Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Mountain Home, ID

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $2,582 in Mountain Home, ID, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 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
125

Cost of Living Index in Mountain Home, ID
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Mountain Home, ID Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Mountain Home, ID

🇺🇸 United States

$2,582

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Mountain Home, ID

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 Mountain Home, ID actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $2,582 in Mountain Home, ID.

Lima $996
Mountain Home, ID $2,582

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $3,724 in Mountain Home, ID.

Lima $1,594
Mountain Home, ID $3,724

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $4,867 in Mountain Home, ID.

Lima $2,191
Mountain Home, ID $4,867

Living in Lima costs roughly 61% less than in Mountain Home, ID, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lima is 26% below, Mountain Home, ID is 93% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.16

$20.51 $20.51

-78.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 120

$73.6 $73.6

-52.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.44

$9.81 $9.81

-30.28%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.22

$4.69 $4.69

-30.28%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.78

$3.02 $3.02

-63.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.22

$2.05 $2.05

-68.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.85

$5.68 $5.68

-54.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.34

$6.67 $6.67

-32.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.46

$1.00 $1.00

59.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.86

$3.44 $3.44

-25.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.65

$4.22 $4.22

-67.77%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.11

$4.28 $4.28

-31.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.19

$12.20 $12.20

-25.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.91

$11.40 $11.40

-49.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.68

$17.22 $17.22

-42.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.89

$5.06 $5.06

-60.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.69

$1.64 $1.64

-34.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$4.26 $4.26

-67.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.06

$4.66 $4.66

-68.24%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.30

$2.71 $2.71

-64.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.92

$2.99 $2.99

-71.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

$2.12 $2.12

-58.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.97

$1.93 $1.93

-54.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.24

$10.20 $10.20

-42.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.21

$15.30 $15.30

-42.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.57

$1.97 $1.97

-2.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

$3.32 $3.32

-3.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.97 $1.97

-65.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.06

$3.05 $3.05

24.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.00

$1.93 $1.93

5.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.49

$31.82 $31.82

-77.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.65

$1.19 $1.19

38.66%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

$41.2K $41.2K

-46.14%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

$23.1K $23.1K

11.32%

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

$73.0 PEN 250

$204 $204

-64.11%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.7

$59.0 $59.0

-72.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.6

$71.2 $71.2

-61.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 113

$38.23 $38.23

-13.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.33

$15.66 $15.66

-52.81%

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

$182 PEN 624

$1,334 $1,334

-86.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

$20.8K $20.8K

-35.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 180

$58.8 $58.8

-10.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 117

$44.99 $44.99

-23.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 287

$92.3 $92.3

-9.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 271

$111 $111

-28.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,479

$1,580 $1,580

-54.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,166

$1,287 $1,287

-73.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,060

$2,242 $2,242

-47.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,176

$2,118 $2,118

-70.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

$2,514 $2,514

-2.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

$2,451 $2,451

-44.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

6.57

36.07%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Mountain Home, ID: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Mountain Home, ID

$1.3K 50.4% 278% $947

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Mountain Home, ID

$392 15.4% 73.2% $166

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Mountain Home, ID

$312 12.2% 151% $188

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Mountain Home, ID

$334 13.1% 186% $217

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Mountain Home, ID

$138 5.4% 23% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Mountain Home, ID

$70 2.7% 45.4% $22

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Mountain Home, ID

$21 * 0.8% 52.7% $23

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 $723 in Lima and $1,580 in Mountain Home, ID. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $74.0 in Mountain Home, ID for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $392 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇺🇸 Mountain Home, ID

🕒 Local time

06:50 6:50 AM

05:50 5:50 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

11,656

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Mountain Home, ID 7,290 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Mountain Home, ID

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 Mountain Home, ID: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Mountain Home, ID differ by about 159% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $2,582 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,494 in Lima and $3,873 in Mountain Home, ID 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: $723 in Lima versus $1,580 in Mountain Home, ID. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Mountain Home, ID. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $996 per month in Lima versus $2,582 in Mountain Home, ID – a 159% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $2,582 in Mountain Home, ID, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Mountain Home, ID. 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 159% less than in Mountain Home, ID. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.