Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pocatello, ID and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,929 in Pocatello, ID, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Pocatello, ID
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Pocatello, ID Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Pocatello, ID

🇺🇸 United States

$1,929

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,929 in Pocatello, ID versus $1,012 in Lima.

Pocatello, ID $1,929
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,671 in Pocatello, ID versus $1,589 in Lima.

Pocatello, ID $2,671
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,413 in Pocatello, ID versus $2,167 in Lima.

Pocatello, ID $3,413
Lima $2,167

Living in Pocatello, ID is roughly 91% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Pocatello, ID is 43% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.78 $14.78

$4.40 PEN 15.10

235.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.4 $50.4

$35.17 PEN 121

43.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.91 $9.91

$6.89 PEN 23.65

43.83%

Cappuccino

$5.12 $5.12

$3.26 PEN 11.20

57.06%

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

$2.06 $2.06

$1.12 PEN 3.84

83.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 $1.65

$0.62 PEN 2.11

166.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 $3.08

$2.65 PEN 9.09

16.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.87 $4.87

$4.41 PEN 15.15

10.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.81 $0.81

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-50.31%

White Bread (500g)

$3.21 $3.21

$2.56 PEN 8.78

25.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.04 $4.04

$1.35 PEN 4.65

199.26%

Eggs

$4.22 $4.22

$2.90 PEN 9.96

45.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.77 $8.77

$8.85 PEN 30.38

-0.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.02 $12.02

$5.98 PEN 20.52

101.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.93 $16.93

$9.78 PEN 33.59

73.11%

Apples (1kg)

$4.12 $4.12

$2.05 PEN 7.02

100.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.06 PEN 3.66

23.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.71 $3.71

$1.35 PEN 4.64

174.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.25 $3.25

$1.50 PEN 5.15

116.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.57 $0.57

$0.88 PEN 3.03

-35.23%

Onion (1kg)

$2.48 $2.48

$0.92 PEN 3.15

169.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 $1.86

$0.89 PEN 3.07

108.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 $1.93

$0.90 PEN 3.10

114.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.98 $9.98

$5.90 PEN 20.27

69.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.89 $8.89

$8.52 PEN 29.26

4.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 $2.69

$1.88 PEN 6.45

43.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 $3.40

$3.22 PEN 11.05

5.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.46 $2.46

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-35.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.28 $2.28

$2.02 PEN 6.93

12.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.53 $24.53

$7.11 PEN 24.41

245.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 $0.97

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-43.60%

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

$37.3K $37.3K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

67.00%

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

$23.9K $23.9K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

-6.29%

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

$155 $155

$73.1 PEN 251

112.13%

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

$48.83 $48.83

$16.35 PEN 56.2

198.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$72.2 $72.2

$27.47 PEN 94.3

162.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.68 $37.68

$31.90 PEN 110

18.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.25 $15.25

$19.41 PEN 66.7

-21.43%

Cinema Ticket

$12.59 $12.59

$7.05 PEN 24.23

78.58%

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

$481 $481

$182 PEN 627

163.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.2K $20.2K

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

55.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.66 $49.66

$53.8 PEN 185

-7.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.39 $46.39

$34.32 PEN 118

35.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.5 $79.5

$82.8 PEN 284

-4.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.3 $71.3

$78.2 PEN 269

-8.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 $1,095

$721 PEN 2,476

51.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$870 $870

$343 PEN 1,179

153.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,694 $1,694

$1,219 PEN 4,186

39.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,121 $1,121

$651 PEN 2,235

72.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,930 $1,930

$2,414 PEN 8,292

-20.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,985 $1,985

$1,357 PEN 4,660

46.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,910 $3,910

$648 PEN 2,226

503.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.46

8.94

-27.74%

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

Last update for Pocatello, ID: 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

Pocatello, ID

$870 45.1%

Lima

$343 33.9% 60.5% $527

Groceries & Markets

Pocatello, ID

$345 17.9%

Lima

$226 22.3% 34.6% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pocatello, ID

$276 14.3%

Lima

$117 11.6% 57.7% $159

Eating Out

Pocatello, ID

$249 12.9%

Lima

$124 12.3% 50.3% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Pocatello, ID

$111 5.8%

Lima

$112 11.1% 0.9% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Pocatello, ID

$63 3.3%

Lima

$46 4.6% 26.8% $17

Getting Around

Pocatello, ID

$14 * 0.7%

Lima

$43 4.3% 214% $30

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 $1,095 in Pocatello, ID and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pocatello, ID pays 503% 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: $50.0 in Pocatello, ID vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $345 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Pocatello, ID

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

13:21 1:21 PM

14:21 2:21 PM

1 h ahead of Pocatello, ID

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,320

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 October 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 19, 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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Between locations

Pocatello, ID Lima 7,090 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Pocatello, 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

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

Pocatello, ID and Lima differ by about 91% in total monthly costs ($1,929 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 503% higher in Pocatello, ID, 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: $1,095 in Pocatello, ID versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Pocatello, ID. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,929 per month in Pocatello, ID versus $1,012 in Lima – a 91% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,929 in Pocatello, ID, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Pocatello, 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 91% less than in Pocatello, ID. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.