Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterey Park, CA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $2,866 in Monterey Park, CA, rent and utilities included – about $22,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Monterey Park, CA
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Monterey Park, CA Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Monterey Park, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,866

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,866 in Monterey Park, CA versus $1,012 in Lima.

Monterey Park, CA $2,866
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,218 in Monterey Park, CA versus $1,589 in Lima.

Monterey Park, CA $4,218
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,570 in Monterey Park, CA versus $2,167 in Lima.

Monterey Park, CA $5,570
Lima $2,167

Living in Monterey Park, CA is roughly 183% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterey Park, CA is 112% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.69 $26.69

$4.40 PEN 15.10

506.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.4 $80.4

$35.17 PEN 121

128.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.07 $15.07

$6.89 PEN 23.65

118.72%

Cappuccino

$5.89 $5.89

$3.26 PEN 11.20

80.67%

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

$3.14 $3.14

$1.12 PEN 3.84

180.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 $2.76

$0.62 PEN 2.11

345.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.17 $8.17

$2.65 PEN 9.09

208.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.19 $10.19

$4.41 PEN 15.15

131.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 $1.33

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-18.40%

White Bread (500g)

$4.94 $4.94

$2.56 PEN 8.78

92.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.60 $4.60

$1.35 PEN 4.65

240.74%

Eggs

$5.74 $5.74

$2.90 PEN 9.96

97.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.29 $11.29

$8.85 PEN 30.38

27.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 $8.63

$5.98 PEN 20.52

44.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.40 $19.40

$9.78 PEN 33.59

98.36%

Apples (1kg)

$4.65 $4.65

$2.05 PEN 7.02

126.83%

Banana (1kg)

$2.32 $2.32

$1.06 PEN 3.66

118.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.12 $4.12

$1.35 PEN 4.64

205.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.60 $5.60

$1.50 PEN 5.15

273.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.41 $3.41

$0.88 PEN 3.03

287.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.93 $2.93

$0.92 PEN 3.15

218.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.95 $1.95

$0.89 PEN 3.07

119.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 $2.44

$0.90 PEN 3.10

171.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.56 $11.56

$5.90 PEN 20.27

95.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.98 $14.98

$8.52 PEN 29.26

75.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.51 $2.51

$1.88 PEN 6.45

33.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 $2.71

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-15.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.99 $1.99

$0.68 PEN 2.33

192.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 $3.08

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-19.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 $1.81

$2.02 PEN 6.93

-10.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.31 $32.31

$7.11 PEN 24.41

354.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 $1.57

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-8.72%

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

$37.4K $37.4K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

67.79%

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

$25.5K $25.5K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

0.03%

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

$272 $272

$73.1 PEN 251

272.05%

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

$85.8 $85.8

$16.35 PEN 56.2

424.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.4 $81.4

$27.47 PEN 94.3

196.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.47 $47.47

$31.90 PEN 110

48.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$19.40 $19.40

$7.05 PEN 24.23

175.18%

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

$1,175 $1,175

$182 PEN 627

544.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.7K $31.7K

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

142.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.8 $63.8

$53.8 PEN 185

18.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.6 $55.6

$34.32 PEN 118

61.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 $117

$82.8 PEN 284

41.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$211 $211

$78.2 PEN 269

169.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 $1,565

$721 PEN 2,476

117.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,283 $1,283

$343 PEN 1,179

273.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,549 $2,549

$1,219 PEN 4,186

109.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,171 $2,171

$651 PEN 2,235

233.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,733 $2,733

$2,414 PEN 8,292

13.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,066 $2,066

$1,357 PEN 4,660

52.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 $1,575

$648 PEN 2,226

143.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.31

8.94

-29.42%

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

Last update for Monterey Park, CA: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterey Park, CA

$1.3K 44.8%

Lima

$343 33.9% 73.2% $940

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterey Park, CA

$439 15.3%

Lima

$117 11.6% 73.4% $322

Groceries & Markets

Monterey Park, CA

$422 14.7%

Lima

$226 22.3% 46.5% $196

Eating Out

Monterey Park, CA

$414 14.5%

Lima

$124 12.3% 70.1% $290

Clothing & Footwear

Monterey Park, CA

$201 7%

Lima

$112 11.1% 44.3% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Monterey Park, CA

$86 3%

Lima

$46 4.6% 46.7% $40

Getting Around

Monterey Park, CA

$20 * 0.7%

Lima

$43 4.3% 117% $23

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 $1,565 in Monterey Park, CA and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterey Park, CA pays 143% 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: $80.0 in Monterey Park, CA vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $422 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Monterey Park, CA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

11:58 11:58 AM

13:58 1:58 PM

2 h ahead of Monterey Park, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

60,269

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Monterey Park, CA Lima 6,720 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterey Park, CA
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

Monterey Park, CA vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterey Park, CA and Lima differ by about 183% in total monthly costs ($2,866 vs $1,012 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 143% higher in Monterey Park, CA, 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: $1,565 in Monterey Park, CA versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 87% higher in Monterey Park, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,866 per month in Monterey Park, CA versus $1,012 in Lima – a 183% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $2,866 in Monterey Park, CA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Monterey Park, CA. 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.

Safety-wise, Monterey Park, CA 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 Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 183% less than in Monterey Park, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.