Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexicali and Lima

For one person, living costs are similar in Mexicali and in Lima: $949 and $996 a month, rent and utilities included.

46

Cost of Living Index in Mexicali
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Mexicali Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Mexicali

🇲🇽 Mexico

$949

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexicali 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 Mexicali and in Lima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $949 in Mexicali versus $996 in Lima.

Mexicali $949
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,525 in Mexicali versus $1,594 in Lima.

Mexicali $1,525
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,101 in Mexicali versus $2,191 in Lima.

Mexicali $2,101
Lima $2,191

Living in Mexicali costs roughly 5% less than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Mexicali 29% lower, Lima 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.10 MX$222

$4.42 PEN 15.16

173.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.24 MX$629

$35.04 PEN 120

-2.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.69 MX$123

$6.84 PEN 23.44

-2.19%

Cappuccino

$3.43 MX$62.9

$3.27 PEN 11.22

4.89%

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

$1.34 MX$24.60

$1.10 PEN 3.78

21.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 MX$20.65

$0.65 PEN 2.22

72.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.23 MX$59.2

$2.58 PEN 8.85

25.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 MX$78.2

$4.47 PEN 15.34

-4.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 MX$22.10

$1.59 PEN 5.46

-24.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.39 MX$43.96

$2.58 PEN 8.86

-7.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.33

$1.36 PEN 4.65

13.24%

Eggs

$2.76 MX$50.7

$2.95 PEN 10.11

-6.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.42 MX$44.48

$9.10 PEN 31.19

-73.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.00 MX$110

$5.81 PEN 19.91

3.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.66 MX$122

$9.83 PEN 33.68

-32.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.63 MX$29.85

$2.01 PEN 6.89

-18.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 MX$25.74

$1.08 PEN 3.69

29.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 MX$25.78

$1.37 PEN 4.70

2.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 MX$29.98

$1.48 PEN 5.06

10.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 MX$25.91

$0.96 PEN 3.30

46.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.03

$0.85 PEN 2.92

67.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 MX$24.70

$0.88 PEN 3.02

53.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 MX$15.66

$0.87 PEN 2.97

-2.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.01 MX$73.7

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-32.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.06 MX$148

$8.81 PEN 30.21

-8.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$35.61

$1.92 PEN 6.57

1.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 MX$71.6

$3.20 PEN 10.98

21.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.05 MX$19.20

$0.68 PEN 2.33

54.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.15 MX$645

$26.74 PEN 91.7

31.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.84 MX$52.1

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-25.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.26 MX$41.57

$2.04 PEN 7.00

10.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.06 MX$350

$7.14 PEN 24.49

166.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 MX$24.60

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-18.79%

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

$21.7K MX$399.3K

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

-1.93%

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

$24.4K MX$447.3K

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

-5.09%

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

$47.14 MX$866

$73.0 PEN 250

-35.46%

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

$22.65 MX$416

$16.26 PEN 55.7

39.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.19 MX$554

$27.60 PEN 94.6

9.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.21 MX$720

$33.07 PEN 113

18.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.63 MX$305

$19.49 PEN 66.8

-14.67%

Cinema Ticket

$4.08 MX$75.0

$7.39 PEN 25.33

-44.79%

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

$210 MX$3,860

$182 PEN 624

15.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,724 MX$86.7K

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

-64.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.95 MX$642

$52.6 PEN 180

-33.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.98 MX$605

$34.23 PEN 117

-3.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.4 MX$1,420

$83.8 PEN 287

-7.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.03 MX$698

$79.0 PEN 271

-51.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$998 MX$18.3K

$723 PEN 2,479

38.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$276 MX$5,059

$340 PEN 1,166

-18.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,357 MX$24.9K

$1,184 PEN 4,060

14.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$556 MX$10.2K

$635 PEN 2,176

-12.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,638 MX$48.4K

$2,449 PEN 8,394

7.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,474 MX$27.1K

$1,372 PEN 4,702

7.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$860 MX$15.8K

$653 PEN 2,237

31.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.07

8.94

35.01%

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

Last update for Mexicali: October 6, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexicali

$276 29.1%

Lima

$340 33.6% 23.4% $65

Groceries & Markets

Mexicali

$197 20.8%

Lima

$226 22.4% 14.8% $29

Eating Out

Mexicali

$192 20.3%

Lima

$124 12.3% 35.5% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexicali

$100 10.5%

Lima

$117 11.6% 16.9% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Mexicali

$83 8.7%

Lima

$112 11.1% 36.1% $30

Getting Around

Mexicali

$53 5.6%

Lima

$43 4.3% 18.7% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Mexicali

$47 5%

Lima

$48 4.7% 1% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $998 in Mexicali and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexicali pays 32% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $34.00 in Mexicali vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $226 per month, with Mexicali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexicali

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

19:22 7:22 PM

21:22 9:22 PM

2 h ahead of Mexicali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

854,186

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexicali Lima 6,430 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexicali
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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

Mexicali vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexicali and Lima differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($949 vs $996 including rent). Mexicali is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 32% higher in Mexicali, 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: $998 in Mexicali versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $210 in Mexicali versus $182 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $949 in Mexicali versus $996 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexicali but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Mexicali 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, Mexicali and Lima 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 Mexicali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.