Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Puerto Penasco

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,216 in Puerto Penasco, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Penasco
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Puerto Penasco Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Puerto Penasco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,216

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Puerto Penasco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $1,216 in Puerto Penasco.

Lima $996
Puerto Penasco $1,216

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $1,963 in Puerto Penasco.

Lima $1,594
Puerto Penasco $1,963

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $2,710 in Puerto Penasco.

Lima $2,191
Puerto Penasco $2,710

Living in Lima costs roughly 18% less than in Puerto Penasco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 26% lower, Puerto Penasco 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.16

$12.20 MX$224

-63.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 120

$44.66 MX$820

-21.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.44

$8.56 MX$157

-20.09%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.22

$4.83 MX$88.7

-32.30%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.78

$1.40 MX$25.67

-21.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.22

$1.05 MX$19.32

-38.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.85

$2.67 MX$49.05

-3.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.34

$3.95 MX$72.6

13.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.46

$1.60 MX$29.32

-0.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.86

$3.05 MX$55.9

-15.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.65

$1.68 MX$30.92

-19.05%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.11

$2.99 MX$54.8

-1.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.19

$4.88 MX$89.7

86.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.91

$10.75 MX$197

-45.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.68

$9.68 MX$178

1.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.89

$4.47 MX$82.1

-55.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.69

$1.91 MX$35.06

-43.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$3.15 MX$57.8

-56.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.06

$2.11 MX$38.80

-29.86%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.30

$1.95 MX$35.88

-50.77%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.92

$2.02 MX$37.14

-57.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

$1.46 MX$26.85

-39.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.97

$1.59 MX$29.19

-45.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.24

$4.48 MX$82.2

31.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.21

$13.70 MX$252

-35.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.57

$1.57 MX$28.91

22.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

$1.56 MX$28.67

105.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.64 MX$11.71

6.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.06

$2.25 MX$41.40

69.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.00

$3.13 MX$57.5

-34.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.49

$11.22 MX$206

-36.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.65

$1.38 MX$25.27

19.57%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

$21.3K MX$391.3K

4.06%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

$24.4K MX$448.1K

5.18%

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

$73.0 PEN 250

$71.5 MX$1,314

2.10%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.7

$12.60 MX$231

29.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.6

$43.81 MX$804

-37.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 113

$33.41 MX$613

-1.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

$20.26 MX$372

-3.80%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.33

$5.43 MX$99.6

36.10%

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

$182 PEN 624

$226 MX$4,143

-19.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

$4,696 MX$86.2K

183.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 180

$55.9 MX$1,026

-5.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 117

$42.12 MX$773

-18.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 287

$100 MX$1,839

-16.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 271

$90.6 MX$1,664

-12.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,479

$533 MX$9,787

35.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,166

$387 MX$7,112

-12.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,060

$958 MX$17.6K

23.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,176

$764 MX$14.0K

-16.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

$1,873 MX$34.4K

30.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

$1,168 MX$21.4K

17.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

$596 MX$10.9K

9.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

10.55

-15.26%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Puerto Penasco: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Puerto Penasco

$387 31.9% 13.9% $47

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Puerto Penasco

$293 24.1% 29.3% $66

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Puerto Penasco

$212 17.5% 71.1% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Puerto Penasco

$128 10.5% 9.5% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Puerto Penasco

$130 10.7% 15.7% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Puerto Penasco

$44 3.6% 7.5% $3.6

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Puerto Penasco

$20 * 1.7% 53% $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 $533 in Puerto Penasco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 10% 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 $45.00 in Puerto Penasco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $293 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Puerto Penasco

🕒 Local time

00:29 12:29 AM

22:29 10:29 PM

2 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

56,756

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 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 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 = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lima Puerto Penasco 6,200 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Puerto Penasco

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 Puerto Penasco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Puerto Penasco differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,216 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 10% higher in Lima, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $723 in Lima versus $533 in Puerto Penasco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Puerto Penasco. 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 $1,216 in Puerto Penasco – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,216 in Puerto Penasco, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Puerto Penasco. 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 Puerto Penasco 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 22% less than in Puerto Penasco. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.