Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Maria and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Maria: $743 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

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

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Santa Maria

🇧🇷 Brazil

$743

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $743 in Santa Maria versus $1,012 in Lima.

Santa Maria $743
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,242 in Santa Maria versus $1,589 in Lima.

Santa Maria $1,242
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,742 in Santa Maria versus $2,167 in Lima.

Santa Maria $1,742
Lima $2,167

Living in Santa Maria costs roughly 27% less than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santa Maria 45% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.45 R$27.65

$4.40 PEN 15.10

23.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.62 R$186

$35.17 PEN 121

4.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.82 R$34.57

$6.89 PEN 23.65

-1.02%

Cappuccino

$1.85 R$9.36

$3.26 PEN 11.20

-43.25%

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

$1.07 R$5.40

$1.12 PEN 3.84

-4.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.46

$0.62 PEN 2.11

9.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.63 R$8.29

$2.65 PEN 9.09

-38.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 R$15.55

$4.41 PEN 15.15

-30.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 R$5.27

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-36.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 R$8.31

$2.56 PEN 8.78

-35.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.08 R$5.48

$1.35 PEN 4.65

-20.00%

Eggs

$2.10 R$10.64

$2.90 PEN 9.96

-27.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.43 R$47.80

$8.85 PEN 30.38

6.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 R$20.07

$5.98 PEN 20.52

-33.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.20 R$41.58

$9.78 PEN 33.59

-16.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.48 R$12.57

$2.05 PEN 7.02

20.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 R$7.61

$1.06 PEN 3.66

41.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.36 R$6.91

$1.35 PEN 4.64

0.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R$7.75

$1.50 PEN 5.15

2.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 R$5.88

$0.88 PEN 3.03

31.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 R$5.71

$0.92 PEN 3.15

22.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 R$4.37

$0.89 PEN 3.07

-3.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 R$4.12

$0.90 PEN 3.10

-10.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.38 R$12.07

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-59.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$41.44

$8.52 PEN 29.26

-3.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R$5.77

$1.88 PEN 6.45

-39.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 R$11.09

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-31.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.13

$0.68 PEN 2.33

48.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 R$155

$26.86 PEN 92.2

13.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 R$6.70

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-65.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.87 R$4.39

$2.02 PEN 6.93

-56.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.16 R$41.36

$7.11 PEN 24.41

14.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R$6.21

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-28.49%

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

$23.9K R$121.2K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

7.19%

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

$32.6K R$165.3K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

27.82%

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

$53.4 R$271

$73.1 PEN 251

-26.89%

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

$12.65 R$64.1

$16.35 PEN 56.2

-22.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.66 R$84.5

$27.47 PEN 94.3

-39.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.82 R$121

$31.90 PEN 110

-25.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.05 R$61.1

$19.41 PEN 66.7

-37.92%

Cinema Ticket

$5.66 R$28.68

$7.05 PEN 24.23

-19.72%

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

$163 R$828

$182 PEN 627

-10.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,049 R$15.5K

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

-76.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.2 R$260

$53.8 PEN 185

-4.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.38 R$220

$34.32 PEN 118

26.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.9 R$486

$82.8 PEN 284

15.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$62.3 R$316

$78.2 PEN 269

-20.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$293 R$1,486

$721 PEN 2,476

-59.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$172 R$870

$343 PEN 1,179

-50.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$648 R$3,285

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-46.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 R$1,982

$651 PEN 2,235

-39.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,029 R$10.3K

$2,414 PEN 8,292

-15.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$674 R$3,416

$1,357 PEN 4,660

-50.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$637 R$3,227

$648 PEN 2,226

-1.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.86%

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

Last update for Santa Maria: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Santa Maria

$192 25.9%

Lima

$226 22.3% 17.7% $34

Accommodation & Living

Santa Maria

$172 23.1%

Lima

$343 33.9% 100% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Maria

$114 15.3%

Lima

$112 11.1% 1.4% $1.6

Eating Out

Santa Maria

$108 14.5%

Lima

$124 12.3% 15.3% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Maria

$83 11.1%

Lima

$117 11.6% 41.3% $34

Getting Around

Santa Maria

$40 5.4%

Lima

$43 4.3% 8.1% $3.3

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Maria

$35 4.7%

Lima

$46 4.6% 31% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $293 in Santa Maria and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 2% 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: $37.00 in Santa Maria vs $35.00 in Lima. Groceries flip the comparison at $192 vs $226, with Santa Maria cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Santa Maria

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

04:49 4:49 AM

02:49 2:49 AM

2 h behind Santa Maria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

271,735

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Maria Lima 3,100 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

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

Santa Maria and Lima differ by about 36% in total monthly costs ($743 vs $1,012 including rent). Santa Maria is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 2% lower in Lima. 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: $293 in Santa Maria versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $163 in Santa Maria 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 18% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $743 in Santa Maria versus $1,012 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Maria but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.