Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Maria, CA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $2,899 in Santa Maria, CA, rent and utilities included – about $22,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

142

Cost of Living Index in Santa Maria, CA
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Santa Maria, CA Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Santa Maria, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,899

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,899 in Santa Maria, CA versus $1,012 in Lima.

Santa Maria, CA $2,899
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,163 in Santa Maria, CA versus $1,589 in Lima.

Santa Maria, CA $4,163
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,427 in Santa Maria, CA versus $2,167 in Lima.

Santa Maria, CA $5,427
Lima $2,167

Living in Santa Maria, CA is roughly 186% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Maria, CA is 115% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.21 $13.21

$4.40 PEN 15.10

200.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.6 $59.6

$35.17 PEN 121

69.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.84 $9.84

$6.89 PEN 23.65

42.82%

Cappuccino

$6.07 $6.07

$3.26 PEN 11.20

86.20%

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

$3.44 $3.44

$1.12 PEN 3.84

207.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 $1.96

$0.62 PEN 2.11

216.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.52 $7.52

$2.65 PEN 9.09

183.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.38 $9.38

$4.41 PEN 15.15

112.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 $1.06

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-34.97%

White Bread (500g)

$4.12 $4.12

$2.56 PEN 8.78

60.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.85 $4.85

$1.35 PEN 4.65

259.26%

Eggs

$4.79 $4.79

$2.90 PEN 9.96

65.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.83 $8.83

$8.85 PEN 30.38

-0.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.52 $7.52

$5.98 PEN 20.52

25.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.55 $13.55

$9.78 PEN 33.59

38.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.33 $1.33

$2.05 PEN 7.02

-35.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 $1.43

$1.06 PEN 3.66

34.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 $2.55

$1.35 PEN 4.64

88.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 $3.27

$1.50 PEN 5.15

118.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 $1.92

$0.88 PEN 3.03

118.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.08 $1.08

$0.92 PEN 3.15

17.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.97 $1.97

$0.89 PEN 3.07

121.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 $1.85

$0.90 PEN 3.10

105.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.50 $11.50

$5.90 PEN 20.27

94.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.15 $15.15

$8.52 PEN 29.26

77.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 $1.94

$1.88 PEN 6.45

3.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 $4.29

$3.22 PEN 11.05

33.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.04 $2.04

$0.68 PEN 2.33

200.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.55 $49.55

$26.86 PEN 92.2

84.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.20 $6.20

$3.81 PEN 13.09

62.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 $1.30

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-24.42%

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

$36.7K $36.7K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

64.30%

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

$26.9K $26.9K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

5.44%

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

$162 $162

$73.1 PEN 251

121.55%

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

$68.5 $68.5

$16.35 PEN 56.2

318.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.4 $60.4

$27.47 PEN 94.3

119.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.38 $29.38

$31.90 PEN 110

-7.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$14.90 $14.90

$7.05 PEN 24.23

111.35%

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

$1,888 $1,888

$182 PEN 627

934.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.77 $46.77

$53.8 PEN 185

-13.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.74 $39.74

$34.32 PEN 118

15.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.7 $93.7

$82.8 PEN 284

13.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 $125

$78.2 PEN 269

59.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,199 $2,199

$721 PEN 2,476

204.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,738 $1,738

$343 PEN 1,179

406.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,497 $3,497

$1,219 PEN 4,186

186.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,928 $2,928

$651 PEN 2,235

349.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,572 $8,572

$2,414 PEN 8,292

255.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,442 $8,442

$1,357 PEN 4,660

522.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,231 $4,231

$648 PEN 2,226

552.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.39

8.94

-28.52%

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

Last update for Santa Maria, 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

Santa Maria, CA

$1.7K 60%

Lima

$343 33.9% 80.2% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Santa Maria, CA

$323 11.2%

Lima

$226 22.3% 30.1% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Maria, CA

$291 10%

Lima

$117 11.6% 59.8% $174

Eating Out

Santa Maria, CA

$286 9.9%

Lima

$124 12.3% 56.7% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Maria, CA

$137 4.7%

Lima

$112 11.1% 18.3% $25

Getting Around

Santa Maria, CA

$64 * 2.2%

Lima

$43 4.3% 32% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Maria, CA

$59 2%

Lima

$46 4.6% 22.3% $13

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 $2,199 in Santa Maria, CA and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Maria, CA pays 553% 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: $60.0 in Santa Maria, CA vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Santa Maria, CA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

00:07 12:07 AM

02:07 2:07 AM

2 h ahead of Santa Maria, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

107,408

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 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 19, 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

Santa Maria, CA Lima 6,940 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Maria, 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

Santa Maria, CA vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Maria, CA and Lima differ by about 186% in total monthly costs ($2,899 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 553% higher in Santa Maria, 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: $2,199 in Santa Maria, CA versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,888 in Santa Maria, 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 43% higher in Santa Maria, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $2,899 in Santa Maria, CA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Santa Maria, 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 186% less than in Santa Maria, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.