Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Los Ángeles

For one person, living is cheaper in Los Ángeles: $925 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Los Ángeles
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Los Ángeles Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Los Ángeles

🇨🇱 Chile

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Los Ángeles

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 Los Ángeles actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $925 in Los Ángeles.

Lima $1,012
Los Ángeles $925

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,378 in Los Ángeles.

Lima $1,589
Los Ángeles $1,378

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $1,831 in Los Ángeles.

Lima $2,167
Los Ángeles $1,831

Living in Lima is roughly 9% more expensive than in Los Ángeles, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Los Ángeles 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.08

$12.46 CLP 12.3K

-64.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$25.23 CLP 24.8K

39.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.61

$10.17 CLP 10.0K

-32.25%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.19

$2.03 CLP 1,996

60.59%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.83

$1.50 CLP 1,474

-25.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$1.57 CLP 1,542

-60.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.08

$2.47 CLP 2,437

7.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.12

$3.04 CLP 2,998

45.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.60

$1.21 CLP 1,189

34.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.76

$2.80 CLP 2,756

-8.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$2.98 CLP 2,939

-54.70%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.94

$4.33 CLP 4,269

-33.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.33

$8.05 CLP 7,928

9.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.49

$10.69 CLP 10.5K

-44.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.54

$14.17 CLP 14.0K

-30.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.01

$2.63 CLP 2,587

-22.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.65

$1.61 CLP 1,582

-34.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.63

$2.71 CLP 2,673

-50.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.14

$2.28 CLP 2,248

-34.21%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

$1.51 CLP 1,483

-41.72%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$1.59 CLP 1,570

-42.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.44 CLP 1,416

-38.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.10 CLP 1,083

-18.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.24

$5.67 CLP 5,586

4.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.21

$4.27 CLP 4,203

99.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.44

$0.99 CLP 978

89.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.03

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.50 CLP 488

36.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.1

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.07

$2.06 CLP 2,032

84.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.92

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.37

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.90

$1.26 CLP 1,245

36.51%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.5K

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

$25.5K PEN 87.4K

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$123 CLP 120.9K

-40.45%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.1

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.2

$20.82 CLP 20.5K

31.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 109

$80.7 CLP 79.5K

-60.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.6

$10.27 CLP 10.1K

89.00%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.19

$4.42 CLP 4,355

59.50%

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

$182 PEN 626

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 184

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 268

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,472

$274 CLP 269.6K

163.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,177

$228 CLP 224.2K

50.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,179

$442 CLP 435.3K

175.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,231

$337 CLP 331.6K

93.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,278

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,653

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,222

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 Los Ángeles: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Los Ángeles

$228 24.6% 33.7% $116

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Los Ángeles

$275 * 29.7% 21.5% $49

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Los Ángeles

$185 20% 49.4% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Los Ángeles

$144 * 15.5% 22.8% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Los Ángeles

- * 0% 100%

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Los Ángeles

$90 9.7% 94.6% $44

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Los Ángeles

$4 * 0.4% 90.7% $39

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 $274 in Los Ángeles. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $25.00 in Los Ángeles. Groceries flip the comparison at $226 vs $275, with Lima cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇨🇱 Los Ángeles

🕒 Local time

00:10 12:10 AM

02:10 2:10 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

143,023

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.261 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.15 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.261 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 985 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,103 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.07 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lima Los Ángeles 2,860 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Los Ángeles

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 Los Ángeles: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Los Ángeles differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $925 including rent). Los Ángeles is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,518 in Lima and $1,387 in Los Ángeles 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Lima versus $274 in Los Ángeles. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Los Ángeles – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $35.00 in Lima. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,012 per month in Lima versus $925 in Los Ángeles – a 9% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $925 in Los Ángeles versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Los Ángeles but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Los Ángeles 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.

Expats usually find Los Ángeles gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.