Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and San Luis Potosi

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,299 in San Luis Potosi, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 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
64

Cost of Living Index in San Luis Potosi
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San Luis Potosi Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

San Luis Potosi

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,299

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in San Luis Potosi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $1,299 in San Luis Potosi.

Lima $996
San Luis Potosi $1,299

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $2,028 in San Luis Potosi.

Lima $1,594
San Luis Potosi $2,028

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $2,757 in San Luis Potosi.

Lima $2,191
San Luis Potosi $2,757

Living in Lima costs roughly 23% less than in San Luis Potosi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 26% lower, San Luis Potosi 3% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.16

$14.08 MX$259

-68.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 120

$42.03 MX$772

-16.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.44

$9.63 MX$177

-28.97%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.22

$3.35 MX$61.6

-2.39%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.78

$1.33 MX$24.45

-17.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.22

$0.97 MX$17.78

-32.99%

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

$4.76 MX$87.4

-6.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.46

$1.56 MX$28.67

1.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.86

$2.63 MX$48.23

-1.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.65

$1.79 MX$32.88

-24.02%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.11

$2.64 MX$48.53

11.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.19

$8.63 MX$158

5.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.91

$10.15 MX$186

-42.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.68

$11.43 MX$210

-14.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.89

$3.34 MX$61.4

-39.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.69

$1.65 MX$30.26

-34.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$2.23 MX$40.94

-38.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.06

$2.57 MX$47.25

-42.41%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.30

$2.69 MX$49.31

-64.31%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.92

$3.14 MX$57.7

-72.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

$1.10 MX$20.23

-20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.97

$1.30 MX$23.80

-33.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.24

$4.03 MX$74.0

46.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.21

$14.00 MX$257

-37.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.57

$2.15 MX$39.50

-10.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

$3.89 MX$71.4

-17.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.85 MX$15.54

-20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

$71.5 MX$1,313

-62.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.06

$0.81 MX$14.88

370.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.00

$1.68 MX$30.86

21.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.49

$9.80 MX$180

-27.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.65

$1.47 MX$26.98

12.24%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

$21.2K MX$388.7K

4.76%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

$24.1K MX$442.1K

6.59%

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

$73.0 PEN 250

$41.85 MX$768

74.53%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.7

$16.14 MX$296

0.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.6

$31.49 MX$578

-12.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 113

$31.00 MX$569

6.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

$27.81 MX$511

-29.92%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.33

$5.84 MX$107

26.54%

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

$182 PEN 624

$263 MX$4,821

-30.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

$3,591 MX$65.9K

270.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 180

$54.6 MX$1,002

-3.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 117

$39.28 MX$721

-12.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 287

$102 MX$1,876

-18.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 271

$78.6 MX$1,444

0.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,479

$665 MX$12.2K

8.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,166

$466 MX$8,547

-26.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,060

$1,184 MX$21.7K

0.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,176

$774 MX$14.2K

-17.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

$1,399 MX$25.7K

74.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

$884 MX$16.2K

55.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

$872 MX$16.0K

-25.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

12.68

-29.50%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for San Luis Potosi: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

San Luis Potosi

$465 35.3% 36.9% $125

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

San Luis Potosi

$300 22.7% 32.5% $73

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

San Luis Potosi

$214 16.2% 72.4% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

San Luis Potosi

$89 6.8% 23.5% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

San Luis Potosi

$124 9.4% 10.1% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

San Luis Potosi

$43 3.2% 10.8% $5.2

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

San Luis Potosi

$84 6.4% 93.5% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $723 in Lima and $665 in San Luis Potosi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Luis Potosi pays 34% 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 $42.00 in San Luis Potosi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $300 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 San Luis Potosi

🕒 Local time

10:06 10:06 AM

09:06 9:06 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

845,941

💱 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 = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima San Luis Potosi 4,610 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
San Luis Potosi

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 Potosi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and San Luis Potosi differ by about 30% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,299 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 34% lower in San Luis Potosi. 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 $665 in San Luis Potosi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $263 in San Luis Potosi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in San Luis Potosi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,299 in San Luis Potosi, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Luis Potosi. 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 Potosi 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 30% less than in San Luis Potosi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.