Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mountain Home, ID and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $2,582 in Mountain Home, ID, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Mountain Home, ID
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Mountain Home, ID Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Mountain Home, ID

🇺🇸 United States

$2,582

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,582 in Mountain Home, ID versus $996 in Lima.

Mountain Home, ID $2,582
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,724 in Mountain Home, ID versus $1,594 in Lima.

Mountain Home, ID $3,724
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,867 in Mountain Home, ID versus $2,191 in Lima.

Mountain Home, ID $4,867
Lima $2,191

Living in Mountain Home, ID is roughly 159% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mountain Home, ID is 93% above, Lima is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.51 $20.51

$4.42 PEN 15.16

364.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.6 $73.6

$35.04 PEN 120

110.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.81 $9.81

$6.84 PEN 23.44

43.42%

Cappuccino

$4.69 $4.69

$3.27 PEN 11.22

43.43%

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

$3.02 $3.02

$1.10 PEN 3.78

174.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 $2.05

$0.65 PEN 2.22

215.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.68 $5.68

$2.58 PEN 8.85

120.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.67 $6.67

$4.47 PEN 15.34

49.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 $1.00

$1.59 PEN 5.46

-37.11%

White Bread (500g)

$3.44 $3.44

$2.58 PEN 8.86

33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.22 $4.22

$1.36 PEN 4.65

210.29%

Eggs

$4.28 $4.28

$2.95 PEN 10.11

45.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.20 $12.20

$9.10 PEN 31.19

34.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.40 $11.40

$5.81 PEN 19.91

96.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.22 $17.22

$9.83 PEN 33.68

75.18%

Apples (1kg)

$5.06 $5.06

$2.01 PEN 6.89

151.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 $1.64

$1.08 PEN 3.69

51.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.26 $4.26

$1.37 PEN 4.70

210.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.66 $4.66

$1.48 PEN 5.06

214.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.71 $2.71

$0.96 PEN 3.30

182.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.99 $2.99

$0.85 PEN 2.92

251.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.12 $2.12

$0.88 PEN 3.02

140.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 $1.93

$0.87 PEN 2.97

121.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.20 $10.20

$5.90 PEN 20.24

72.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.30 $15.30

$8.81 PEN 30.21

73.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.92 PEN 6.57

2.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 $3.32

$3.20 PEN 10.98

3.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.97 $1.97

$0.68 PEN 2.33

189.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.05 $3.05

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-19.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 $1.93

$2.04 PEN 7.00

-5.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.82 $31.82

$7.14 PEN 24.49

345.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 $1.19

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-27.88%

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

$41.2K $41.2K

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

85.67%

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

$23.1K $23.1K

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

-10.17%

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

$204 $204

$73.0 PEN 250

178.61%

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

$59.0 $59.0

$16.26 PEN 55.7

262.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.2 $71.2

$27.60 PEN 94.6

158.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.23 $38.23

$33.07 PEN 113

15.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

Cinema Ticket

$15.66 $15.66

$7.39 PEN 25.33

111.91%

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

$1,334 $1,334

$182 PEN 624

633.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.8K $20.8K

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

55.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.8 $58.8

$52.6 PEN 180

11.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.99 $44.99

$34.23 PEN 117

31.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.3 $92.3

$83.8 PEN 287

10.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 $111

$79.0 PEN 271

40.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,580 $1,580

$723 PEN 2,479

118.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 $1,287

$340 PEN 1,166

278.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,242 $2,242

$1,184 PEN 4,060

89.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,118 $2,118

$635 PEN 2,176

233.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,514 $2,514

$2,449 PEN 8,394

2.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,451 $2,451

$1,372 PEN 4,702

78.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.57

8.94

-26.51%

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

Last update for Mountain Home, ID: October 3, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mountain Home, ID

$1.3K 50.4%

Lima

$340 33.6% 73.6% $947

Groceries & Markets

Mountain Home, ID

$392 15.4%

Lima

$226 22.4% 42.3% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mountain Home, ID

$334 13.1%

Lima

$117 11.6% 65% $217

Eating Out

Mountain Home, ID

$312 12.2%

Lima

$124 12.3% 60.2% $188

Clothing & Footwear

Mountain Home, ID

$138 5.4%

Lima

$112 11.1% 18.7% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Mountain Home, ID

$70 2.7%

Lima

$48 4.7% 31.2% $22

Getting Around

Mountain Home, ID

$21 * 0.8%

Lima

$43 4.3% 112% $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 $1,580 in Mountain Home, ID and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $74.0 in Mountain Home, ID vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $392 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Mountain Home, ID

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

04:11 4:11 AM

05:11 5:11 AM

1 h ahead of Mountain Home, ID

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,656

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 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 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 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).

PEN to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mountain Home, ID Lima 7,290 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mountain Home, ID
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

Mountain Home, ID vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mountain Home, ID and Lima differ by about 159% in total monthly costs ($2,582 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,873 in Mountain Home, ID and $1,494 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: $1,580 in Mountain Home, ID versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Mountain Home, ID. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,582 per month in Mountain Home, ID versus $996 in Lima – a 159% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $2,582 in Mountain Home, ID, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Mountain Home, ID. 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 159% less than in Mountain Home, ID. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.