Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Francisco, CA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $4,319 in San Francisco, CA, rent and utilities included – about $39,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

211

Cost of Living Index in San Francisco, CA
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San Francisco, CA Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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San Francisco, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$4,319

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,319 in San Francisco, CA versus $996 in Lima.

San Francisco, CA $4,319
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,503 in San Francisco, CA versus $1,594 in Lima.

San Francisco, CA $6,503
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $8,686 in San Francisco, CA versus $2,191 in Lima.

San Francisco, CA $8,686
Lima $2,191

Living in San Francisco, CA is roughly 334% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Francisco, CA is 222% above, Lima is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.68 $26.68

$4.42 PEN 15.21

503.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$120 $120

$35.04 PEN 121

242.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.77 $14.77

$6.84 PEN 23.52

115.94%

Cappuccino

$6.03 $6.03

$3.27 PEN 11.26

84.40%

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

$3.24 $3.24

$1.10 PEN 3.80

194.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 $2.65

$0.65 PEN 2.23

307.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.14 $8.14

$2.58 PEN 8.88

215.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.26 $9.26

$4.47 PEN 15.39

107.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 $1.73

$1.59 PEN 5.48

8.81%

White Bread (500g)

$5.29 $5.29

$2.58 PEN 8.89

105.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.75 $4.75

$1.36 PEN 4.67

249.26%

Eggs

$5.03 $5.03

$2.95 PEN 10.14

70.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.16 $16.16

$9.10 PEN 31.30

77.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.66 $15.66

$5.81 PEN 19.98

169.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.18 $22.18

$9.83 PEN 33.80

125.64%

Apples (1kg)

$6.10 $6.10

$2.01 PEN 6.92

203.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.85 $2.85

$1.08 PEN 3.70

163.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.31 $4.31

$1.37 PEN 4.71

214.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.97 $6.97

$1.48 PEN 5.08

370.95%

Potato (1kg)

$2.92 $2.92

$0.96 PEN 3.32

204.17%

Onion (1kg)

$3.59 $3.59

$0.85 PEN 2.93

322.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.91 $2.91

$0.88 PEN 3.03

230.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.74 $2.74

$0.87 PEN 2.98

214.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.17 $12.17

$5.90 PEN 20.31

106.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.73 $14.73

$8.81 PEN 30.31

67.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.25 $3.25

$1.92 PEN 6.59

69.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 $3.65

$3.20 PEN 11.02

14.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.96 $2.96

$0.68 PEN 2.33

335.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.4 $93.4

$26.74 PEN 92.0

249.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.13 $4.13

$3.81 PEN 13.10

8.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.98 $1.98

$2.04 PEN 7.02

-2.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.24 $38.24

$7.14 PEN 24.57

435.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 $1.56

$1.65 PEN 5.67

-5.45%

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

$37.0K $37.0K

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

67.06%

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

$25.9K $25.9K

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

1.02%

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

$213 $213

$73.0 PEN 251

191.31%

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

$60.9 $60.9

$16.26 PEN 55.9

274.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$75.0 $75.0

$27.60 PEN 94.9

171.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$120 $120

$33.07 PEN 114

261.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.14 $20.14

$19.49 PEN 67.1

3.34%

Cinema Ticket

$18.28 $18.28

$7.39 PEN 25.41

147.36%

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

$2,918 $2,918

$182 PEN 626

1503.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$42.2K $42.2K

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

216.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.5 $77.5

$52.6 PEN 181

47.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.59 $47.59

$34.23 PEN 118

39.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 $100

$83.8 PEN 288

19.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 $140

$79.0 PEN 272

76.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,807 $3,807

$723 PEN 2,488

426.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,579 $2,579

$340 PEN 1,170

658.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,674 $5,674

$1,184 PEN 4,074

379.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,552 $4,552

$635 PEN 2,183

617.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,816 $9,816

$2,449 PEN 8,423

300.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,617 $7,617

$1,372 PEN 4,718

455.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,881 $6,881

$653 PEN 2,245

954.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.76

8.94

-24.38%

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

Last update for San Francisco, CA: October 5, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Francisco, CA

$2.6K 60%

Lima

$340 33.6% 86.8% $2.2K

Groceries & Markets

San Francisco, CA

$516 12%

Lima

$226 22.4% 56.1% $290

Eating Out

San Francisco, CA

$413 9.6%

Lima

$124 12.3% 70% $289

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Francisco, CA

$349 8.1%

Lima

$117 11.6% 66.5% $232

Clothing & Footwear

San Francisco, CA

$164 3.8%

Lima

$112 11.1% 31.6% $52

Sport & Entertainment

San Francisco, CA

$156 3.6%

Lima

$48 4.7% 69.3% $108

Getting Around

San Francisco, CA

$119 2.8%

Lima

$43 4.3% 63.5% $76

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,807 in San Francisco, CA and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Francisco, CA pays 954% 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: $120 in San Francisco, CA vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $516 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 San Francisco, CA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

03:18 3:18 AM

05:18 5:18 AM

2 h ahead of San Francisco, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

873,965

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

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

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.85 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

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Between locations

San Francisco, CA Lima 7,280 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

San Francisco, CA
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 Francisco, CA vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Francisco, CA and Lima differ by about 334% in total monthly costs ($4,319 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 954% higher in San Francisco, CA, 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: $3,807 in San Francisco, CA versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,918 in San Francisco, CA 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 128% higher in San Francisco, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $4,319 in San Francisco, CA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Francisco, CA. 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 334% less than in San Francisco, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.