Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and La Rioja

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,201 in La Rioja, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. The total is higher in La Rioja despite lower rent and utilities.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in La Rioja
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La Rioja Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

La Rioja

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,201

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in La Rioja

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 La Rioja actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,201 in La Rioja.

Lima $1,012
La Rioja $1,201

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $2,068 in La Rioja.

Lima $1,589
La Rioja $2,068

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,935 in La Rioja.

Lima $2,167
La Rioja $2,935

Living in Lima costs roughly 16% less than in La Rioja, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, La Rioja 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$17.39 ARS 26.4K

-74.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$59.1 ARS 89.7K

-40.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$14.15 ARS 21.5K

-51.31%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$3.35 ARS 5,081

-2.69%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$2.12 ARS 3,215

-47.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$1.95 ARS 2,954

-68.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$3.49 ARS 5,298

-24.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$4.46 ARS 6,765

-1.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.39 ARS 2,114

17.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$2.28 ARS 3,461

12.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.88 ARS 2,849

-28.19%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.78 ARS 4,221

4.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$10.40 ARS 15.8K

-14.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$7.71 ARS 11.7K

-22.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$11.39 ARS 17.3K

-14.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.68 ARS 4,066

-23.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.93 ARS 2,935

-45.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.57 ARS 2,382

-14.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$2.80 ARS 4,252

-46.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.05 ARS 1,588

-16.19%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$0.96 ARS 1,451

-4.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.59 ARS 2,415

-43.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$3.33 ARS 5,059

77.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$5.32 ARS 8,079

60.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$2.17 ARS 3,290

-13.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$3.53 ARS 5,359

-8.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.03 ARS 1,570

-33.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.44 ARS 2,181

164.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.37 ARS 2,076

25.55%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$30.1K ARS 45.8M

-26.00%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$32.6K ARS 49.5M

-21.82%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$122 ARS 184.9K

-40.04%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$18.17 ARS 27.6K

-10.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$24.42 ARS 37.1K

12.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$28.60 ARS 43.4K

11.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$10.56 ARS 16.0K

-33.24%

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

$182 PEN 627

$317 ARS 481.6K

-42.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$122 ARS 185.0K

-55.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$116 ARS 175.8K

-28.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$140 ARS 212.2K

-44.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$570 ARS 864.6K

26.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$290 ARS 440.0K

18.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$1,073 ARS 1.6M

13.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$837 ARS 1.3M

-22.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$608 ARS 922.7K

6.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for La Rioja: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

La Rioja

$290 24.1% 15.6% $53

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

La Rioja

$257 * 21.4% 13.9% $31

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

La Rioja

$264 22% 113% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

La Rioja

$164 13.7% 40.7% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

La Rioja

$170 * 14.1% 51.5% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

La Rioja

$50 4.1% 8.1% $3.7

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

La Rioja

$5.6 * 0.5% 87.2% $38

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 $570 in La Rioja. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $59.0 in La Rioja for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $257 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇦🇷 La Rioja

🕒 Local time

11:26 11:26 AM

13:26 1:26 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

180,219

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lima La Rioja 2,200 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
La Rioja

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 La Rioja: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and La Rioja differ by about 19% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,201 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Lima, 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: $721 in Lima versus $570 in La Rioja. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $317 in La Rioja. 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 $35.00 versus $59.0 in La Rioja. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,201 in La Rioja, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in La Rioja. 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.

Safety-wise, Lima and La Rioja are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in La Rioja. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.