Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Orleans, LA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $2,603 in New Orleans, LA, rent and utilities included – about $18,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in New Orleans, LA
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New Orleans, LA Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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New Orleans, LA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,603

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,603 in New Orleans, LA versus $1,042 in Lima.

New Orleans, LA $2,603
Lima $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,940 in New Orleans, LA versus $1,651 in Lima.

New Orleans, LA $3,940
Lima $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,278 in New Orleans, LA versus $2,259 in Lima.

New Orleans, LA $5,278
Lima $2,259

Living in New Orleans, LA is roughly 150% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: New Orleans, LA is 93% above, Lima is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.04 $26.04

$4.64 PEN 15.95

461.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$128 $128

$34.34 PEN 118

272.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 $12.17

$7.01 PEN 24.12

73.61%

Cappuccino

$5.29 $5.29

$3.22 PEN 11.09

64.29%

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

$2.89 $2.89

$1.13 PEN 3.90

155.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 $2.14

$0.61 PEN 2.09

250.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.92 $5.92

$2.93 PEN 10.08

102.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.15 $8.15

$4.25 PEN 14.63

91.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 $1.40

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-11.39%

White Bread (500g)

$4.25 $4.25

$2.61 PEN 8.98

62.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$6.26 $6.26

$1.30 PEN 4.47

381.54%

Eggs

$5.49 $5.49

$2.92 PEN 10.05

88.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.64 $15.64

$9.54 PEN 32.82

63.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.25 $10.25

$5.71 PEN 19.66

79.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.89 $15.89

$9.47 PEN 32.58

67.79%

Apples (1kg)

$5.17 $5.17

$2.01 PEN 6.91

157.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 $1.60

$1.02 PEN 3.52

56.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.45 $5.45

$1.45 PEN 4.99

275.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.53 $5.53

$1.49 PEN 5.14

271.14%

Potato (1kg)

$4.20 $4.20

$0.91 PEN 3.14

361.54%

Onion (1kg)

$3.17 $3.17

$0.89 PEN 3.07

256.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 $2.28

$0.86 PEN 2.97

165.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 $2.55

$0.89 PEN 3.06

186.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.19 $9.19

$5.47 PEN 18.83

68.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.08 $17.08

$10.17 PEN 35.00

67.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.53 $2.53

$1.81 PEN 6.21

39.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.88 $3.88

$3.15 PEN 10.84

23.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.27 $1.27

$0.66 PEN 2.28

92.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.25 $45.25

$31.89 PEN 110

41.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 $3.54

$3.43 PEN 11.79

3.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 $1.51

$1.98 PEN 6.80

-23.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.41 $35.41

$9.60 PEN 33.04

268.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 $1.03

$1.71 PEN 5.89

-39.77%

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

$32.8K $32.8K

$21.9K PEN 75.3K

50.19%

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

$26.8K $26.8K

$29.0K PEN 100.0K

-7.75%

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

$260 $260

$65.8 PEN 227

295.03%

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

$72.5 $72.5

$15.26 PEN 52.5

374.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$74.5 $74.5

$26.87 PEN 92.5

177.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.42 $46.42

$32.91 PEN 113

41.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$43.33 $43.33

$20.12 PEN 69.2

115.36%

Cinema Ticket

$12.60 $12.60

$7.12 PEN 24.49

76.97%

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

$1,546 $1,546

$309 PEN 1,064

400.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.6K $24.6K

$21.4K PEN 73.5K

15.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.8 $57.8

$52.0 PEN 179

11.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.60 $43.60

$35.69 PEN 123

22.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.7 $87.7

$81.8 PEN 281

7.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 $120

$78.0 PEN 268

53.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,863 $1,863

$727 PEN 2,501

156.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,102 $1,102

$373 PEN 1,284

195.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,353 $3,353

$1,249 PEN 4,297

168.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,754 $1,754

$739 PEN 2,544

137.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,169 $5,169

$2,380 PEN 8,191

117.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 $1,609

$1,365 PEN 4,697

17.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,037 $4,037

$650 PEN 2,238

520.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.73

8.38

-19.69%

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

Last update for New Orleans, LA: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New Orleans, LA

$1.1K 42.3%

Lima

$373 35.8% 66.1% $729

Groceries & Markets

New Orleans, LA

$447 17.2%

Lima

$228 21.9% 49% $219

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Orleans, LA

$407 15.6%

Lima

$108 10.4% 73.5% $299

Eating Out

New Orleans, LA

$374 14.4%

Lima

$127 12.2% 66.1% $248

Clothing & Footwear

New Orleans, LA

$139 5.3%

Lima

$111 10.7% 19.9% $28

Sport & Entertainment

New Orleans, LA

$72 2.8%

Lima

$47 4.5% 34.2% $24

Getting Around

New Orleans, LA

$61 2.4%

Lima

$48 4.6% 22.1% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,863 in New Orleans, LA and $727 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Orleans, LA pays about 6.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $128 in New Orleans, LA vs $34 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $447 vs $228 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 New Orleans, LA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

09:19 9:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

1 h ahead of New Orleans, LA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

391,006

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 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 November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.87 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

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Between locations

New Orleans, LA Lima 4,880 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

New Orleans, LA
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

New Orleans, LA vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,603 in New Orleans, LA and $1,042 in Lima, so Lima is about 60% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in New Orleans, LA is about 6.2 times higher, 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: $1,863 in New Orleans, LA versus $727 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,546 in New Orleans, LA 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 96% higher in New Orleans, LA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,042 in Lima versus $2,603 in New Orleans, LA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in New Orleans, LA. 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 60% less than in New Orleans, LA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.