Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Lucia and Cayo Coco

For one person, living is cheaper in Cayo Coco: $1,224 a month against $1,276 in Santa Lucia, rent and utilities included – about $620 less a year. The total is higher in Santa Lucia despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Santa Lucia
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Santa Lucia Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Cayo Coco
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Cayo Coco Living Index

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Santa Lucia

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,276

/mo nomad

Cayo Coco

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,224

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Lucia and in Cayo Coco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,276 in Santa Lucia versus $1,224 in Cayo Coco.

Santa Lucia $1,276
Cayo Coco $1,224

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,819 in Santa Lucia versus $1,689 in Cayo Coco.

Santa Lucia $1,819
Cayo Coco $1,689

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,361 in Santa Lucia versus $2,155 in Cayo Coco.

Santa Lucia $2,361
Cayo Coco $2,155

Living in Santa Lucia is roughly 4% more expensive than in Cayo Coco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santa Lucia 6% lower, Cayo Coco 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.83 CUP 236

$5.11 CUP 123

92.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.34 CUP 728

$14.92 CUP 358

103.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.98 CUP 167

$6.90 CUP 166

1.16%

Cappuccino

$3.35 CUP 80.5

$0.97 CUP 23.34

245.36%

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

$1.11 CUP 26.66

$2.05 CUP 49.24

-45.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 CUP 22.18

$0.98 CUP 23.61

-6.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.04 CUP 48.84

$1.94 CUP 46.63

5.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 CUP 71.1

$3.08 CUP 74.0

-3.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 CUP 46.07

$3.04 CUP 72.9

-36.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 CUP 44.95

$0.99 CUP 23.72

88.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 CUP 36.83

$1.97 CUP 47.29

-22.34%

Eggs

$3.60 CUP 86.4

$3.69 CUP 88.6

-2.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.21 CUP 149

$5.86 CUP 141

5.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.91 CUP 142

$5.06 CUP 121

16.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.15 CUP 268

$9.80 CUP 235

13.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 CUP 65.9

$5.07 CUP 122

-45.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 CUP 37.59

$1.01 CUP 24.25

55.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.06 CUP 49.49

$1.02 CUP 24.48

101.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 CUP 52.6

$0.99 CUP 23.73

121.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 CUP 46.77

$0.98 CUP 23.58

98.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 CUP 42.87

$3.09 CUP 74.2

-42.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 CUP 24.46

$1.01 CUP 24.30

0.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 CUP 24.62

$0.99 CUP 23.64

4.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.97 CUP 95.3

$2.95 CUP 70.8

34.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.12 CUP 291

$10.02 CUP 241

20.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 CUP 39.10

$1.96 CUP 46.99

-16.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 CUP 56.7

$1.96 CUP 47.01

20.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 CUP 5.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.63 CUP 591

$20.39 CUP 489

20.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.27 CUP 78.5

$0.97 CUP 23.33

237.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 CUP 9.18

$1.02 CUP 24.48

-62.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.19 CUP 365

$20.19 CUP 485

-24.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 CUP 24.46

$0.98 CUP 23.42

4.08%

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

$69.8K CUP 1.7M

$71.3K CUP 1.7M

-2.10%

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

$80.4K CUP 1.9M

$80.8K CUP 1.9M

-0.44%

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

$34.72 CUP 833

$39.92 CUP 958

-13.03%

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

$14.96 CUP 359

$40.23 CUP 966

-62.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$251 CUP 6,021

$221 CUP 5,307

13.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.36 CUP 969

$40.44 CUP 971

-0.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.78 CUP 355

$10.03 CUP 241

47.36%

Cinema Ticket

$1.02 CUP 24.50

$0.99 CUP 23.71

3.03%

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

$164 CUP 3,939

$89.0 CUP 2,136

84.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,059 CUP 97.4K

$15.1K CUP 362.8K

-73.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.5 CUP 1,691

$40.38 CUP 969

74.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.0 CUP 1,321

$29.55 CUP 709

86.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 CUP 2,416

$73.9 CUP 1,773

36.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 CUP 2,546

$81.3 CUP 1,950

30.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$548 CUP 13.1K

$404 CUP 9,699

35.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$344 CUP 8,245

$417 CUP 10.0K

-17.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$755 CUP 18.1K

$1,031 CUP 24.7K

-26.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$502 CUP 12.0K

$623 CUP 14.9K

-19.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$334 CUP 8,024

$300 CUP 7,202

11.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$368 CUP 8,836

$354 CUP 8,487

4.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$55.8 CUP 1,338

$19.60 CUP 471

184.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

-50.60%

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

Last update for Santa Lucia: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cayo Coco: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Lucia

$344 26.9%

Cayo Coco

$417 34.1% 21.4% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Lucia

$301 23.6%

Cayo Coco

$301 24.6% 0.2% $0.7

Groceries & Markets

Santa Lucia

$245 19.2%

Cayo Coco

$234 19.2% 4.5% $11

Eating Out

Santa Lucia

$164 12.9%

Cayo Coco

$101 8.3% 38.3% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Lucia

$150 11.7%

Cayo Coco

$101 8.3% 32.3% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Lucia

$42 3.3%

Cayo Coco

$42 3.5% 0% $0

Getting Around

Santa Lucia

$31 2.4%

Cayo Coco

$26 * 2.2% 13.7% $4.2

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 $548 in Santa Lucia and $404 in Cayo Coco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Lucia pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $30 in Santa Lucia vs $15 in Cayo Coco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $245 vs $234 per month, with Cayo Coco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Santa Lucia

🇨🇺 Cayo Coco

🕒 Local time

08:46 8:46 AM

Same time as Santa Lucia

🌤 Weather

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.73 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Santa Lucia Cayo Coco 180 km

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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 Lucia vs Cayo Coco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cayo Coco wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Santa Lucia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cayo Coco the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Santa Lucia is about 2.8 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: $548 in Santa Lucia versus $404 in Cayo Coco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cayo Coco runs roughly 17% less than in Santa Lucia. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $164 in Santa Lucia versus $89 in Cayo Coco. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Cayo Coco is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Cayo Coco is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Santa Lucia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Cayo Coco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Santa Lucia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.