Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saltillo and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,331 in Saltillo, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

64

Cost of Living Index in Saltillo
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Saltillo Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Saltillo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,331

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Saltillo versus $996 in Lima.

Saltillo $1,331
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,128 in Saltillo versus $1,594 in Lima.

Saltillo $2,128
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,924 in Saltillo versus $2,191 in Lima.

Saltillo $2,924
Lima $2,191

Living in Saltillo is roughly 34% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Saltillo 1% lower, Lima 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.07 MX$203

$4.42 PEN 15.16

150.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.2 MX$922

$35.04 PEN 120

43.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.67 MX$123

$6.84 PEN 23.44

-2.49%

Cappuccino

$3.61 MX$66.3

$3.27 PEN 11.22

10.40%

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

$1.32 MX$24.32

$1.10 PEN 3.78

20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$18.92

$0.65 PEN 2.22

58.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.22 MX$40.84

$2.58 PEN 8.85

-13.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.94 MX$72.3

$4.47 PEN 15.34

-11.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$27.84

$1.59 PEN 5.46

-4.40%

White Bread (500g)

$3.59 MX$65.9

$2.58 PEN 8.86

39.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 MX$34.95

$1.36 PEN 4.65

39.71%

Eggs

$2.37 MX$43.43

$2.95 PEN 10.11

-19.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.86 MX$199

$9.10 PEN 31.19

19.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.43 MX$155

$5.81 PEN 19.91

45.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.17 MX$187

$9.83 PEN 33.68

3.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 MX$51.4

$2.01 PEN 6.89

39.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 MX$22.57

$1.08 PEN 3.69

13.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.32

$1.37 PEN 4.70

28.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.07 MX$37.93

$1.48 PEN 5.06

39.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 MX$39.48

$0.96 PEN 3.30

123.96%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$47.77

$0.85 PEN 2.92

205.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 MX$22.96

$0.88 PEN 3.02

42.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 MX$20.70

$0.87 PEN 2.97

29.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.0

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-27.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.30 MX$189

$8.81 PEN 30.21

16.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.39 MX$43.84

$1.92 PEN 6.57

24.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 MX$26.84

$3.20 PEN 10.98

-54.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$15.89

$0.68 PEN 2.33

27.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.66 MX$306

$26.74 PEN 91.7

-37.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 MX$47.87

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-31.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 MX$37.12

$2.04 PEN 7.00

-0.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.49

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$27.70

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-8.48%

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

$19.0K MX$349.3K

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

-14.20%

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

$24.0K MX$440.6K

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

-6.50%

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

$49.27 MX$905

$73.0 PEN 250

-32.54%

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

$34.53 MX$634

$16.26 PEN 55.7

112.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.93 MX$568

$27.60 PEN 94.6

12.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.5 MX$1,056

$33.07 PEN 113

73.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.01 MX$257

$19.49 PEN 66.8

-28.12%

Cinema Ticket

$5.91 MX$108

$7.39 PEN 25.33

-20.03%

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

$248 MX$4,551

$182 PEN 624

36.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,653 MX$48.7K

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

-80.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.3 MX$1,069

$52.6 PEN 180

10.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 MX$1,068

$34.23 PEN 117

69.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.9 MX$1,613

$83.8 PEN 287

4.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 MX$2,343

$79.0 PEN 271

61.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$579 MX$10.6K

$723 PEN 2,479

-19.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 MX$9,339

$340 PEN 1,166

49.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$952 MX$17.5K

$1,184 PEN 4,060

-19.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$959 MX$17.6K

$635 PEN 2,176

51.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$558 MX$10.3K

$2,449 PEN 8,394

-77.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$883 MX$16.2K

$1,372 PEN 4,702

-35.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$813 MX$14.9K

$653 PEN 2,237

24.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.53

8.94

17.79%

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

Last update for Saltillo: October 4, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Saltillo

$509 38.2%

Lima

$340 33.6% 33.1% $169

Groceries & Markets

Saltillo

$278 20.8%

Lima

$226 22.4% 18.5% $51

Eating Out

Saltillo

$180 13.5%

Lima

$124 12.3% 31.2% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Saltillo

$149 11.2%

Lima

$112 11.1% 24.8% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saltillo

$115 8.6%

Lima

$117 11.6% 1.9% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Saltillo

$69 5.2%

Lima

$48 4.7% 31% $21

Getting Around

Saltillo

$33 2.5%

Lima

$43 4.3% 32.4% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $579 in Saltillo and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saltillo pays 25% 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 Saltillo vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $278 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Saltillo

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

23:23 11:23 PM

00:23 12:23 AM

1 h ahead of Saltillo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

864,431

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

Saltillo Lima 4,910 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Saltillo
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

Saltillo vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Saltillo and Lima differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($1,331 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 25% higher in Saltillo, 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: $579 in Saltillo versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $248 in Saltillo 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 23% higher in Saltillo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,331 in Saltillo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Saltillo. 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, Saltillo 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 34% less than in Saltillo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.