Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matamoros and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $1,202 in Matamoros, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Matamoros
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Matamoros Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Matamoros

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Matamoros and in Lima

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Matamoros and in Lima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Matamoros versus $1,042 in Lima.

Matamoros $1,202
Lima $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,867 in Matamoros versus $1,651 in Lima.

Matamoros $1,867
Lima $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,531 in Matamoros versus $2,259 in Lima.

Matamoros $2,531
Lima $2,259

Living in Matamoros is roughly 15% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Matamoros 11% lower, Lima 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.63 MX$200

$4.64 PEN 15.95

129.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.71 MX$802

$34.34 PEN 118

24.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.58 MX$161

$7.01 PEN 24.12

22.40%

Cappuccino

$3.40 MX$63.8

$3.22 PEN 11.09

5.59%

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

$1.32 MX$24.79

$1.13 PEN 3.90

16.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.65

$0.61 PEN 2.09

62.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.67

$2.93 PEN 10.08

-15.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 MX$76.0

$4.25 PEN 14.63

-4.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$29.18

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-1.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.49 MX$46.79

$2.61 PEN 8.98

-4.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MX$31.46

$1.30 PEN 4.47

29.23%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$46.80

$2.92 PEN 10.05

-14.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 MX$153

$9.54 PEN 32.82

-14.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.18 MX$154

$5.71 PEN 19.66

43.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.22 MX$211

$9.47 PEN 32.58

18.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.77 MX$52.0

$2.01 PEN 6.91

37.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 MX$29.36

$1.02 PEN 3.52

52.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 MX$36.01

$1.45 PEN 4.99

32.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.23

$1.49 PEN 5.14

22.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.17

$0.91 PEN 3.14

117.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.87

$0.89 PEN 3.07

108.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.25

$0.86 PEN 2.97

68.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$20.06

$0.89 PEN 3.06

20.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$80.0

$5.47 PEN 18.83

-22.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 MX$191

$10.17 PEN 35.00

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 MX$32.10

$1.81 PEN 6.21

-5.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$3.15 PEN 10.84

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 MX$12.47

$0.66 PEN 2.28

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.22 MX$567

$31.89 PEN 110

-5.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.60 MX$48.81

$3.43 PEN 11.79

-24.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 MX$36.23

$1.98 PEN 6.80

-2.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.89 MX$205

$9.60 PEN 33.04

13.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.71

$1.71 PEN 5.89

-13.45%

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

$23.4K MX$440.3K

$21.9K PEN 75.3K

7.23%

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

$23.1K MX$433.0K

$29.0K PEN 100.0K

-20.61%

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

$57.1 MX$1,072

$65.8 PEN 227

-13.31%

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

$22.41 MX$421

$15.26 PEN 52.5

46.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.53 MX$555

$26.87 PEN 92.5

9.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.71 MX$614

$32.91 PEN 113

-0.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.50 MX$366

$20.12 PEN 69.2

-3.08%

Cinema Ticket

$5.16 MX$96.9

$7.12 PEN 24.49

-27.53%

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

$213 MX$4,009

$309 PEN 1,064

-30.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,462 MX$83.8K

$21.4K PEN 73.5K

-79.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.1 MX$996

$52.0 PEN 179

2.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.17 MX$754

$35.69 PEN 123

12.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.9 MX$1,875

$81.8 PEN 281

22.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.1 MX$1,635

$78.0 PEN 268

11.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$598 MX$11.2K

$727 PEN 2,501

-17.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$438 MX$8,232

$373 PEN 1,284

17.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 MX$19.0K

$1,249 PEN 4,297

-18.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$747 MX$14.0K

$739 PEN 2,544

1.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,860 MX$34.9K

$2,380 PEN 8,191

-21.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,139 MX$21.4K

$1,365 PEN 4,697

-16.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$650 PEN 2,238

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.31

8.38

34.96%

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

Last update for Matamoros: November 1, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Matamoros

$438 36.5%

Lima

$373 35.8% 14.9% $65

Groceries & Markets

Matamoros

$260 21.6%

Lima

$228 21.9% 12.1% $31

Eating Out

Matamoros

$181 15.1%

Lima

$127 12.2% 30% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Matamoros

$126 10.5%

Lima

$111 10.7% 11.7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matamoros

$109 9.1%

Lima

$108 10.4% 1% $1.1

Getting Around

Matamoros

$45 3.8%

Lima

$48 4.6% 6% $2.7

Sport & Entertainment

Matamoros

$43 3.6%

Lima

$47 4.5% 9.6% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $598 in Matamoros and $727 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Matamoros vs $34 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $228 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Matamoros

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

00:53 12:53 AM

01:53 1:53 AM

1 h ahead of Matamoros

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

510,739

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.08 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Matamoros Lima 4,770 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Matamoros
Lima

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

Matamoros vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Matamoros and $1,042 in Lima, so Lima is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Matamoros and $1,564 in Lima to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $598 in Matamoros versus $727 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $213 in Matamoros versus $309 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Matamoros. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Lima gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.