Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tampico and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,347 in Tampico, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Tampico
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Tampico Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Tampico

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,347

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,347 in Tampico versus $996 in Lima.

Tampico $1,347
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,120 in Tampico versus $1,594 in Lima.

Tampico $2,120
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,894 in Tampico versus $2,191 in Lima.

Tampico $2,894
Lima $2,191

Living in Tampico is roughly 35% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tampico is 1% above, Lima is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.12 MX$149

$4.42 PEN 15.16

83.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 MX$1,012

$35.04 PEN 120

57.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.60 MX$176

$6.84 PEN 23.44

40.35%

Cappuccino

$3.11 MX$57.0

$3.27 PEN 11.22

-4.89%

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

$1.22 MX$22.33

$1.10 PEN 3.78

10.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 MX$14.64

$0.65 PEN 2.22

23.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 MX$82.2

$2.58 PEN 8.85

73.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.77 MX$87.5

$4.47 PEN 15.34

6.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.45

$1.59 PEN 5.46

-9.43%

White Bread (500g)

$4.20 MX$77.1

$2.58 PEN 8.86

62.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 MX$25.06

$1.36 PEN 4.65

Eggs

$4.20 MX$77.1

$2.95 PEN 10.11

42.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.84 MX$89.0

$9.10 PEN 31.19

-46.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.29 MX$189

$5.81 PEN 19.91

77.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.41 MX$246

$9.83 PEN 33.68

36.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 MX$64.2

$2.01 PEN 6.89

74.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 MX$21.66

$1.08 PEN 3.69

9.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 MX$38.05

$1.37 PEN 4.70

51.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.28 MX$41.78

$1.48 PEN 5.06

54.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.13

$0.96 PEN 3.30

128.13%

Onion (1kg)

$2.79 MX$51.2

$0.85 PEN 2.92

228.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.09 MX$38.29

$0.88 PEN 3.02

137.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 MX$17.45

$0.87 PEN 2.97

9.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$88.0

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-18.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.21

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 MX$28.71

$1.92 PEN 6.57

-18.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 MX$14.38

$0.68 PEN 2.33

14.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.28 MX$501

$26.74 PEN 91.7

2.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.84 MX$52.1

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-25.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.71 MX$49.82

$2.04 PEN 7.00

32.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.24 MX$96.2

$7.14 PEN 24.49

-26.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 MX$26.05

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-13.94%

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

$33.1K MX$608.2K

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

49.39%

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

$23.7K MX$436.0K

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

-7.48%

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

$106 MX$1,940

$73.0 PEN 250

44.67%

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

$28.01 MX$514

$16.26 PEN 55.7

72.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.40 MX$448

$27.60 PEN 94.6

-11.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.32 MX$795

$33.07 PEN 113

30.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.83 MX$309

$19.49 PEN 66.8

-13.65%

Cinema Ticket

$5.58 MX$102

$7.39 PEN 25.33

-24.49%

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

$282 MX$5,179

$182 PEN 624

55.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,172 MX$150.0K

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

-38.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.7 MX$1,371

$52.6 PEN 180

42.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.9 MX$1,228

$34.23 PEN 117

95.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$164 MX$3,016

$83.8 PEN 287

96.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$253 MX$4,642

$79.0 PEN 271

219.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$531 MX$9,755

$723 PEN 2,479

-26.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,066

$340 PEN 1,166

13.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 MX$17.4K

$1,184 PEN 4,060

-20.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$678 MX$12.5K

$635 PEN 2,176

6.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$571 MX$10.5K

$653 PEN 2,237

-12.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

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

Last update for Tampico: October 5, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tampico

$385 28.8%

Lima

$340 33.6% 11.6% $45

Groceries & Markets

Tampico

$269 * 20.1%

Lima

$226 22.4% 15.8% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Tampico

$251 18.8%

Lima

$112 11.1% 55.3% $139

Eating Out

Tampico

$171 12.8%

Lima

$124 12.3% 27.5% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tampico

$158 11.8%

Lima

$117 11.6% 26.1% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Tampico

$54 4.1%

Lima

$48 4.7% 12.2% $6.6

Getting Around

Tampico

$47 3.5%

Lima

$43 4.3% 7.1% $3.3

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 $531 in Tampico and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Tampico vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tampico

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

01:28 1:28 AM

02:28 2:28 AM

1 h ahead of Tampico

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

297,562

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tampico Lima 4,440 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Tampico
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

Tampico vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tampico and Lima differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,347 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 14% 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: $531 in Tampico versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $282 in Tampico 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 19% higher in Tampico. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,347 in Tampico, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Tampico. 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 35% less than in Tampico. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.