Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and San Miguel

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,339 in San Miguel, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 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
65

Cost of Living Index in San Miguel
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San Miguel Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

San Miguel

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,339

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in San Miguel

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,339 in San Miguel.

Lima $1,012
San Miguel $1,339

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,969 in San Miguel.

Lima $1,589
San Miguel $1,969

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,599 in San Miguel.

Lima $2,167
San Miguel $2,599

Living in Lima costs roughly 24% less than in San Miguel, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, San Miguel 1% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$4.07 $4.07

8.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$24.63 $24.63

42.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$6.54 $6.54

5.35%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$2.95 $2.95

10.51%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$0.77 $0.77

45.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.64 $0.64

-3.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$1.95 $1.95

35.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$3.51 $3.51

25.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.81 $1.81

-9.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$2.81 $2.81

-8.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.39 $1.39

-2.88%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$3.08 $3.08

-5.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$7.70 $7.70

14.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$6.94 $6.94

-13.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$10.45 $10.45

-6.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$5.19 $5.19

-60.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.42 $1.42

-25.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$2.63 $2.63

-48.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$3.47 $3.47

-56.77%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$2.98 $2.98

-70.47%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$3.21 $3.21

-71.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.01 $1.01

-11.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.99 $0.99

-9.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$4.07 $4.07

44.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$11.86 $11.86

-28.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$2.19 $2.19

-14.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.83 $2.83

13.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.37 $0.37

83.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

$27.13 $27.13

-1.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$6.08 $6.08

-37.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$2.95 $2.95

-31.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$9.90 $9.90

-28.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.23 $1.23

39.84%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$25.1K $25.1K

-11.15%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$27.2K $27.2K

-6.06%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$131 $131

-44.25%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$21.36 $21.36

-23.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$41.76 $41.76

-34.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$28.38 $28.38

12.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$22.13 $22.13

-12.29%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$5.02 $5.02

40.44%

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

$182 PEN 627

$162 $162

12.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$4,371 $4,371

198.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$64.1 $64.1

-16.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$47.60 $47.60

-27.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$118 $118

-29.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$119 $119

-34.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$697 $697

3.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$503 $503

-31.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$989 $989

23.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$834 $834

-21.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$1,337 $1,337

80.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$958 $958

41.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$385 $385

68.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

8.5

5.18%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for San Miguel: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

San Miguel

$503 37.6% 46.6% $160

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

San Miguel

$287 21.4% 27% $61

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

San Miguel

$110 8.2% 11.3% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

San Miguel

$194 14.5% 66.1% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

San Miguel

$157 11.7% 39.9% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

San Miguel

$38 2.9% 16.5% $7.6

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

San Miguel

$49 3.7% 13.7% $6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $697 in San Miguel. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 69% 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 $25.00 in San Miguel. Groceries flip the comparison at $226 vs $287, with Lima cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇸🇻 San Miguel

🕒 Local time

17:30 5:30 PM

16:30 4:30 PM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

247,126

💱 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 17, 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 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima San Miguel 3,090 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
San Miguel

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 Miguel: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and San Miguel differ by about 32% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,339 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 69% 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: $721 in Lima versus $697 in San Miguel. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $162 in San Miguel. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in San Miguel. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,339 in San Miguel, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Miguel. 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 Miguel 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 32% less than in San Miguel. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.