Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Salta

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,138 in Salta, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Salta
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Salta Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Salta

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,138

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Salta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,138 in Salta.

Lima $1,012
Salta $1,138

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,915 in Salta.

Lima $1,589
Salta $1,915

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,692 in Salta.

Lima $2,167
Salta $2,692

Living in Lima costs roughly 11% less than in Salta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Salta 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$7.47 ARS 11.3K

-41.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$56.6 ARS 85.9K

-37.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$12.91 ARS 19.6K

-46.63%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$2.51 ARS 3,810

29.88%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.57 ARS 2,377

-28.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$1.86 ARS 2,817

-66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$1.67 ARS 2,529

58.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$3.30 ARS 5,014

33.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.40 ARS 2,126

16.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$1.78 ARS 2,708

43.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.97 ARS 2,984

-31.47%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.84 ARS 4,304

2.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$10.29 ARS 15.6K

-13.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$7.67 ARS 11.6K

-22.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$11.47 ARS 17.4K

-14.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.36 ARS 3,579

-13.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.68 ARS 2,552

-36.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.50 ARS 2,283

-10.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$2.03 ARS 3,078

-26.11%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.06 ARS 1,602

-16.98%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$1.05 ARS 1,586

-12.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.75 ARS 2,662

-48.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$3.38 ARS 5,127

74.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$4.87 ARS 7,388

74.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.44 ARS 2,185

30.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$4.11 ARS 6,243

-21.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.97 ARS 1,474

-29.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.35 ARS 2,046

182.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.27 ARS 1,923

35.43%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$28.6K ARS 43.4M

-22.05%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$33.8K ARS 51.2M

-24.47%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$125 ARS 189.5K

-41.49%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$17.09 ARS 25.9K

-4.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$26.18 ARS 39.7K

4.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$29.89 ARS 45.4K

6.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$9.51 ARS 14.4K

-25.87%

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

$182 PEN 627

$272 ARS 413.0K

-32.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$108 ARS 163.4K

-50.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$58.5 ARS 88.8K

-41.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$116 ARS 176.7K

-28.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$138 ARS 210.1K

-43.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$526 ARS 798.8K

36.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$325 ARS 493.4K

5.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$1,004 ARS 1.5M

21.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$818 ARS 1.2M

-20.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$1,953 ARS 3.0M

23.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$1,457 ARS 2.2M

-6.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$837 ARS 1.3M

-22.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Salta: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Salta

$325 28.6% 5.3% $18

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Salta

$244 * 21.5% 8.1% $18

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Salta

$157 13.8% 26.9% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Salta

$168 14.8% 43.9% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Salta

$189 16.7% 69% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Salta

$49 4.3% 6.3% $2.9

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Salta

$5.2 * 0.5% 88% $38

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 $721 in Lima and $526 in Salta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Salta pays 29% 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 $57.0 in Salta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $244 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇦🇷 Salta

🕒 Local time

11:22 11:22 AM

13:22 1:22 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

535,303

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Salta 1,870 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Salta

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 Salta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Salta differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,138 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 29% lower in Salta. 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 $526 in Salta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Salta. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,012 per month in Lima versus $1,138 in Salta – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,138 in Salta, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Salta. 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 Salta 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 13% less than in Salta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.