Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Pachuca

For one person, living is cheaper in Pachuca: $886 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Pachuca
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Pachuca Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Pachuca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$886

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Pachuca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $886 in Pachuca.

Lima $1,012
Pachuca $886

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,483 in Pachuca.

Lima $1,589
Pachuca $1,483

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,079 in Pachuca.

Lima $2,167
Pachuca $2,079

Living in Lima is roughly 14% more expensive than in Pachuca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Pachuca 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$4.80 MX$88.8

-8.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$26.48 MX$489

32.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$8.03 MX$148

-14.20%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$3.09 MX$57.0

5.50%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.16 MX$21.50

-3.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.82 MX$15.16

-24.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$1.61 MX$29.79

64.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$3.36 MX$62.2

31.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.58 MX$29.20

3.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$2.54 MX$46.99

0.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.89 MX$34.93

-28.57%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.72 MX$50.4

6.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$7.22 MX$133

22.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$4.74 MX$87.5

26.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$7.44 MX$138

31.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.08 MX$38.53

-1.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.29 MX$23.82

-17.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.52 MX$28.10

-11.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$1.62 MX$29.91

-7.41%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.53 MX$28.33

-42.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$1.34 MX$24.70

-31.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$0.93 MX$17.14

-4.30%

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

$4.33 MX$80.0

36.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$8.19 MX$151

4.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.39 MX$25.71

35.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.49 MX$46.08

29.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.57 MX$10.52

19.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

$26.85 MX$496

0.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$2.63 MX$48.55

44.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$2.62 MX$48.34

-22.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$11.11 MX$205

-36.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.38 MX$25.51

24.64%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$21.4K MX$395.5K

4.25%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$23.5K MX$433.6K

8.70%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$47.05 MX$869

55.30%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$19.21 MX$355

-14.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$22.45 MX$415

22.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$23.51 MX$434

35.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$10.99 MX$203

76.62%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$4.30 MX$79.4

63.95%

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

$182 PEN 627

$165 MX$3,049

10.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$2,599 MX$48.0K

401.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$53.2 MX$983

1.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$40.32 MX$745

-14.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$94.8 MX$1,751

-12.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$77.4 MX$1,430

1.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$400 MX$7,386

80.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$269 MX$4,963

27.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$603 MX$11.1K

102.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$688 MX$12.7K

-5.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$728 MX$13.5K

231.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$638 MX$11.8K

112.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$663 MX$12.2K

-2.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

10.8

-17.22%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Pachuca: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Pachuca

$269 30.3% 21.8% $75

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Pachuca

$210 23.7% 6.9% $16

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Pachuca

$122 13.8% 1.3% $1.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Pachuca

$89 10% 24.1% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Pachuca

$120 13.5% 6.6% $7.4

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Pachuca

$32 3.6% 30.2% $14

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Pachuca

$45 5.1% 3.1% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $400 in Pachuca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pachuca pays 2% 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 $26.00 in Pachuca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $210 per month, with Pachuca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Pachuca

🕒 Local time

03:16 3:16 AM

02:16 2:16 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

297,848

💱 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 Pachuca 4,290 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Pachuca

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 Pachuca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Pachuca differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $886 including rent). Pachuca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 2% lower in Pachuca. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Lima versus $400 in Pachuca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $165 in Pachuca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $886 in Pachuca versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pachuca but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Pachuca 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 Pachuca 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 Pachuca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.