Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose, CA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $4,305 in San Jose, CA, rent and utilities included – about $39,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

211

Cost of Living Index in San Jose, CA
Learn more

San Jose, CA Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
Learn more

Lima Living Index

Jump to prices

San Jose, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$4,305

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,305 in San Jose, CA versus $996 in Lima.

San Jose, CA $4,305
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,087 in San Jose, CA versus $1,594 in Lima.

San Jose, CA $6,087
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,869 in San Jose, CA versus $2,191 in Lima.

San Jose, CA $7,869
Lima $2,191

Living in San Jose, CA is roughly 332% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Jose, CA is 221% above, Lima is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.33 $22.33

$4.42 PEN 15.16

405.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.5 $98.5

$35.04 PEN 120

181.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 $11.78

$6.84 PEN 23.44

72.22%

Cappuccino

$5.96 $5.96

$3.27 PEN 11.22

82.26%

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

$3.15 $3.15

$1.10 PEN 3.78

186.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 $2.33

$0.65 PEN 2.22

258.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.15 $9.15

$2.58 PEN 8.85

254.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.81 $9.81

$4.47 PEN 15.34

119.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 $1.72

$1.59 PEN 5.46

8.18%

White Bread (500g)

$4.47 $4.47

$2.58 PEN 8.86

73.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.13 $4.13

$1.36 PEN 4.65

203.68%

Eggs

$5.86 $5.86

$2.95 PEN 10.11

98.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.28 $19.28

$9.10 PEN 31.19

111.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.00 $14.00

$5.81 PEN 19.91

140.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.60 $21.60

$9.83 PEN 33.68

119.74%

Apples (1kg)

$5.14 $5.14

$2.01 PEN 6.89

155.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.99 $1.99

$1.08 PEN 3.69

84.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.46 $5.46

$1.37 PEN 4.70

298.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.64 $5.64

$1.48 PEN 5.06

281.08%

Potato (1kg)

$3.49 $3.49

$0.96 PEN 3.30

263.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.89 $2.89

$0.85 PEN 2.92

240.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.42 $2.42

$0.88 PEN 3.02

175.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.57 $2.57

$0.87 PEN 2.97

195.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.63 $11.63

$5.90 PEN 20.24

97.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.59 $15.59

$8.81 PEN 30.21

76.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 $2.46

$1.92 PEN 6.57

28.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 $3.32

$3.20 PEN 10.98

3.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.45 $2.45

$0.68 PEN 2.33

260.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$89.4 $89.4

$26.74 PEN 91.7

234.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.42 $3.42

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-10.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.03 $3.03

$2.04 PEN 7.00

48.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.27 $30.27

$7.14 PEN 24.49

323.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 $1.56

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-5.45%

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

$37.3K $37.3K

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

68.18%

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

$25.9K $25.9K

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

0.99%

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

$273 $273

$73.0 PEN 250

273.44%

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

$48.69 $48.69

$16.26 PEN 55.7

199.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$83.7 $83.7

$27.60 PEN 94.6

203.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$142 $142

$33.07 PEN 113

329.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.77 $24.77

$19.49 PEN 66.8

27.09%

Cinema Ticket

$16.86 $16.86

$7.39 PEN 25.33

128.15%

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

$1,855 $1,855

$182 PEN 624

919.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$40.4K $40.4K

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

202.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.3 $59.3

$52.6 PEN 180

12.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.1 $52.1

$34.23 PEN 117

52.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 $99.4

$83.8 PEN 287

18.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 $121

$79.0 PEN 271

53.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,065 $3,065

$723 PEN 2,479

323.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,661 $2,661

$340 PEN 1,166

682.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,805 $4,805

$1,184 PEN 4,060

305.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,161 $4,161

$635 PEN 2,176

555.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,956 $8,956

$2,449 PEN 8,394

265.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,098 $9,098

$1,372 PEN 4,702

563.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,099 $6,099

$653 PEN 2,237

834.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

8.94

-25.39%

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

Last update for San Jose, 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 Jose, CA

$2.7K 60.9%

Lima

$340 33.6% 87.2% $2.3K

Groceries & Markets

San Jose, CA

$489 11.2%

Lima

$226 22.4% 53.7% $263

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose, CA

$405 9.3%

Lima

$117 11.6% 71.1% $288

Eating Out

San Jose, CA

$373 8.5%

Lima

$124 12.3% 66.7% $249

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose, CA

$176 4%

Lima

$48 4.7% 72.8% $128

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose, CA

$150 3.4%

Lima

$112 11.1% 24.9% $37

Getting Around

San Jose, CA

$118 2.7%

Lima

$43 4.3% 63.1% $74

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,065 in San Jose, CA and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Jose, CA pays 835% 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: $98.0 in San Jose, CA vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $489 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 San Jose, CA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

22:10 10:10 PM

00:10 12:10 AM

2 h ahead of San Jose, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,035,317

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 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 = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Jose, CA Lima 7,210 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

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

San Jose, CA and Lima differ by about 332% in total monthly costs ($4,305 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 835% higher in San Jose, 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: $3,065 in San Jose, CA versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,855 in San Jose, 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 116% higher in San Jose, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $4,305 in San Jose, CA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Jose, 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.

Safety-wise, San Jose, CA 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 332% less than in San Jose, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.