Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Marcos, TX and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $2,351 in San Marcos, TX, rent and utilities included – about $15,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in San Marcos, TX
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San Marcos, TX Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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San Marcos, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,351

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,351 in San Marcos, TX versus $1,042 in Lima.

San Marcos, TX $2,351
Lima $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,531 in San Marcos, TX versus $1,651 in Lima.

San Marcos, TX $3,531
Lima $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,711 in San Marcos, TX versus $2,259 in Lima.

San Marcos, TX $4,711
Lima $2,259

Living in San Marcos, TX is roughly 126% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Marcos, TX is 74% above, Lima is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.30 $15.30

$4.64 PEN 15.95

229.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.8 $59.8

$34.34 PEN 118

74.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.07 $12.07

$7.01 PEN 24.12

72.18%

Cappuccino

$4.61 $4.61

$3.22 PEN 11.09

43.17%

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

$2.81 $2.81

$1.13 PEN 3.90

148.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 $1.73

$0.61 PEN 2.09

183.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.95 $4.95

$2.93 PEN 10.08

68.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.95 $5.95

$4.25 PEN 14.63

40.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.74 $0.74

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-53.16%

White Bread (500g)

$3.14 $3.14

$2.61 PEN 8.98

20.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.92 $3.92

$1.30 PEN 4.47

201.54%

Eggs

$2.88 $2.88

$2.92 PEN 10.05

-1.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.63 $9.63

$9.54 PEN 32.82

0.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.37 $9.37

$5.71 PEN 19.66

64.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.34 $13.34

$9.47 PEN 32.58

40.87%

Apples (1kg)

$6.18 $6.18

$2.01 PEN 6.91

207.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 $1.18

$1.02 PEN 3.52

15.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.49 $6.49

$1.45 PEN 4.99

347.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 $4.73

$1.49 PEN 5.14

217.45%

Potato (1kg)

$4.07 $4.07

$0.91 PEN 3.14

347.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.89 $2.89

$0.89 PEN 3.07

224.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.84 $1.84

$0.86 PEN 2.97

113.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 $1.78

$0.89 PEN 3.06

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.73 $8.73

$5.47 PEN 18.83

59.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.24 $14.24

$10.17 PEN 35.00

40.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 $1.68

$1.81 PEN 6.21

-7.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 $3.80

$3.15 PEN 10.84

20.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 PEN 2.28

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.89 PEN 110

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.52 $4.52

$3.43 PEN 11.79

31.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.85 $1.85

$1.98 PEN 6.80

-6.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$59.8 $59.8

$9.60 PEN 33.04

523.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 $0.80

$1.71 PEN 5.89

-53.22%

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

$27.2K $27.2K

$21.9K PEN 75.3K

24.59%

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

$26.0K $26.0K

$29.0K PEN 100.0K

-10.63%

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

$138 $138

$65.8 PEN 227

109.62%

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

$39.29 $39.29

$15.26 PEN 52.5

157.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.1 $57.1

$26.87 PEN 92.5

112.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.4 $69.4

$32.91 PEN 113

110.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.12 PEN 69.2

Cinema Ticket

$11.17 $11.17

$7.12 PEN 24.49

56.88%

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

$675 $675

$309 PEN 1,064

118.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K $10.7K

$21.4K PEN 73.5K

-49.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 $59.8

$52.0 PEN 179

15.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.18 $38.18

$35.69 PEN 123

6.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.5 $84.5

$81.8 PEN 281

3.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 $119

$78.0 PEN 268

52.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,336 $1,336

$727 PEN 2,501

83.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,246 $1,246

$373 PEN 1,284

233.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,884 $2,884

$1,249 PEN 4,297

130.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,263 $2,263

$739 PEN 2,544

206.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,443 $2,443

$2,380 PEN 8,191

2.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,902 $1,902

$1,365 PEN 4,697

39.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,140 $3,140

$650 PEN 2,238

382.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

8.38

-23.03%

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

Last update for San Marcos, TX: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Marcos, TX

$1.2K 53%

Lima

$373 35.8% 70% $872

Groceries & Markets

San Marcos, TX

$361 15.3%

Lima

$228 21.9% 36.8% $133

Eating Out

San Marcos, TX

$269 11.4%

Lima

$127 12.2% 52.8% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Marcos, TX

$234 10%

Lima

$108 10.4% 53.9% $126

Clothing & Footwear

San Marcos, TX

$136 5.8%

Lima

$111 10.7% 18% $24

Sport & Entertainment

San Marcos, TX

$92 3.9%

Lima

$47 4.5% 48.6% $45

Getting Around

San Marcos, TX

$14 * 0.6%

Lima

$48 4.6% 248% $34

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 $1,336 in San Marcos, TX and $727 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Marcos, TX pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $60 in San Marcos, TX vs $34 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $361 vs $228 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 San Marcos, TX

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

04:03 4:03 AM

05:03 5:03 AM

1 h ahead of San Marcos, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

44,894

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 November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.87 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Marcos, TX Lima 5,170 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

San Marcos, TX
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 Marcos, TX vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,351 in San Marcos, TX and $1,042 in Lima, so Lima is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in San Marcos, TX is about 4.8 times higher, 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: $1,336 in San Marcos, TX versus $727 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in San Marcos, TX. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,351 per month in San Marcos, TX versus $1,042 in Lima – Lima is about 56% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,042 in Lima versus $2,351 in San Marcos, TX, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Marcos, TX. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Lima wins on affordability, San Marcos, TX on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.