Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Santa Ana

For one person, living costs are similar in Lima and in Santa Ana: $1,012 and $1,026 a month, rent and utilities included.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Santa Ana
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Santa Ana Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Santa Ana

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,026

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Santa Ana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,026 in Santa Ana.

Lima $1,012
Santa Ana $1,026

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,625 in Santa Ana.

Lima $1,589
Santa Ana $1,625

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,225 in Santa Ana.

Lima $2,167
Santa Ana $2,225

Living in Lima costs roughly 1% less than in Santa Ana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Santa Ana 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.11

$6.80 $6.80

-35.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$44.56 $44.56

-21.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.66

$6.93 $6.93

-0.58%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.21

$3.64 $3.64

-10.44%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.17 $1.17

-4.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.82 $0.82

-24.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.10

$2.05 $2.05

29.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$3.46 $3.46

27.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.80 $1.80

-9.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$2.86 $2.86

-10.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.39 $1.39

-2.88%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.97 $2.97

-2.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.39

$7.49 $7.49

18.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.53

$7.00 $7.00

-14.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.61

$10.29 $10.29

-4.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.03

$5.02 $5.02

-59.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.38 $1.38

-23.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$2.68 $2.68

-49.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.16

$3.55 $3.55

-57.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$2.98 $2.98

-70.47%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$3.23 $3.23

-71.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.01 $1.01

-11.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.11

$0.99 $0.99

-9.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.28

$3.96 $3.96

48.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.27

$11.77 $11.77

-27.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$2.17 $2.17

-13.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.98 $2.98

8.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.34

$0.29 $0.29

134.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.3

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.10

$5.96 $5.96

-36.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$2.94 $2.94

-31.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.42

$19.64 $19.64

-63.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$0.95 $0.95

81.05%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.7K

$22.8K $22.8K

-2.17%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$26.8K $26.8K

-4.68%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$40.10 $40.10

82.22%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$20.97 $20.97

-22.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.4

$38.73 $38.73

-29.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$34.57 $34.57

-7.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.24

$4.97 $4.97

41.85%

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

$182 PEN 627

$162 $162

12.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$4,797 $4,797

171.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$67.5 $67.5

-20.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$46.93 $46.93

-26.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 285

$120 $120

-31.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$117 $117

-33.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,478

$640 $640

12.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,180

$271 $271

26.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,188

$1,019 $1,019

19.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,236

$448 $448

45.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,296

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,663

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,227

$457 $457

41.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

78.80%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Santa Ana: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Santa Ana

$271 26.4% 21% $72

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Santa Ana

$286 27.9% 26.5% $60

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Santa Ana

$144 14% 16.1% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Santa Ana

$100 9.7% 14.6% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Santa Ana

$158 15.5% 41.3% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Santa Ana

$45 4.3% 3.3% $1.5

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Santa Ana

$22 * 2.1% 49.9% $22

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 $640 in Santa Ana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 42% 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 $45.00 in Santa Ana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $286 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇸🇻 Santa Ana

🕒 Local time

15:31 3:31 PM

14:31 2:31 PM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

167,200

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

1 USD = 0.893 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.85 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.893 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Santa Ana 3,210 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Santa Ana

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 Santa Ana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Santa Ana differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,026 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 42% 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 $640 in Santa Ana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Santa Ana. 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 $1,026 in Santa Ana – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,026 in Santa Ana, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Santa Ana. 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Santa Ana. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.