Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Fernando and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,014 a month against $1,130 in San Fernando, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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San Fernando

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,130

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,130 in San Fernando versus $1,014 in Lima.

San Fernando $1,130
Lima $1,014

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,832 in San Fernando versus $1,613 in Lima.

San Fernando $1,832
Lima $1,613

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,534 in San Fernando versus $2,211 in Lima.

San Fernando $2,534
Lima $2,211

Living in San Fernando is roughly 11% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Fernando 17% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$4.42 PEN 15.19

143.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.30 MX$800

$34.56 PEN 119

25.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 MX$156

$6.80 PEN 23.37

23.82%

Cappuccino

$3.63 MX$67.0

$3.30 PEN 11.34

10.00%

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

$1.42 MX$26.21

$1.06 PEN 3.64

33.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 MX$19.52

$0.66 PEN 2.26

60.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.42 MX$44.65

$2.54 PEN 8.71

-4.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.15 MX$76.7

$4.24 PEN 14.55

-2.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 MX$29.59

$1.58 PEN 5.43

1.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.68 MX$49.57

$2.61 PEN 8.97

2.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.53

$1.34 PEN 4.60

27.61%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.78

$2.93 PEN 10.08

-13.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 MX$151

$9.45 PEN 32.45

-13.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.27 MX$153

$5.75 PEN 19.75

43.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.60 MX$214

$9.69 PEN 33.29

19.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 MX$49.25

$2.02 PEN 6.95

32.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 MX$29.50

$1.07 PEN 3.66

49.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.32

$1.37 PEN 4.70

43.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 MX$33.96

$1.47 PEN 5.05

25.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.36

$0.95 PEN 3.25

107.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.57

$0.91 PEN 3.14

100.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.41

$0.90 PEN 3.10

58.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 MX$21.00

$0.89 PEN 3.04

28.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$79.9

$5.74 PEN 19.71

-24.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.48 MX$194

$9.21 PEN 31.64

13.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 MX$33.11

$1.84 PEN 6.31

-2.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 MX$59.2

$3.11 PEN 10.67

2.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MX$11.85

$0.72 PEN 2.46

-11.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.56 MX$47.39

$3.54 PEN 12.17

-27.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.01 MX$37.15

$2.07 PEN 7.12

-2.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$200

$7.75 PEN 26.62

39.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 MX$27.45

$1.71 PEN 5.86

-12.87%

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

$21.0K MX$387.5K

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

-2.87%

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

$23.7K MX$438.6K

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

-16.96%

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

$57.0 MX$1,054

$68.2 PEN 234

-16.33%

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

$22.91 MX$423

$15.73 PEN 54.0

45.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.54 MX$546

$26.48 PEN 90.9

11.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.60 MX$621

$33.94 PEN 117

-1.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.12 MX$372

$20.10 PEN 69.0

0.10%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

$7.22 PEN 24.80

-27.56%

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

$220 MX$4,060

$201 PEN 689

9.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,534 MX$83.8K

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

-64.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 MX$1,003

$53.7 PEN 184

1.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.69 MX$752

$35.88 PEN 123

13.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 MX$1,825

$83.8 PEN 288

17.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.3 MX$1,669

$78.8 PEN 271

14.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$612 MX$11.3K

$729 PEN 2,505

-16.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$383 MX$7,076

$349 PEN 1,197

9.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 MX$19.0K

$1,186 PEN 4,073

-13.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 MX$14.4K

$696 PEN 2,391

11.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,910 MX$35.3K

$2,360 PEN 8,105

-19.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,160 MX$21.4K

$1,356 PEN 4,657

-14.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

8.78

28.70%

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

Last update for San Fernando: October 17, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Fernando

$383 33.9%

Lima

$349 34.4% 9% $34

Groceries & Markets

San Fernando

$266 23.5%

Lima

$227 22.4% 14.5% $38

Eating Out

San Fernando

$185 16.4%

Lima

$123 12.2% 33.3% $62

Clothing & Footwear

San Fernando

$128 11.3%

Lima

$113 11.2% 11.2% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Fernando

$109 9.7%

Lima

$110 10.9% 0.8% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

San Fernando

$44 3.9%

Lima

$48 4.8% 9.8% $4.3

Getting Around

San Fernando

$15 * 1.3%

Lima

$43 4.2% 182% $28

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 $612 in San Fernando and $729 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43.00 in San Fernando vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $227 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 San Fernando

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

08:46 8:46 AM

09:46 9:46 AM

1 h ahead of San Fernando

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,867

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Fernando Lima 3,680 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

San Fernando
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

San Fernando vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Fernando and Lima differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($1,130 vs $1,014 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,695 in San Fernando and $1,522 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: $612 in San Fernando versus $729 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in San Fernando. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,130 per month in San Fernando versus $1,014 in Lima – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,014 in Lima versus $1,130 in San Fernando, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Fernando. 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 11% less than in San Fernando. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.