Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Tecla and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,355 in Santa Tecla, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Santa Tecla
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Santa Tecla Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Santa Tecla

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,355

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,355 in Santa Tecla versus $1,012 in Lima.

Santa Tecla $1,355
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Santa Tecla versus $1,589 in Lima.

Santa Tecla $2,006
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,657 in Santa Tecla versus $2,167 in Lima.

Santa Tecla $2,657
Lima $2,167

Living in Santa Tecla is roughly 34% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Tecla is 0% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.56 $6.56

$4.40 PEN 15.10

49.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.20 $44.20

$35.17 PEN 121

25.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.82 $6.82

$6.89 PEN 23.65

-1.02%

Cappuccino

$3.50 $3.50

$3.26 PEN 11.20

7.36%

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

$1.15 $1.15

$1.12 PEN 3.84

2.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 $0.86

$0.62 PEN 2.11

38.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.98 $1.98

$2.65 PEN 9.09

-25.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 $3.63

$4.41 PEN 15.15

-17.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 $1.75

$1.63 PEN 5.61

7.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 $2.14

$2.56 PEN 8.78

-16.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 $1.43

$1.35 PEN 4.65

5.93%

Eggs

$2.30 $2.30

$2.90 PEN 9.96

-20.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 $7.52

$8.85 PEN 30.38

-15.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.55 $5.55

$5.98 PEN 20.52

-7.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.23 $10.23

$9.78 PEN 33.59

4.60%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 $3.27

$2.05 PEN 7.02

59.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 $1.37

$1.06 PEN 3.66

29.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.64 $2.64

$1.35 PEN 4.64

95.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.54 $3.54

$1.50 PEN 5.15

136.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 $2.98

$0.88 PEN 3.03

238.64%

Onion (1kg)

$3.35 $3.35

$0.92 PEN 3.15

264.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.96 $0.96

$0.89 PEN 3.07

7.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$0.90 PEN 3.10

8.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.94 $3.94

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-33.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.06 $12.06

$8.52 PEN 29.26

41.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 $2.20

$1.88 PEN 6.45

17.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 $2.95

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-8.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.16 $6.16

$3.81 PEN 13.09

61.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.06 $3.06

$2.02 PEN 6.93

51.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.27 $20.27

$7.11 PEN 24.41

185.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 $1.24

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-27.91%

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

$25.4K $25.4K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

14.00%

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

$27.0K $27.0K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

5.78%

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

$132 $132

$73.1 PEN 251

80.44%

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

$20.92 $20.92

$16.35 PEN 56.2

27.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.31 $42.31

$27.47 PEN 94.3

54.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.72 $24.72

$31.90 PEN 110

-22.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$5.03 $5.03

$7.05 PEN 24.23

-28.65%

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

$160 $160

$182 PEN 627

-12.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,809 $4,809

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

-63.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 $67.0

$53.8 PEN 185

24.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.85 $46.85

$34.32 PEN 118

36.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 $116

$82.8 PEN 284

40.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 $115

$78.2 PEN 269

47.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$765 $765

$721 PEN 2,476

6.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$548 $548

$343 PEN 1,179

59.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,200 $1,200

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-1.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$887 $887

$651 PEN 2,235

36.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$406 $406

$648 PEN 2,226

-37.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

8.94

-4.92%

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

Last update for Santa Tecla: October 13, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Tecla

$548 40.4%

Lima

$343 33.9% 37.3% $205

Groceries & Markets

Santa Tecla

$260 19.2%

Lima

$226 22.3% 13.1% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Tecla

$195 14.4%

Lima

$117 11.6% 40.1% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Tecla

$155 11.5%

Lima

$112 11.1% 27.8% $43

Eating Out

Santa Tecla

$140 10.4%

Lima

$124 12.3% 11.6% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Tecla

$35 2.6%

Lima

$46 4.6% 32.3% $11

Getting Around

Santa Tecla

$21 * 1.6%

Lima

$43 4.3% 103% $22

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 $765 in Santa Tecla and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 60% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44.00 in Santa Tecla vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇻 Santa Tecla

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

23:48 11:48 PM

00:48 12:48 AM

1 h ahead of Santa Tecla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

138,695

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 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

PEN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Tecla Lima 3,160 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

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

Santa Tecla and Lima differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($1,355 vs $1,012 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 60% 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: $765 in Santa Tecla versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Santa Tecla. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,355 per month in Santa Tecla versus $1,012 in Lima – a 34% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,355 in Santa Tecla, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Santa Tecla. 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.

Safety-wise, Santa Tecla and Lima are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Santa Tecla. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.