Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between SeaTac, WA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $3,199 in SeaTac, WA, rent and utilities included – about $26,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in SeaTac, WA
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SeaTac, WA Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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SeaTac, WA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,199

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,199 in SeaTac, WA versus $1,012 in Lima.

SeaTac, WA $3,199
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,502 in SeaTac, WA versus $1,589 in Lima.

SeaTac, WA $4,502
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,806 in SeaTac, WA versus $2,167 in Lima.

SeaTac, WA $5,806
Lima $2,167

Living in SeaTac, WA is roughly 216% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: SeaTac, WA is 137% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.20 $25.20

$4.40 PEN 15.10

472.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.3 $81.3

$35.17 PEN 121

131.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.93 $11.93

$6.89 PEN 23.65

73.15%

Cappuccino

$5.60 $5.60

$3.26 PEN 11.20

71.78%

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

$3.26 $3.26

$1.12 PEN 3.84

191.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 $2.05

$0.62 PEN 2.11

230.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 $3.93

$2.65 PEN 9.09

48.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.91 $5.91

$4.41 PEN 15.15

34.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-30.06%

White Bread (500g)

$4.05 $4.05

$2.56 PEN 8.78

58.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.34 $3.34

$1.35 PEN 4.65

147.41%

Eggs

$7.05 $7.05

$2.90 PEN 9.96

143.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.77 $14.77

$8.85 PEN 30.38

66.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.22 $14.22

$5.98 PEN 20.52

137.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.37 $17.37

$9.78 PEN 33.59

77.61%

Apples (1kg)

$5.37 $5.37

$2.05 PEN 7.02

161.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 $1.67

$1.06 PEN 3.66

57.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.29 $4.29

$1.35 PEN 4.64

217.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.61 $4.61

$1.50 PEN 5.15

207.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.23 $2.23

$0.88 PEN 3.03

153.41%

Onion (1kg)

$3.03 $3.03

$0.92 PEN 3.15

229.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.82 $1.82

$0.89 PEN 3.07

104.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 $3.17

$0.90 PEN 3.10

252.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.28 $12.28

$5.90 PEN 20.27

108.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 $18.19

$8.52 PEN 29.26

113.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 $1.77

$1.88 PEN 6.45

-5.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 $1.98

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-38.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 $2.66

$0.68 PEN 2.33

291.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$89.6 $89.6

$26.86 PEN 92.2

233.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 $2.54

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-33.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.70 $1.70

$2.02 PEN 6.93

-15.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.11 $30.11

$7.11 PEN 24.41

323.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 $1.44

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-16.28%

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

$36.2K $36.2K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

62.35%

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

$27.3K $27.3K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

7.09%

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

$227 $227

$73.1 PEN 251

210.41%

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

$61.7 $61.7

$16.35 PEN 56.2

277.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$82.2 $82.2

$27.47 PEN 94.3

199.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.17 $35.17

$31.90 PEN 110

10.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.01 $20.01

$19.41 PEN 66.7

3.09%

Cinema Ticket

$17.63 $17.63

$7.05 PEN 24.23

150.07%

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

$2,120 $2,120

$182 PEN 627

1061.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.3K $32.3K

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

147.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.02 $49.02

$53.8 PEN 185

-8.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.17 $22.17

$34.32 PEN 118

-35.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.4 $63.4

$82.8 PEN 284

-23.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$46.85 $46.85

$78.2 PEN 269

-40.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,292 $2,292

$721 PEN 2,476

217.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,762 $1,762

$343 PEN 1,179

413.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,882 $3,882

$1,219 PEN 4,186

218.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,636 $2,636

$651 PEN 2,235

305.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 $4,016

$2,414 PEN 8,292

66.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,930 $3,930

$1,357 PEN 4,660

189.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,146 $6,146

$648 PEN 2,226

848.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

8.94

-26.73%

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

Last update for SeaTac, WA: 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

SeaTac, WA

$1.8K 55.1%

Lima

$343 33.9% 80.5% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

SeaTac, WA

$445 13.9%

Lima

$226 22.3% 49.3% $219

Monthly Utilities & Internet

SeaTac, WA

$371 11.6%

Lima

$117 11.6% 68.5% $254

Eating Out

SeaTac, WA

$357 11.2%

Lima

$124 12.3% 65.3% $233

Getting Around

SeaTac, WA

$111 3.5%

Lima

$43 4.3% 60.9% $68

Clothing & Footwear

SeaTac, WA

$82 2.6%

Lima

$112 11.1% 37.3% $30

Sport & Entertainment

SeaTac, WA

$70 2.2%

Lima

$46 4.6% 34.7% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,292 in SeaTac, WA and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

SeaTac, WA pays 848% 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: $81.0 in SeaTac, WA vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $445 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 SeaTac, WA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

14:03 2:03 PM

16:03 4:03 PM

2 h ahead of SeaTac, WA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

31,454

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 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 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 →

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Between locations

SeaTac, WA Lima 7,990 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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SeaTac, WA
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

SeaTac, WA vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

SeaTac, WA and Lima differ by about 216% in total monthly costs ($3,199 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 848% higher in SeaTac, WA, 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: $2,292 in SeaTac, WA versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,120 in SeaTac, WA 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 97% higher in SeaTac, WA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $3,199 in SeaTac, WA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in SeaTac, WA. 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 216% less than in SeaTac, WA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.