  • Cuautitlan Izcalli $2,276

Living in Lima costs roughly 5% less than in Cuautitlan Izcalli, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Cuautitlan Izcalli 21% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lima
Cuautitlan Izcalli
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.40 PEN 15.10
$10.87 MX$201
-59.52%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$35.17 PEN 121
$26.47 MX$489
32.87%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.89 PEN 23.65
$8.24 MX$152
-16.38%
Cappuccino
$3.26 PEN 11.20
$3.38 MX$62.5
-3.55%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.12 PEN 3.84
$1.60 MX$29.49
-30.00%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.62 PEN 2.11
$1.30 MX$24.00
-52.31%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.65 PEN 9.09
$2.43 MX$44.82
9.05%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.41 PEN 15.15
$4.86 MX$89.9
-9.26%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lima
Cuautitlan Izcalli
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.63 PEN 5.61
$1.66 MX$30.71
-1.81%
White Bread (500g)
$2.56 PEN 8.78
$2.70 MX$49.86
-5.19%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.35 PEN 4.65
$1.34 MX$24.74
0.75%
Eggs
$2.90 PEN 9.96
$2.85 MX$52.6
1.75%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.85 PEN 30.38
$2.71 MX$50.1
226.57%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.98 PEN 20.52
$5.27 MX$97.4
13.47%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.78 PEN 33.59
$7.29 MX$135
34.16%
Apples (1kg)
$2.05 PEN 7.02
$2.50 MX$46.13
-18.00%
Banana (1kg)
$1.06 PEN 3.66
$1.57 MX$29.04
-32.48%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.35 PEN 4.64
$1.39 MX$25.77
-2.88%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.50 PEN 5.15
$2.23 MX$41.23
-32.74%
Potato (1kg)
$0.88 PEN 3.03
$1.95 MX$36.10
-54.87%
Onion (1kg)
$0.92 PEN 3.15
$1.81 MX$33.47
-49.17%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.89 PEN 3.07
$1.52 MX$28.10
-41.45%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.90 PEN 3.10
$1.08 MX$19.92
-16.67%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.90 PEN 20.27
$4.14 MX$76.6
42.51%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.52 PEN 29.26
$10.02 MX$185
-14.97%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.88 PEN 6.45
$1.64 MX$30.25
14.63%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.22 PEN 11.05
$4.42 MX$81.7
-27.15%
🚌 Getting Around
Lima
Cuautitlan Izcalli
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.68 PEN 2.33
$0.77 MX$14.19
-11.69%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.86 PEN 92.2
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.81 PEN 13.09
$0.84 MX$15.47
353.57%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.02 PEN 6.93
$0.58 MX$10.63
248.28%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$7.11 PEN 24.41
$5.64 MX$104
26.06%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.72 PEN 5.91
$1.38 MX$25.44
24.64%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$22.3K PEN 76.6K
$21.5K MX$397.5K
3.72%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.5K PEN 87.6K
$24.5K MX$453.4K
3.95%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lima
Cuautitlan Izcalli
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$73.1 PEN 251
$62.1 MX$1,148
17.59%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$16.35 PEN 56.2
$28.21 MX$521
-42.04%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.47 PEN 94.3
$19.08 MX$353
43.97%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lima
Cuautitlan Izcalli
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$31.90 PEN 110
$33.66 MX$622
-5.23%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.41 PEN 66.7
$19.06 MX$352
1.84%
Cinema Ticket
$7.05 PEN 24.23
$4.44 MX$82.0
58.78%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lima
Cuautitlan Izcalli
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$182 PEN 627
$430 MX$7,943
-57.55%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$13.0K PEN 44.8K
$4,547 MX$84.0K
186.77%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lima
Cuautitlan Izcalli
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$53.8 PEN 185
$54.6 MX$1,010
-1.56%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.32 PEN 118
$26.84 MX$496
27.87%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$82.8 PEN 284
$108 MX$1,997
-23.36%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$78.2 PEN 269
$53.9 MX$996
45.18%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lima
Cuautitlan Izcalli
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$721 PEN 2,476
$611 MX$11.3K
18.07%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$343 PEN 1,179
$395 MX$7,291
-12.96%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,219 PEN 4,186
$1,055 MX$19.5K
15.54%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$651 PEN 2,235
$768 MX$14.2K
-15.24%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,414 PEN 8,292
$1,929 MX$35.7K
25.14%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,357 PEN 4,660
$1,203 MX$22.2K
12.81%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lima
Cuautitlan Izcalli
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$648 PEN 2,226
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8.94
11.3
-20.88%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cuautitlan Izcalli: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Lima
$343
Cuautitlan Izcalli
$395 14.9% $51
Groceries & Markets
Lima
$226
Cuautitlan Izcalli
$221 2.2% $5
Eating Out
Lima
$124
Cuautitlan Izcalli
$186 49.8% $62
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lima
$117
Cuautitlan Izcalli
$109 6.4% $7.5
Clothing & Footwear
Lima
$112
Cuautitlan Izcalli
$110 2.3% $2.6
Sport & Entertainment
Lima
$46
Cuautitlan Izcalli
$43 7.6% $3.5
Getting Around
Lima
$43
Cuautitlan Izcalli
$6.8 * 84.4% $37

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 $721 in Lima and $611 in Cuautitlan Izcalli. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $26.00 in Cuautitlan Izcalli for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $221 per month, with Cuautitlan Izcalli cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇪 Lima
🇲🇽 Cuautitlan Izcalli
🕒 Local time
08:29 8:29 AM
07:29 7:29 AM
1 h behind Lima
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
9,989,369 Capital
484,573
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Lima Cuautitlan Izcalli 4,280 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Lima
  • Cuautitlan Izcalli

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
Lima vs Cuautitlan Izcalli: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cuautitlan Izcalli cheaper than Lima?
Lima is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and utilities. The 6% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You'd need roughly $1,518 in Lima and $1,604 in Cuautitlan Izcalli to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
What is the rent difference between Lima and Cuautitlan Izcalli?
Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Lima versus $611 in Cuautitlan Izcalli. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $430 in Cuautitlan Izcalli. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is eating out cheaper in Lima or in Cuautitlan Izcalli?
Dining out is cheaper in Lima – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $26.00 in Cuautitlan Izcalli. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $2,000 a realistic budget for living in Lima or in Cuautitlan Izcalli?
At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,069 in Cuautitlan Izcalli, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Cuautitlan Izcalli. The gap between the two cities makes Lima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Lima or Cuautitlan Izcalli more family-friendly?
For families, Lima is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cuautitlan Izcalli, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.
Which city is safer, Lima or Cuautitlan Izcalli?
Safety-wise, Lima and Cuautitlan Izcalli are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Cuautitlan Izcalli. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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