Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Mateo, CA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $4,419 in San Mateo, CA, rent and utilities included – about $40,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

215

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

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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San Mateo, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$4,419

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,419 in San Mateo, CA versus $1,012 in Lima.

San Mateo, CA $4,419
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,644 in San Mateo, CA versus $1,589 in Lima.

San Mateo, CA $6,644
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $8,868 in San Mateo, CA versus $2,167 in Lima.

San Mateo, CA $8,868
Lima $2,167

Living in San Mateo, CA is roughly 337% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Mateo, CA is 227% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.81 $19.81

$4.40 PEN 15.10

350.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.2 $98.2

$35.17 PEN 121

179.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.87 $12.87

$6.89 PEN 23.65

86.79%

Cappuccino

$5.54 $5.54

$3.26 PEN 11.20

69.94%

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

$3.08 $3.08

$1.12 PEN 3.84

175.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 $2.81

$0.62 PEN 2.11

353.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.31 $8.31

$2.65 PEN 9.09

213.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.86 $9.86

$4.41 PEN 15.15

123.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 $1.61

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-1.23%

White Bread (500g)

$5.96 $5.96

$2.56 PEN 8.78

132.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.98 $5.98

$1.35 PEN 4.65

342.96%

Eggs

$7.19 $7.19

$2.90 PEN 9.96

147.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.35 $13.35

$8.85 PEN 30.38

50.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.03 $19.03

$5.98 PEN 20.52

218.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.87 $19.87

$9.78 PEN 33.59

103.17%

Apples (1kg)

$6.06 $6.06

$2.05 PEN 7.02

195.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.13 $2.13

$1.06 PEN 3.66

100.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.90 $3.90

$1.35 PEN 4.64

188.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$8.86 $8.86

$1.50 PEN 5.15

490.67%

Potato (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$0.88 PEN 3.03

393.18%

Onion (1kg)

$3.04 $3.04

$0.92 PEN 3.15

230.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.06 $3.06

$0.89 PEN 3.07

243.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$0.90 PEN 3.10

118.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.94 $11.94

$5.90 PEN 20.27

102.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.53 $14.53

$8.52 PEN 29.26

70.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 $1.69

$1.88 PEN 6.45

-10.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 $1.93

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-40.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.99 $3.99

$0.68 PEN 2.33

486.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.1 $97.1

$26.86 PEN 92.2

261.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.05 $4.05

$3.81 PEN 13.09

6.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.03 $2.03

$2.02 PEN 6.93

0.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 $1.56

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-9.30%

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

$36.8K $36.8K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

65.08%

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

$26.0K $26.0K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

1.97%

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

$267 $267

$73.1 PEN 251

265.12%

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

$41.54 $41.54

$16.35 PEN 56.2

154.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.4 $62.4

$27.47 PEN 94.3

127.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$109 $109

$31.90 PEN 110

241.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.40 $9.40

$19.41 PEN 66.7

-51.57%

Cinema Ticket

$18.35 $18.35

$7.05 PEN 24.23

160.28%

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

$2,947 $2,947

$182 PEN 627

1515.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.8K $28.8K

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

120.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.6 $63.6

$53.8 PEN 185

18.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.52 $47.52

$34.32 PEN 118

38.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 $117

$82.8 PEN 284

41.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 $135

$78.2 PEN 269

71.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,421 $3,421

$721 PEN 2,476

374.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,741 $2,741

$343 PEN 1,179

698.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,944 $5,944

$1,219 PEN 4,186

387.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$5,128 $5,128

$651 PEN 2,235

687.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.8K $13.8K

$2,414 PEN 8,292

472.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,907 $8,907

$1,357 PEN 4,660

556.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,501 $7,501

$648 PEN 2,226

1057.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

8.94

-26.96%

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

Last update for San Mateo, CA: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Mateo, CA

$2.7K 62%

Lima

$343 33.9% 87.5% $2.4K

Groceries & Markets

San Mateo, CA

$523 11.8%

Lima

$226 22.3% 56.8% $297

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Mateo, CA

$371 8.4%

Lima

$117 11.6% 68.5% $254

Eating Out

San Mateo, CA

$348 7.9%

Lima

$124 12.3% 64.4% $224

Clothing & Footwear

San Mateo, CA

$163 3.7%

Lima

$112 11.1% 31.3% $51

Sport & Entertainment

San Mateo, CA

$146 3.3%

Lima

$46 4.6% 68.4% $100

Getting Around

San Mateo, CA

$127 2.9%

Lima

$43 4.3% 65.8% $84

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,421 in San Mateo, CA and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Mateo, CA pays 1058% 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 Mateo, CA vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $523 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 San Mateo, CA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

08:55 8:55 AM

10:55 10:55 AM

2 h ahead of San Mateo, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

103,536

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 October 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Mateo, CA Lima 7,260 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

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

San Mateo, CA and Lima differ by about 337% in total monthly costs ($4,419 vs $1,012 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1058% higher in San Mateo, 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: $3,421 in San Mateo, CA versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,947 in San Mateo, 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 131% higher in San Mateo, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $4,419 in San Mateo, CA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Mateo, 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 Mateo, 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 337% less than in San Mateo, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.