Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz and Cochabamba

For one person, living is cheaper in Cochabamba: $448 a month against $639 in Santa Cruz, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz
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Santa Cruz Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Cochabamba
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Cochabamba Living Index

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Santa Cruz

🇧🇴 Bolivia

$639

/mo nomad

Cochabamba

🇧🇴 Bolivia

$448

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Cruz and in Cochabamba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $639 in Santa Cruz versus $448 in Cochabamba.

Santa Cruz $639
Cochabamba $448

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,172 in Santa Cruz versus $701 in Cochabamba.

Santa Cruz $1,172
Cochabamba $701

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,704 in Santa Cruz versus $955 in Cochabamba.

Santa Cruz $1,704
Cochabamba $955

Living in Santa Cruz is roughly 43% more expensive than in Cochabamba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santa Cruz 53% lower, Cochabamba 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.00 BOB 23.19

$1.65 BOB 19.20

21.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.80 BOB 195

$10.17 BOB 118

65.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.10 BOB 59.2

$5.09 BOB 59.1

0.20%

Cappuccino

$1.77 BOB 20.52

$1.54 BOB 17.84

14.94%

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

$0.49 BOB 5.72

$0.44 BOB 5.15

11.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.43 BOB 4.97

$0.40 BOB 4.69

7.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.86 BOB 9.97

$1.03 BOB 11.91

-16.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 BOB 14.35

$1.74 BOB 20.15

-28.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.71 BOB 8.23

$0.61 BOB 7.04

16.39%

White Bread (500g)

$0.94 BOB 10.88

$0.72 BOB 8.38

30.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 BOB 11.93

$1.08 BOB 12.59

-4.63%

Eggs

$1.06 BOB 12.27

$1.04 BOB 12.10

1.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.15 BOB 36.56

$2.88 BOB 33.42

9.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.58 BOB 29.92

$2.13 BOB 24.71

21.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.98 BOB 57.8

$4.42 BOB 51.3

12.67%

Apples (1kg)

$1.82 BOB 21.12

$1.51 BOB 17.49

20.53%

Banana (1kg)

$0.62 BOB 7.24

$0.71 BOB 8.20

-12.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.76 BOB 8.81

$1.14 BOB 13.27

-33.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.73 BOB 8.48

$0.98 BOB 11.40

-25.51%

Potato (1kg)

$0.74 BOB 8.55

$0.88 BOB 10.26

-15.91%

Onion (1kg)

$0.67 BOB 7.75

$0.66 BOB 7.70

1.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.57 BOB 6.66

$0.61 BOB 7.06

-6.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 BOB 7.36

$0.71 BOB 8.19

-11.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.92 BOB 22.25

$1.55 BOB 18.04

23.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.32 BOB 50.2

$5.04 BOB 58.6

-14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 BOB 11.86

$1.20 BOB 13.98

-15.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 BOB 19.01

$2.00 BOB 23.26

-18.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 BOB 2.78

$0.26 BOB 3.03

-7.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.48 BOB 261

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.64 BOB 19.05

$1.45 BOB 16.82

13.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.91 BOB 10.58

$0.86 BOB 10.01

5.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.31 BOB 73.3

$4.18 BOB 48.47

50.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.57 BOB 6.59

$0.48 BOB 5.59

18.75%

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

$14.1K BOB 163.3K

$17.4K BOB 202.4K

-19.34%

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

$19.3K BOB 223.6K

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

$34.84 BOB 405

$31.39 BOB 364

10.99%

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

$19.67 BOB 228

$17.61 BOB 204

11.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.53 BOB 204

$23.38 BOB 271

-25.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.56 BOB 227

$21.74 BOB 252

-10.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.84 BOB 149

$4.34 BOB 50.4

195.85%

Cinema Ticket

$5.86 BOB 68.1

$3.00 BOB 34.82

95.33%

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

$112 BOB 1,303

$111 BOB 1,292

0.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,950 BOB 34.2K

$3,444 BOB 40.0K

-14.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.21 BOB 316

$40.64 BOB 472

-33.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.79 BOB 416

$21.41 BOB 249

67.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.3 BOB 769

$37.71 BOB 438

75.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.3 BOB 677

$55.1 BOB 640

5.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$267 BOB 3,105

$158 BOB 1,829

69.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$247 BOB 2,869

$102 BOB 1,183

142.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$909 BOB 10.6K

$306 BOB 3,551

197.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$830 BOB 9,630

$225 BOB 2,615

268.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,299 BOB 15.1K

$858 BOB 9,964

51.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$737 BOB 8,551

$677 BOB 7,857

8.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$276 BOB 3,204

$389 BOB 4,515

-29.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.17

8.17

-24.48%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cochabamba: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz

$247 38.6%

Cochabamba

$102 22.7% 58.8% $145

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz

$112 17.5%

Cochabamba

$111 24.7% 1.3% $1.5

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz

$84 13.2%

Cochabamba

$70 15.6% 17.4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz

$72 11.3%

Cochabamba

$72 16.2% 0.5% $0.3

Eating Out

Santa Cruz

$63 9.8%

Cochabamba

$59 13.2% 6.4% $4

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz

$31 4.9%

Cochabamba

$28 6.2% 11.3% $3.5

Getting Around

Santa Cruz

$30 4.6%

Cochabamba

$6.8 * 1.5% 77.1% $23

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 $267 in Santa Cruz and $158 in Cochabamba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cochabamba pays 41% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $17.00 in Santa Cruz vs $10.00 in Cochabamba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $112 vs $111 per month, with Cochabamba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇴 Santa Cruz

🇧🇴 Cochabamba

🕒 Local time

03:07 3:07 AM

Same time as Santa Cruz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,800,000

856,198

💱 Currency

Bolivian Boliviano BOB Bs.

📈 Exchange rate

100 BOB = 8.61 USD

100 BOB = 7.66 EUR

100 BOB = 8.61 USD

100 BOB = 7.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santa Cruz Cochabamba 320 km

From you

Santa Cruz
Cochabamba

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 Cruz vs Cochabamba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Cruz and Cochabamba differ by about 43% in total monthly costs ($639 vs $448 including rent). Cochabamba is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 41% lower in Cochabamba. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $267 in Santa Cruz versus $158 in Cochabamba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 1% higher in Santa Cruz. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $639 per month in Santa Cruz versus $448 in Cochabamba – a 43% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Cochabamba gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Expats usually find Cochabamba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Santa Cruz. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.