Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Oaxaca de Juarez

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
Learn more

Lima Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Oaxaca de Juarez
Learn more

Oaxaca de Juarez Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Oaxaca de Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,154

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Oaxaca de Juarez

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 Oaxaca de Juarez actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Lima $1,012
Oaxaca de Juarez $1,154

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,781 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Lima $1,589
Oaxaca de Juarez $1,781

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,408 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Lima $2,167
Oaxaca de Juarez $2,408

Living in Lima costs roughly 12% less than in Oaxaca de Juarez, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Oaxaca de Juarez 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$6.48 MX$120

-32.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$32.81 MX$606

7.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$8.33 MX$154

-17.29%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$2.82 MX$52.1

15.60%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.51 MX$27.83

-25.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.79 MX$14.59

-21.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$2.48 MX$45.90

6.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$3.79 MX$70.0

16.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.33 MX$24.59

22.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$3.13 MX$57.8

-18.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.12 MX$20.62

20.54%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$1.74 MX$32.21

66.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$6.44 MX$119

37.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$5.49 MX$101

8.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$11.27 MX$208

-13.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.14 MX$39.46

-4.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.23 MX$22.80

-13.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.90 MX$35.14

-28.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$0.53 MX$9.81

183.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$2.01 MX$37.18

-56.22%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$2.00 MX$36.93

-54.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.11 MX$20.58

-19.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.94 MX$17.46

-4.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$4.24 MX$78.3

39.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$9.40 MX$174

-9.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.47 MX$27.11

27.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.63 MX$48.64

22.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.53 MX$9.81

28.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$3.89 MX$71.9

-2.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$1.95 MX$36.12

3.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$10.89 MX$201

-34.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.36 MX$25.17

26.47%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$21.4K MX$396.0K

4.12%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$24.4K MX$450.4K

4.63%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$62.5 MX$1,155

16.87%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$11.03 MX$204

48.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$24.19 MX$447

13.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$44.34 MX$819

-28.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$5.58 MX$103

26.34%

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

$182 PEN 627

$422 MX$7,795

-56.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$20.0K MX$369.3K

-34.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$53.5 MX$988

0.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$61.6 MX$1,138

-44.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$102 MX$1,887

-18.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$98.3 MX$1,816

-20.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$696 MX$12.9K

3.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$481 MX$8,885

-28.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$1,208 MX$22.3K

0.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$892 MX$16.5K

-27.05%

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

10.96

-18.43%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Oaxaca de Juarez: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$481 41.7% 40% $137

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$222 19.3% 1.7% $3.8

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$140 12.1% 12.8% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$98 8.5% 16.4% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$142 12.3% 26.6% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$56 4.8% 20.6% $9.5

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$16 * 1.4% 63.7% $28

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 $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $33.00 in Oaxaca de Juarez for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $222 per month, with Oaxaca de Juarez cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Oaxaca de Juarez

🕒 Local time

13:29 1:29 PM

12:29 12:29 PM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

258,913

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

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).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Oaxaca de Juarez 3,890 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Oaxaca de Juarez

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 Oaxaca de Juarez: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Oaxaca de Juarez differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,154 including rent). Lima 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 $1,731 in Oaxaca de Juarez 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 $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Oaxaca de Juarez pay roughly 2% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,012 per month in Lima versus $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez – a 14% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Oaxaca de Juarez. 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 Oaxaca de Juarez 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 14% less than in Oaxaca de Juarez. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.