Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Clara and Cienfuegos

For one person, living costs are similar in Santa Clara and in Cienfuegos: $955 and $935 a month, rent and utilities included.

46

Cost of Living Index in Santa Clara
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Santa Clara Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cienfuegos
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Cienfuegos Living Index

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Santa Clara

🇨🇺 Cuba

$955

/mo nomad

Cienfuegos

🇨🇺 Cuba

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Clara and in Cienfuegos

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Santa Clara and in Cienfuegos actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $955 per month in Santa Clara vs $935 in Cienfuegos, rent included.

Santa Clara $955
Cienfuegos $935

A couple spends around $1,433 per month in Santa Clara vs $1,384 in Cienfuegos, rent included.

Santa Clara $1,433
Cienfuegos $1,384

A family of three spends $1,911 per month in Santa Clara vs $1,834 in Cienfuegos, rent included.

Santa Clara $1,911
Cienfuegos $1,834

Santa Clara costs about 2% more than Cienfuegos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Santa Clara and Cienfuegos are more affordable than the global median – Santa Clara 30% lower, Cienfuegos 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.65 CUP 87.5

$3.63 CUP 87.2

0.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.82 CUP 668

$27.37 CUP 657

1.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.92 CUP 118

$4.89 CUP 117

0.61%

Cappuccino

$1.05 CUP 25.23

$1.01 CUP 24.21

3.96%

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

$1.57 CUP 37.75

$1.59 CUP 38.16

-1.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 CUP 23.42

$0.91 CUP 21.94

7.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 CUP 29.53

$0.99 CUP 23.66

24.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 CUP 48.33

$1.98 CUP 47.52

1.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.70 CUP 64.9

$2.03 CUP 48.61

33.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 CUP 28.02

$0.72 CUP 17.34

62.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 CUP 40.93

$1.52 CUP 36.51

12.50%

Eggs

$3.54 CUP 84.9

$3.41 CUP 81.8

3.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.48 CUP 108

$3.95 CUP 94.8

13.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.60 CUP 110

$3.71 CUP 89.1

23.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.60 CUP 206

$6.68 CUP 160

28.74%

Apples (1kg)

$5.96 CUP 143

$4.69 CUP 113

27.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 CUP 25.66

$1.07 CUP 25.58

Oranges (1kg)

$3.96 CUP 94.9

$1.44 CUP 34.46

175.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 CUP 56.7

$1.64 CUP 39.37

43.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.79 CUP 67.1

$1.59 CUP 38.22

75.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.71 CUP 65.1

$2.02 CUP 48.57

34.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 CUP 15.97

$0.72 CUP 17.20

-6.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 CUP 12.92

$0.53 CUP 12.84

1.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.67 CUP 40.09

$2.35 CUP 56.4

-28.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.30 CUP 127

$5.17 CUP 124

2.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 CUP 40.96

$1.78 CUP 42.70

-3.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 CUP 51.1

$1.87 CUP 44.91

13.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 CUP 8.69

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.62 CUP 471

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 CUP 63.5

$0.97 CUP 23.29

172.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 CUP 8.69

$0.34 CUP 8.12

5.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.80 CUP 475

$13.24 CUP 318

49.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 CUP 30.30

$1.28 CUP 30.79

-1.56%

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

$60.5K CUP 1.5M

$50.4K CUP 1.2M

20.10%

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

$60.0K CUP 1.4M

$63.0K CUP 1.5M

-4.75%

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

$48.17 CUP 1,156

$34.98 CUP 839

37.71%

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

$38.81 CUP 931

$39.09 CUP 938

-0.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$90.9 CUP 2,181

$90.9 CUP 2,183

-0.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.14 CUP 963

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.02 CUP 240

Cinema Ticket

$0.82 CUP 19.75

$1.01 CUP 24.30

-18.81%

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

$154 CUP 3,693

$108 CUP 2,600

42.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K CUP 295.8K

$10.0K CUP 240.7K

22.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.4 CUP 1,258

$34.89 CUP 837

50.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.64 CUP 999

$27.99 CUP 672

48.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.4 CUP 1,954

$57.0 CUP 1,368

42.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.3 CUP 1,590

$51.5 CUP 1,236

28.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$349 CUP 8,374

$367 CUP 8,811

-4.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$353 CUP 8,473

$370 CUP 8,868

-4.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$739 CUP 17.7K

$1,022 CUP 24.5K

-27.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$598 CUP 14.3K

$603 CUP 14.5K

-0.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$275 CUP 6,596

$347 CUP 8,332

-20.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$295 CUP 7,082

$249 CUP 5,971

18.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$37.68 CUP 904

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.1

6.67

36.43%

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

Last update for Santa Clara: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cienfuegos: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Clara

$353 37%

Cienfuegos

$370 39.5% 4.7% $16

Groceries & Markets

Santa Clara

$232 24.3%

Cienfuegos

$183 19.5% 21.4% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Clara

$178 18.6%

Cienfuegos

$165 17.7% 7.2% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Clara

$109 11.4%

Cienfuegos

$77 8.3% 29.1% $32

Eating Out

Santa Clara

$77 8.1%

Cienfuegos

$75 8% 2.8% $2.2

Getting Around

Santa Clara

$4.5 * 0.5%

Cienfuegos

$24 2.5% 432% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Clara

$1.7 * 0.2%

Cienfuegos

$42 4.5% 2455% $41

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $349 in Santa Clara versus $367 in Cienfuegos. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28.00 in Santa Clara versus $27.00 in Cienfuegos. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $232 vs $183 – making Cienfuegos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Santa Clara

🇨🇺 Cienfuegos

🕒 Local time

07:34 7:34 AM

Same time as Santa Clara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

216,056

150,404

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Santa Clara Cienfuegos 58 km

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Santa Clara
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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Santa Clara vs Cienfuegos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $955 in Santa Clara, $935 in Cienfuegos – roughly 2% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,432 per month in Santa Clara and $1,402 in Cienfuegos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cienfuegos, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $955 in Santa Clara and $935 in Cienfuegos. That's a gap of about 2%.

Kindergarten costs $154 per month in Santa Clara and $108 in Cienfuegos. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $955 in Santa Clara and $935 in Cienfuegos, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Cienfuegos – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Cienfuegos. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Santa Clara makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.