Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Starkville, MS and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $1,790 in Starkville, MS, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Starkville, MS
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Starkville, MS Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Starkville, MS

🇺🇸 United States

$1,790

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,790 in Starkville, MS versus $1,042 in Lima.

Starkville, MS $1,790
Lima $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,712 in Starkville, MS versus $1,651 in Lima.

Starkville, MS $2,712
Lima $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,635 in Starkville, MS versus $2,259 in Lima.

Starkville, MS $3,635
Lima $2,259

Living in Starkville, MS is roughly 72% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Starkville, MS is 32% above, Lima is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.71 $14.71

$4.64 PEN 15.95

217.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 $60.3

$34.34 PEN 118

75.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 $8.34

$7.01 PEN 24.12

18.97%

Cappuccino

$4.18 $4.18

$3.22 PEN 11.09

29.81%

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

$2.46 $2.46

$1.13 PEN 3.90

117.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 $1.91

$0.61 PEN 2.09

213.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.06 $4.06

$2.93 PEN 10.08

38.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.98 $6.98

$4.25 PEN 14.63

64.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-44.30%

White Bread (500g)

$3.16 $3.16

$2.61 PEN 8.98

21.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.58 $2.58

$1.30 PEN 4.47

98.46%

Eggs

$4.43 $4.43

$2.92 PEN 10.05

51.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.53 $9.53

$9.54 PEN 32.82

-0.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.66 $11.66

$5.71 PEN 19.66

104.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 $15.13

$9.47 PEN 32.58

59.77%

Apples (1kg)

$3.74 $3.74

$2.01 PEN 6.91

86.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 $1.33

$1.02 PEN 3.52

30.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.31 $3.31

$1.45 PEN 4.99

128.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.96 $2.96

$1.49 PEN 5.14

98.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.17 $2.17

$0.91 PEN 3.14

138.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.28 $2.28

$0.89 PEN 3.07

156.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.24 $2.24

$0.86 PEN 2.97

160.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 $1.83

$0.89 PEN 3.06

105.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.39 $8.39

$5.47 PEN 18.83

53.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.82 $9.82

$10.17 PEN 35.00

-3.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 $1.71

$1.81 PEN 6.21

-5.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 $3.15

$3.15 PEN 10.84

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 PEN 2.28

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.89 PEN 110

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 $4.90

$3.43 PEN 11.79

42.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 $1.81

$1.98 PEN 6.80

-8.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.94 $32.94

$9.60 PEN 33.04

243.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 $0.83

$1.71 PEN 5.89

-51.46%

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

$29.9K $29.9K

$21.9K PEN 75.3K

36.94%

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

$25.8K $25.8K

$29.0K PEN 100.0K

-11.28%

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

$168 $168

$65.8 PEN 227

155.52%

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

$29.88 $29.88

$15.26 PEN 52.5

95.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.2 $52.2

$26.87 PEN 92.5

94.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.35 $17.35

$32.91 PEN 113

-47.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.12 PEN 69.2

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 $7.84

$7.12 PEN 24.49

10.11%

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

$1,528 $1,528

$309 PEN 1,064

394.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K $14.2K

$21.4K PEN 73.5K

-33.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.3 $73.3

$52.0 PEN 179

41.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.0 $53.0

$35.69 PEN 123

48.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.2 $86.2

$81.8 PEN 281

5.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$170 $170

$78.0 PEN 268

118.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 $949

$727 PEN 2,501

30.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 $743

$373 PEN 1,284

99.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,536 $1,536

$1,249 PEN 4,297

23.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,315 $1,315

$739 PEN 2,544

77.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,181 $2,181

$2,380 PEN 8,191

-8.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,184 $2,184

$1,365 PEN 4,697

60.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,162 $4,162

$650 PEN 2,238

540.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.62

8.38

-21.00%

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

Last update for Starkville, MS: November 1, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Starkville, MS

$743 41.6%

Lima

$373 35.8% 49.8% $370

Groceries & Markets

Starkville, MS

$332 18.6%

Lima

$228 21.9% 31.3% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Starkville, MS

$250 14%

Lima

$108 10.4% 56.9% $142

Eating Out

Starkville, MS

$245 13.7%

Lima

$127 12.2% 48.1% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Starkville, MS

$172 9.6%

Lima

$111 10.7% 35.4% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Starkville, MS

$33 1.9%

Lima

$47 4.5% 42.7% $14

Getting Around

Starkville, MS

$14 * 0.8%

Lima

$48 4.6% 242% $34

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 $949 in Starkville, MS and $727 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Starkville, MS pays about 6.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $60 in Starkville, MS vs $34 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $228 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Starkville, MS

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

00:22 12:22 AM

01:22 1:22 AM

1 h ahead of Starkville, MS

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,638

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.891 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 November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.891 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 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

Starkville, MS Lima 5,210 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Starkville, MS
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

Starkville, MS vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,790 in Starkville, MS and $1,042 in Lima, so Lima is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Starkville, MS is about 6.4 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: $949 in Starkville, MS versus $727 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Starkville, MS. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,790 per month in Starkville, MS versus $1,042 in Lima – Lima is about 42% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Lima gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Lima wins on affordability, Starkville, MS on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.