Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Toluca

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,014 a month against $1,098 in Toluca, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. The total is higher in Toluca despite lower rent and utilities.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Toluca
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Toluca Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Toluca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,098

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Toluca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,014 in Lima versus $1,098 in Toluca.

Lima $1,014
Toluca $1,098

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,613 in Lima versus $1,844 in Toluca.

Lima $1,613
Toluca $1,844

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,211 in Lima versus $2,589 in Toluca.

Lima $2,211
Toluca $2,589

Living in Lima costs roughly 8% less than in Toluca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Toluca 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.19

$11.03 MX$204

-59.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.56 PEN 119

$42.85 MX$792

-19.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.80 PEN 23.37

$9.09 MX$168

-25.19%

Cappuccino

$3.30 PEN 11.34

$3.14 MX$58.0

5.10%

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

$1.06 PEN 3.64

$1.26 MX$23.24

-15.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PEN 2.26

$0.76 MX$13.97

-13.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.54 PEN 8.71

$2.14 MX$39.49

18.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 PEN 14.55

$3.29 MX$60.8

28.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.43

$1.77 MX$32.71

-10.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 PEN 8.97

$3.12 MX$57.7

-16.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 PEN 4.60

$2.18 MX$40.28

-38.53%

Eggs

$2.93 PEN 10.08

$3.05 MX$56.3

-3.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 PEN 32.45

$7.94 MX$147

19.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 PEN 19.75

$8.36 MX$155

-31.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 PEN 33.29

$8.91 MX$165

8.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 PEN 6.95

$4.08 MX$75.3

-50.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 PEN 3.66

$2.11 MX$39.00

-49.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$2.22 MX$41.07

-38.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.05

$2.28 MX$42.16

-35.53%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 PEN 3.25

$2.82 MX$52.2

-66.31%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$2.30 MX$42.58

-60.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.64 MX$30.26

-45.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 PEN 3.04

$1.03 MX$19.07

-13.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.74 PEN 19.71

$4.87 MX$90.0

17.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.21 PEN 31.64

$12.25 MX$226

-24.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 PEN 6.31

$1.99 MX$36.76

-7.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 PEN 10.67

$3.65 MX$67.5

-14.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.46

$0.75 MX$13.92

-4.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 PEN 12.17

$3.20 MX$59.0

10.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.12

$2.01 MX$37.22

2.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 PEN 26.62

$10.17 MX$188

-23.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.86

$1.44 MX$26.66

18.75%

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

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

$24.6K MX$454.6K

-12.23%

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

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

$23.5K MX$433.9K

21.73%

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

$68.2 PEN 234

$58.1 MX$1,074

17.28%

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

$15.73 PEN 54.0

$25.04 MX$463

-37.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.48 PEN 90.9

$31.71 MX$586

-16.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.94 PEN 117

$48.08 MX$889

-29.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

$22.66 MX$419

-11.30%

Cinema Ticket

$7.22 PEN 24.80

$6.95 MX$128

3.88%

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

$201 PEN 689

$224 MX$4,131

-10.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

$5,244 MX$96.9K

146.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 PEN 184

$66.7 MX$1,233

-19.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 PEN 123

$53.7 MX$992

-33.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$104 MX$1,920

-19.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.8 PEN 271

$104 MX$1,923

-24.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 PEN 2,505

$705 MX$13.0K

3.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 PEN 1,197

$289 MX$5,345

20.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 PEN 4,073

$972 MX$18.0K

22.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 PEN 2,391

$703 MX$13.0K

-0.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 PEN 8,105

$1,296 MX$24.0K

82.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 PEN 4,657

$915 MX$16.9K

48.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

$1,273 MX$23.5K

-47.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

11.07

-20.69%

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

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Last update for Toluca: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$349 34.4%

Toluca

$289 26.3% 17% $59

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$227 22.4%

Toluca

$289 26.4% 27.3% $62

Eating Out

Lima

$123 12.2%

Toluca

$178 16.3% 44.6% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$113 11.2%

Toluca

$148 13.5% 30.2% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$110 10.9%

Toluca

$115 10.5% 4.1% $4.5

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.8%

Toluca

$62 5.7% 28.1% $14

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.2%

Toluca

$16 * 1.5% 62% $27

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 $729 in Lima and $705 in Toluca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toluca pays 92% 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 $43.00 in Toluca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $227 vs $289 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Toluca

🕒 Local time

18:25 6:25 PM

17:25 5:25 PM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

223,876

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Toluca 4,280 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Toluca

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 Toluca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Toluca differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($1,014 vs $1,098 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 92% lower in Toluca. 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: $729 in Lima versus $705 in Toluca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

All in, you'll spend $1,014 per month in Lima versus $1,098 in Toluca – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,014 in Lima versus $1,098 in Toluca, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Toluca. 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 8% less than in Toluca. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.