Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Barbara and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,749 in Santa Barbara, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

84

Cost of Living Index in Santa Barbara
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Santa Barbara Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Santa Barbara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,749

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,749 in Santa Barbara versus $1,012 in Lima.

Santa Barbara $1,749
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,831 in Santa Barbara versus $1,589 in Lima.

Santa Barbara $2,831
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,912 in Santa Barbara versus $2,167 in Lima.

Santa Barbara $3,912
Lima $2,167

Living in Santa Barbara is roughly 73% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Barbara is 30% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.06 ₡5,409

$4.40 PEN 15.10

174.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.5 ₡28.0K

$35.17 PEN 121

77.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.48 ₡5,149

$6.89 PEN 23.65

66.62%

Cappuccino

$4.55 ₡2,039

$3.26 PEN 11.20

39.57%

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

$2.71 ₡1,217

$1.12 PEN 3.84

141.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ₡830

$0.62 PEN 2.11

198.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.65 PEN 9.09

23.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 ₡1,977

$4.41 PEN 15.15

Milk (1 liter)

$2.41 ₡1,083

$1.63 PEN 5.61

47.85%

White Bread (500g)

$3.19 ₡1,431

$2.56 PEN 8.78

24.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 ₡1,115

$1.35 PEN 4.65

84.44%

Eggs

$3.48 ₡1,559

$2.90 PEN 9.96

20.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.78 ₡4,835

$8.85 PEN 30.38

21.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.46 ₡4,693

$5.98 PEN 20.52

74.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.28 ₡6,406

$9.78 PEN 33.59

46.01%

Apples (1kg)

$5.00 ₡2,244

$2.05 PEN 7.02

143.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 ₡717

$1.06 PEN 3.66

50.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.63 ₡2,076

$1.35 PEN 4.64

242.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.79 ₡1,701

$1.50 PEN 5.15

152.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.71 ₡1,665

$0.88 PEN 3.03

321.59%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,602

$0.92 PEN 3.15

288.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡505

$0.89 PEN 3.07

26.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.24 ₡1,454

$0.90 PEN 3.10

260.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.76 ₡2,582

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-2.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.12 ₡9,025

$8.52 PEN 29.26

136.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 ₡1,297

$1.88 PEN 6.45

53.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.60 ₡1,613

$3.22 PEN 11.05

11.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.39 ₡624

$0.68 PEN 2.33

104.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.40 ₡1,075

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-37.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 ₡721

$2.02 PEN 6.93

-20.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.85 ₡3,968

$7.11 PEN 24.41

24.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ₡667

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-13.37%

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

$22.0K ₡9.9M

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

-1.50%

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

$34.9K ₡15.6M

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

36.74%

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

$94.0 ₡42.1K

$73.1 PEN 251

28.58%

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

$34.95 ₡15.7K

$16.35 PEN 56.2

113.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.1 ₡26.1K

$27.47 PEN 94.3

111.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$83.6 ₡37.5K

$31.90 PEN 110

161.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$7.53 ₡3,377

$7.05 PEN 24.23

6.81%

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

$965 ₡432.9K

$182 PEN 627

429.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.0K ₡7.6M

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

30.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.1 ₡31.5K

$53.8 PEN 185

30.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 ₡24.6K

$34.32 PEN 118

59.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 ₡56.8K

$82.8 PEN 284

52.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 ₡58.4K

$78.2 PEN 269

66.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 ₡332.8K

$721 PEN 2,476

2.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$644 ₡288.7K

$343 PEN 1,179

87.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 ₡858.6K

$1,219 PEN 4,186

57.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,399 ₡627.4K

$651 PEN 2,235

115.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

8.94

-3.58%

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

Last update for Santa Barbara: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Barbara

$644 36.8%

Lima

$343 33.9% 46.7% $300

Groceries & Markets

Santa Barbara

$403 23%

Lima

$226 22.3% 43.9% $177

Eating Out

Santa Barbara

$229 13.1%

Lima

$124 12.3% 45.9% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Barbara

$187 10.7%

Lima

$117 11.6% 37.5% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Barbara

$172 9.8%

Lima

$112 11.1% 34.7% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Barbara

$99 5.6%

Lima

$46 4.6% 53.4% $53

Getting Around

Santa Barbara

$16 * 0.9%

Lima

$43 4.3% 172% $27

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 $742 in Santa Barbara and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62.0 in Santa Barbara vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $403 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Santa Barbara

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

00:22 12:22 AM

01:22 1:22 AM

1 h ahead of Santa Barbara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Barbara Lima 2,580 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Santa Barbara
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

Santa Barbara vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Barbara and Lima differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($1,749 vs $1,012 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,624 in Santa Barbara and $1,518 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: $742 in Santa Barbara versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 78% higher in Santa Barbara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,749 per month in Santa Barbara versus $1,012 in Lima – a 73% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,749 in Santa Barbara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Santa Barbara. 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, Santa Barbara 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 73% less than in Santa Barbara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.