Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Queretaro

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,458 in Queretaro, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Queretaro
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Queretaro Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Queretaro

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,458

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Queretaro

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $1,458 in Queretaro.

Lima $996
Queretaro $1,458

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $2,209 in Queretaro.

Lima $1,594
Queretaro $2,209

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $2,960 in Queretaro.

Lima $2,191
Queretaro $2,960

Living in Lima costs roughly 32% less than in Queretaro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lima is 26% below, Queretaro is 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.21

$11.24 MX$204

-60.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 121

$64.3 MX$1,169

-45.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.52

$9.59 MX$174

-28.68%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.26

$3.59 MX$65.3

-8.91%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.80

$1.61 MX$29.27

-31.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.23

$1.10 MX$20.01

-40.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.88

$3.26 MX$59.2

-20.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.39

$5.55 MX$101

-19.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.48

$1.96 MX$35.64

-18.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.89

$2.77 MX$50.4

-6.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.67

$2.04 MX$37.03

-33.33%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.14

$2.70 MX$49.12

9.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.30

$9.21 MX$168

-1.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.98

$8.86 MX$161

-34.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.80

$13.80 MX$251

-28.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.92

$3.40 MX$61.8

-40.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.70

$1.68 MX$30.49

-35.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.71

$2.16 MX$39.28

-36.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.08

$1.92 MX$35.00

-22.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.32

$1.86 MX$33.75

-48.39%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.93

$1.82 MX$33.12

-53.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.55 MX$28.11

-43.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.98

$1.25 MX$22.78

-30.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.31

$4.64 MX$84.5

27.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.31

$18.28 MX$332

-51.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.59

$2.19 MX$39.85

-12.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 11.02

$3.91 MX$71.2

-18.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.60 MX$10.90

13.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 92.0

$26.03 MX$473

2.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.10

$3.25 MX$59.0

17.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.02

$2.57 MX$46.67

-20.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.57

$10.88 MX$198

-34.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.67

$1.58 MX$28.80

4.43%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

$21.5K MX$391.3K

3.09%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

$24.4K MX$443.3K

5.32%

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

$73.0 PEN 251

$58.0 MX$1,055

25.97%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.9

$27.03 MX$492

-39.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.9

$24.66 MX$449

11.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 114

$57.1 MX$1,039

-42.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 67.1

$25.02 MX$455

-22.10%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.41

$7.54 MX$137

-1.99%

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

$182 PEN 626

$269 MX$4,888

-32.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

$5,127 MX$93.3K

159.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 181

$52.8 MX$960

-0.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 118

$44.39 MX$807

-22.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$102 MX$1,853

-17.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 272

$101 MX$1,828

-21.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,488

$850 MX$15.5K

-14.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,170

$574 MX$10.4K

-40.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,074

$1,460 MX$26.6K

-18.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,183

$849 MX$15.4K

-25.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,423

$2,208 MX$40.2K

10.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,718

$1,244 MX$22.6K

10.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,245

$943 MX$17.2K

-30.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.99

-25.44%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Queretaro: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Queretaro

$574 39.7% 68.6% $233

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Queretaro

$311 21.5% 37.3% $84

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Queretaro

$200 13.8% 61.2% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Queretaro

$110 7.6% 6.2% $7.2

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Queretaro

$135 9.3% 20% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Queretaro

$72 5% 50.8% $24

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Queretaro

$45 3.1% 2.3% $1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $723 in Lima and $850 in Queretaro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Queretaro pays 45% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $64.0 in Queretaro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $311 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Queretaro

🕒 Local time

02:12 2:12 AM

01:12 1:12 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

804,663

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 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 = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Queretaro 4,440 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Queretaro

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 Queretaro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Queretaro differ by about 46% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,458 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 45% lower in Queretaro. 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: $723 in Lima versus $850 in Queretaro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $269 in Queretaro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Queretaro. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,458 in Queretaro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Queretaro. 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 Queretaro 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 46% less than in Queretaro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.