Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Parral

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,170 in Parral, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Lima
🇵🇪 Peru
$996
/mo nomad
Parral
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,170
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Parral

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $1,170 in Parral.

  • Lima $996
  • Parral $1,170

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $1,858 in Parral.

  • Lima $1,594
  • Parral $1,858

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $2,545 in Parral.

  • Lima $2,191
  • Parral $2,545

Living in Lima costs roughly 15% less than in Parral, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 26% lower, Parral 13% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lima
Parral
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.42 PEN 15.16
$11.08 MX$203
-60.11%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$35.04 PEN 120
$44.85 MX$823
-21.87%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.84 PEN 23.44
$8.70 MX$160
-21.38%
Cappuccino
$3.27 PEN 11.22
$3.54 MX$65.1
-7.63%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.10 PEN 3.78
$1.35 MX$24.84
-18.52%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.65 PEN 2.22
$1.09 MX$19.98
-40.37%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.58 PEN 8.85
$2.58 MX$47.31
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.47 PEN 15.34
$4.07 MX$74.8
9.83%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lima
Parral
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.59 PEN 5.46
$1.67 MX$30.72
-4.79%
White Bread (500g)
$2.58 PEN 8.86
$2.70 MX$49.48
-4.44%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.36 PEN 4.65
$1.72 MX$31.64
-20.93%
Eggs
$2.95 PEN 10.11
$2.53 MX$46.48
16.60%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.10 PEN 31.19
$8.36 MX$154
8.85%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.81 PEN 19.91
$8.50 MX$156
-31.65%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.83 PEN 33.68
$11.88 MX$218
-17.26%
Apples (1kg)
$2.01 PEN 6.89
$2.85 MX$52.3
-29.47%
Banana (1kg)
$1.08 PEN 3.69
$1.60 MX$29.45
-32.50%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.37 PEN 4.70
$1.97 MX$36.12
-30.46%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.48 PEN 5.06
$1.77 MX$32.55
-16.38%
Potato (1kg)
$0.96 PEN 3.30
$2.03 MX$37.24
-52.71%
Onion (1kg)
$0.85 PEN 2.92
$1.92 MX$35.17
-55.73%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.88 PEN 3.02
$1.41 MX$25.87
-37.59%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.87 PEN 2.97
$1.13 MX$20.82
-23.01%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.90 PEN 20.24
$4.49 MX$82.5
31.40%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.81 PEN 30.21
$10.51 MX$193
-16.18%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.92 PEN 6.57
$1.76 MX$32.34
9.09%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.20 PEN 10.98
$3.28 MX$60.3
-2.44%
🚌 Getting Around
Lima
Parral
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.68 PEN 2.33
$0.65 MX$11.85
4.62%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.74 PEN 91.7
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.81 PEN 13.06
$2.68 MX$49.26
42.16%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.04 PEN 7.00
$1.98 MX$36.42
3.03%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$7.14 PEN 24.49
$11.30 MX$207
-36.81%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.65 PEN 5.65
$1.47 MX$27.07
12.24%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$22.2K PEN 76.0K
$21.7K MX$398.1K
2.26%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.7K PEN 88.0K
$24.9K MX$456.8K
3.17%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lima
Parral
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$73.0 PEN 250
$62.1 MX$1,141
17.56%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$16.26 PEN 55.7
$22.98 MX$422
-29.24%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.60 PEN 94.6
$30.29 MX$556
-8.88%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lima
Parral
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$33.07 PEN 113
$35.38 MX$650
-6.53%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.49 PEN 66.8
$20.60 MX$378
-5.39%
Cinema Ticket
$7.39 PEN 25.33
$5.17 MX$94.9
42.94%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lima
Parral
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$182 PEN 624
$225 MX$4,134
-19.18%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$13.3K PEN 45.7K
$4,604 MX$84.5K
189.31%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lima
Parral
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$52.6 PEN 180
$56.3 MX$1,033
-6.56%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.23 PEN 117
$42.00 MX$771
-18.50%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$83.8 PEN 287
$104 MX$1,901
-19.13%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$79.0 PEN 271
$90.7 MX$1,666
-12.91%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lima
Parral
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$723 PEN 2,479
$608 MX$11.2K
18.88%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$340 PEN 1,166
$387 MX$7,100
-12.05%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,184 PEN 4,060
$1,076 MX$19.8K
10.07%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$635 PEN 2,176
$794 MX$14.6K
-20.03%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,449 PEN 8,394
$1,914 MX$35.1K
27.90%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,372 PEN 4,702
$1,152 MX$21.2K
19.04%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lima
Parral
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$653 PEN 2,237
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8.94
11.3
-20.88%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Parral: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Lima
$340
Parral
$387 13.7% $47
Groceries & Markets
Lima
$226
Parral
$270 19.3% $44
Eating Out
Lima
$124
Parral
$188 51.6% $64
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lima
$117
Parral
$115 1.3% $1.5
Clothing & Footwear
Lima
$112
Parral
$132 17.2% $19
Sport & Entertainment
Lima
$48
Parral
$46 4.5% $2.1
Getting Around
Lima
$43
Parral
$15 * 65.1% $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 $723 in Lima and $608 in Parral. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $45.00 in Parral for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $270 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇪 Lima
🇲🇽 Parral
🕒 Local time
09:04 9:04 AM
08:04 8:04 AM
1 h behind Lima
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
9,989,369 Capital
113,843
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

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).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Lima Parral 5,320 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Lima
  • Parral

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 Parral: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Lima and in Parral?
Lima and Parral differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,170 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
What salary covers living expenses in Lima compared to Parral?
You'd need roughly $1,494 in Lima and $1,755 in Parral 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.
How do apartment prices compare in Lima and in Parral?
Rent for a central apartment: $723 in Lima versus $608 in Parral. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Parral. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more expensive overall: Lima or Parral?
All in, you'll spend $996 per month in Lima versus $1,170 in Parral – a 17% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $996 in Lima versus $1,170 in Parral, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Parral. The gap between the two cities makes Lima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Lima and Parral?
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.
Where should expats move: Lima or Parral?
Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Parral. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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