Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Santa Maria

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Maria: $743 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Santa Maria
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Santa Maria Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Santa Maria

🇧🇷 Brazil

$743

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $743 in Santa Maria.

Lima $1,012
Santa Maria $743

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,242 in Santa Maria.

Lima $1,589
Santa Maria $1,242

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $1,742 in Santa Maria.

Lima $2,167
Santa Maria $1,742

Living in Lima is roughly 36% more expensive than in Santa Maria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Santa Maria 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$5.45 R$27.65

-19.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$36.62 R$186

-3.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$6.82 R$34.57

1.03%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$1.85 R$9.36

76.22%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.07 R$5.40

4.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.68 R$3.46

-8.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$1.63 R$8.29

62.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$3.07 R$15.55

43.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.04 R$5.27

56.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$1.64 R$8.31

56.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.08 R$5.48

25.00%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.10 R$10.64

38.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$9.43 R$47.80

-6.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$3.96 R$20.07

51.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$8.20 R$41.58

19.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.48 R$12.57

-17.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.50 R$7.61

-29.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.36 R$6.91

-0.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$1.53 R$7.75

-1.96%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.16 R$5.88

-24.14%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$1.13 R$5.71

-18.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$0.86 R$4.37

3.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.81 R$4.12

11.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$2.38 R$12.07

147.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$8.18 R$41.44

4.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.14 R$5.77

64.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.19 R$11.09

47.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.01 R$5.13

-32.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

$30.52 R$155

-11.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.32 R$6.70

188.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$0.87 R$4.39

132.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$8.16 R$41.36

-12.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.23 R$6.21

39.84%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$23.9K R$121.2K

-6.71%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$32.6K R$165.3K

-21.76%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$53.4 R$271

36.78%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$12.65 R$64.1

29.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$16.66 R$84.5

64.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$23.82 R$121

33.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$12.05 R$61.1

61.08%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$5.66 R$28.68

24.56%

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

$182 PEN 627

$163 R$828

11.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$3,049 R$15.5K

327.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$51.2 R$260

5.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$43.38 R$220

-20.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$95.9 R$486

-13.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$62.3 R$316

25.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$293 R$1,486

146.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$172 R$870

100.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$648 R$3,285

88.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$391 R$1,982

66.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$2,029 R$10.3K

19.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$674 R$3,416

101.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$637 R$3,227

1.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

-10.60%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Santa Maria: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Santa Maria

$172 23.1% 50.1% $172

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Santa Maria

$192 25.9% 15% $34

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Santa Maria

$108 14.5% 13.3% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Santa Maria

$83 11.1% 29.2% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Santa Maria

$114 15.3% 1.5% $1.6

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Santa Maria

$35 4.7% 23.6% $11

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Santa Maria

$40 5.4% 7.5% $3.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $293 in Santa Maria. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 2% 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 $37.00 in Santa Maria. Groceries flip the comparison at $226 vs $192, with Santa Maria cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Santa Maria

🕒 Local time

07:20 7:20 AM

09:20 9:20 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

271,735

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Santa Maria 3,100 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Santa Maria

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 Maria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Santa Maria differ by about 36% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $743 including rent). Santa Maria is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 2% 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 $293 in Santa Maria. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $163 in Santa Maria. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $743 in Santa Maria versus $1,012 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Maria but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.