Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Piedras Negras

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $1,204 in Piedras Negras, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Piedras Negras
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Piedras Negras Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Piedras Negras

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Piedras Negras

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,042 in Lima versus $1,204 in Piedras Negras.

Lima $1,042
Piedras Negras $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,651 in Lima versus $1,874 in Piedras Negras.

Lima $1,651
Piedras Negras $1,874

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,259 in Lima versus $2,544 in Piedras Negras.

Lima $2,259
Piedras Negras $2,544

Living in Lima costs roughly 13% less than in Piedras Negras, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 23% lower, Piedras Negras 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 PEN 15.95

$10.98 MX$206

-57.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.34 PEN 118

$42.64 MX$801

-19.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.01 PEN 24.12

$8.46 MX$159

-17.14%

Cappuccino

$3.22 PEN 11.09

$3.58 MX$67.3

-10.06%

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

$1.13 PEN 3.90

$1.33 MX$25.06

-15.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 PEN 2.09

$1.04 MX$19.55

-41.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.93 PEN 10.08

$2.35 MX$44.09

24.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 PEN 14.63

$3.92 MX$73.7

8.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.44

$1.62 MX$30.40

-2.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 PEN 8.98

$2.61 MX$49.02

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.30 PEN 4.47

$1.64 MX$30.71

-20.73%

Eggs

$2.92 PEN 10.05

$2.51 MX$47.07

16.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.54 PEN 32.82

$7.99 MX$150

19.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.71 PEN 19.66

$8.43 MX$158

-32.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.47 PEN 32.58

$11.13 MX$209

-14.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.91

$2.74 MX$51.5

-26.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 PEN 3.52

$1.50 MX$28.18

-32.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 PEN 4.99

$1.86 MX$34.97

-22.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 PEN 5.14

$1.85 MX$34.81

-19.46%

Potato (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$1.96 MX$36.87

-53.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.83 MX$34.29

-51.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 PEN 2.97

$1.37 MX$25.71

-37.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 PEN 3.06

$1.06 MX$19.94

-16.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.47 PEN 18.83

$4.39 MX$82.4

24.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 PEN 35.00

$10.39 MX$195

-2.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 PEN 6.21

$1.73 MX$32.43

4.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 PEN 10.84

$3.15 MX$59.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 PEN 2.28

$0.67 MX$12.52

-1.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.89 PEN 110

$29.73 MX$558

7.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 PEN 11.79

$2.60 MX$48.79

31.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.98 PEN 6.80

$1.97 MX$36.95

0.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.60 PEN 33.04

$10.94 MX$205

-12.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.89

$1.31 MX$24.66

30.53%

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

$21.9K PEN 75.3K

$24.1K MX$452.3K

-9.20%

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

$29.0K PEN 100.0K

$23.3K MX$438.3K

24.44%

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

$65.8 PEN 227

$56.8 MX$1,067

15.86%

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

$15.26 PEN 52.5

$22.71 MX$426

-32.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.87 PEN 92.5

$29.38 MX$552

-8.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.91 PEN 113

$32.02 MX$601

2.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.12 PEN 69.2

$20.04 MX$376

0.40%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 PEN 24.49

$5.04 MX$94.6

41.27%

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

$309 PEN 1,064

$216 MX$4,061

42.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.4K PEN 73.5K

$4,504 MX$84.6K

374.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.0 PEN 179

$54.7 MX$1,028

-5.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.69 PEN 123

$39.49 MX$742

-9.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.8 PEN 281

$99.4 MX$1,866

-17.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.0 PEN 268

$87.8 MX$1,649

-11.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$727 PEN 2,501

$605 MX$11.4K

20.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 PEN 1,284

$435 MX$8,165

-14.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,249 PEN 4,297

$1,007 MX$18.9K

24.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 PEN 2,544

$749 MX$14.1K

-1.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,380 PEN 8,191

$1,916 MX$36.0K

24.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,365 PEN 4,697

$1,103 MX$20.7K

23.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$650 PEN 2,238

$1,638 MX$30.8K

-60.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.38

11.31

-25.91%

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

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Last update for Piedras Negras: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$373 35.8%

Piedras Negras

$435 36.1% 16.5% $62

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$228 21.9%

Piedras Negras

$261 21.7% 14.5% $33

Eating Out

Lima

$127 12.2%

Piedras Negras

$185 15.4% 46% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$111 10.7%

Piedras Negras

$127 10.5% 13.7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$108 10.4%

Piedras Negras

$109 9.1% 0.9% $1

Getting Around

Lima

$48 4.6%

Piedras Negras

$45 3.7% 6.3% $3

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$47 4.5%

Piedras Negras

$42 3.5% 10.7% $5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $727 in Lima and $605 in Piedras Negras. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Piedras Negras pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $34 in Lima vs $43 in Piedras Negras for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $228 vs $261 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Piedras Negras

🕒 Local time

20:27 8:27 PM

19:27 7:27 PM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

173,959

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.08 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lima Piedras Negras 5,190 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Piedras Negras

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 Piedras Negras: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,042 in Lima and $1,204 in Piedras Negras, so Lima is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 60% lower in Lima. 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: $727 in Lima versus $605 in Piedras Negras. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $309 in Lima versus $216 in Piedras Negras. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Piedras Negras. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Lima gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Lima wins on affordability, Piedras Negras on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.