Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and San Luis Obispo, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $3,487 in San Luis Obispo, CA, rent and utilities included – about $29,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
171

Cost of Living Index in San Luis Obispo, CA
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San Luis Obispo, CA Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

San Luis Obispo, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,487

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in San Luis Obispo, CA

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 San Luis Obispo, CA actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $3,487 in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Lima $1,012
San Luis Obispo, CA $3,487

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $5,130 in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Lima $1,589
San Luis Obispo, CA $5,130

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $6,774 in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Lima $2,167
San Luis Obispo, CA $6,774

Living in Lima costs roughly 71% less than in San Luis Obispo, CA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lima is 25% below, San Luis Obispo, CA is 158% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$24.03 $24.03

-81.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$58.9 $58.9

-40.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$13.25 $13.25

-48.00%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$6.26 $6.26

-47.92%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$2.90 $2.90

-61.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$2.48 $2.48

-75.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$7.97 $7.97

-66.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$7.88 $7.88

-44.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.12 $1.12

45.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$4.30 $4.30

-40.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$5.54 $5.54

-75.63%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$4.72 $4.72

-38.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$15.24 $15.24

-41.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$8.70 $8.70

-31.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$15.43 $15.43

-36.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$3.81 $3.81

-46.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.99 $1.99

-46.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$3.30 $3.30

-59.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$3.37 $3.37

-55.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$2.79 $2.79

-68.46%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$2.78 $2.78

-66.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$2.16 $2.16

-58.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.94 $1.94

-53.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$11.55 $11.55

-48.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$16.97 $16.97

-49.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.83 $1.83

2.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$3.13 $3.13

2.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.93 $1.93

-64.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

$60.1 $60.1

-55.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$6.37 $6.37

-40.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$2.74 $2.74

-26.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$37.64 $37.64

-81.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.45 $1.45

18.62%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$36.7K $36.7K

-39.28%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$25.3K $25.3K

0.70%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$249 $249

-70.61%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$53.9 $53.9

-69.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$69.6 $69.6

-60.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$42.89 $42.89

-25.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$50.6 $50.6

-61.62%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$12.47 $12.47

-43.46%

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

$182 PEN 627

$2,345 $2,345

-92.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$34.6K $34.6K

-62.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$67.4 $67.4

-20.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$49.73 $49.73

-30.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$107 $107

-22.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$98.5 $98.5

-20.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$2,635 $2,635

-72.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$2,042 $2,042

-83.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$4,972 $4,972

-75.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$3,709 $3,709

-82.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$7,383 $7,383

-67.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$6,795 $6,795

-80.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$5,553 $5,553

-88.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

6.26

42.81%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for San Luis Obispo, CA: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

San Luis Obispo, CA

$2K 58.6% 495% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

San Luis Obispo, CA

$387 11.1% 71.3% $161

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

San Luis Obispo, CA

$384 11% 210% $260

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

San Luis Obispo, CA

$372 10.7% 218% $255

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

San Luis Obispo, CA

$145 4.2% 29.6% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

San Luis Obispo, CA

$68 2% 47.4% $22

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

San Luis Obispo, CA

$88 2.5% 102% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $2,635 in San Luis Obispo, CA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Luis Obispo, CA pays 757% 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 $59.0 in San Luis Obispo, CA for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $387 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇺🇸 San Luis Obispo, CA

🕒 Local time

01:28 1:28 AM

23:28 11:28 PM

2 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

47,339

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lima San Luis Obispo, CA 6,980 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
San Luis Obispo, CA

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 San Luis Obispo, CA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and San Luis Obispo, CA differ by about 245% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $3,487 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 757% lower in San Luis Obispo, CA. 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 $2,635 in San Luis Obispo, CA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $2,345 in San Luis Obispo, CA. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in San Luis Obispo, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $3,487 in San Luis Obispo, CA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Luis Obispo, CA. 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 San Luis Obispo, CA 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 245% less than in San Luis Obispo, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.