Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Monica, CA and Guatemala City

For one person, living is cheaper in Guatemala City: $1,347 a month against $3,808 in Santa Monica, CA, rent and utilities included – about $29,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

183

Cost of Living Index in Santa Monica, CA
Learn more

Santa Monica, CA Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
Learn more

Guatemala City Living Index

Jump to prices

Santa Monica, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,808

/mo nomad

Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,347

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Monica, CA and in Guatemala City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,808 in Santa Monica, CA versus $1,347 in Guatemala City.

Santa Monica, CA $3,808
Guatemala City $1,347

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,840 in Santa Monica, CA versus $2,028 in Guatemala City.

Santa Monica, CA $5,840
Guatemala City $2,028

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,873 in Santa Monica, CA versus $2,710 in Guatemala City.

Santa Monica, CA $7,873
Guatemala City $2,710

Living in Santa Monica, CA is roughly 183% more expensive than in Guatemala City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$27.70 $27.70

$7.76 Q 59.3

256.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$118 $118

$49.88 Q 381

136.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.07 $15.07

$7.72 Q 59.0

95.21%

Cappuccino

$5.77 $5.77

$3.31 Q 25.28

74.32%

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

$3.14 $3.14

$1.17 Q 8.98

168.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 $2.44

$1.01 Q 7.75

141.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.40 $8.40

$3.18 Q 24.29

164.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.97 $9.97

$4.71 Q 36.00

111.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 $1.40

$2.08 Q 15.88

-32.69%

White Bread (500g)

$4.82 $4.82

$3.11 Q 23.78

54.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.67 $4.67

$2.12 Q 16.19

120.28%

Eggs

$5.44 $5.44

$2.44 Q 18.68

122.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.24 $16.24

$6.19 Q 47.28

162.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.73 $13.73

$9.64 Q 73.7

42.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.76 $19.76

$13.48 Q 103

46.59%

Apples (1kg)

$4.76 $4.76

$3.98 Q 30.43

19.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 $2.28

$1.65 Q 12.58

38.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.99 $3.99

$2.83 Q 21.66

40.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.67 $5.67

$1.63 Q 12.48

247.85%

Potato (1kg)

$3.39 $3.39

$1.53 Q 11.70

121.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.83 $2.83

$2.18 Q 16.63

29.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.13 $2.13

$0.69 Q 5.26

208.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 $2.63

$1.17 Q 8.94

124.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.84 $11.84

$4.01 Q 30.62

195.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.19 $15.19

$8.08 Q 61.7

88.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 $2.40

$1.79 Q 13.71

34.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 $2.95

$2.68 Q 20.46

10.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.01 Q 7.69

50.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.1 $55.1

$11.11 Q 84.9

396.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 $3.54

$5.17 Q 39.48

-31.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 $2.15

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.56 $38.56

$10.66 Q 81.5

261.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.37 Q 10.47

10.95%

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

$32.5K $32.5K

$27.1K Q 207.4K

19.67%

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

$26.5K $26.5K

$24.9K Q 190.7K

6.35%

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

$219 $219

$73.1 Q 559

199.88%

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

$46.95 $46.95

$29.48 Q 225

59.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.7 $65.7

$45.73 Q 349

43.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.4 $67.4

$38.04 Q 291

77.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$44.86 $44.86

$12.79 Q 97.8

250.74%

Cinema Ticket

$18.81 $18.81

$6.57 Q 50.2

186.30%

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

$1,714 $1,714

$338 Q 2,582

407.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.7K $47.7K

$15.8K Q 120.8K

201.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.0 $89.0

$49.96 Q 382

78.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 $54.3

$47.37 Q 362

14.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 $103

$119 Q 908

-13.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 $122

$111 Q 845

10.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,900 $3,900

$835 Q 6,383

366.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,244 $2,244

$538 Q 4,114

316.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$8,650 $8,650

$1,568 Q 12.0K

451.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,203 $4,203

$823 Q 6,292

410.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$14.3K $14.3K

$2,041 Q 15.6K

601.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.1K $10.1K

$1,099 Q 8,398

819.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,567 $6,567

$846 Q 6,463

676.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.62

11.62

-43.03%

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

Last update for Santa Monica, CA: November 1, 2026

Last update for Guatemala City: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Monica, CA

$2.2K 58.9%

Guatemala City

$538 40% 76% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Santa Monica, CA

$465 12.2%

Guatemala City

$283 21% 39.2% $182

Eating Out

Santa Monica, CA

$420 11%

Guatemala City

$159 11.8% 62.2% $261

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Monica, CA

$332 8.7%

Guatemala City

$148 11% 55.3% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Monica, CA

$166 4.4%

Guatemala City

$147 10.9% 11.2% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Monica, CA

$105 2.8%

Guatemala City

$51 3.8% 51.3% $54

Getting Around

Santa Monica, CA

$76 2%

Guatemala City

$20 * 1.5% 73.1% $55

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 $3,900 in Santa Monica, CA and $835 in Guatemala City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Monica, CA pays about 7.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $118 in Santa Monica, CA vs $50 in Guatemala City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $465 vs $283 per month, with Guatemala City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Santa Monica, CA

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🕒 Local time

05:31 5:31 AM

07:31 7:31 AM

2 h ahead of Santa Monica, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,736

2,450,212 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.58 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

GTQ to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Monica, CA Guatemala City 3,540 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Monica, CA
Guatemala City

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 Monica, CA vs Guatemala City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guatemala City wins on cost – living expenses run 65% lower than in Santa Monica, CA. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Guatemala City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Santa Monica, CA is about 7.8 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: $3,900 in Santa Monica, CA versus $835 in Guatemala City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Guatemala City – a meal for two runs $50 versus $118 in Santa Monica, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $3,808 per month in Santa Monica, CA versus $1,347 in Guatemala City – Guatemala City is about 65% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

Both work as nomad bases, but Guatemala City delivers better value at $1,347 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Guatemala City hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Guatemala City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Santa Monica, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.