Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toluca and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,014 a month against $1,098 in Toluca, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. The total is higher in Toluca despite lower rent and utilities.

53

Cost of Living Index in Toluca
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Toluca Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Toluca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,098

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,098 in Toluca versus $1,014 in Lima.

Toluca $1,098
Lima $1,014

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,844 in Toluca versus $1,613 in Lima.

Toluca $1,844
Lima $1,613

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,589 in Toluca versus $2,211 in Lima.

Toluca $2,589
Lima $2,211

Living in Toluca is roughly 8% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Toluca 19% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.03 MX$204

$4.42 PEN 15.19

149.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.85 MX$792

$34.56 PEN 119

23.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.09 MX$168

$6.80 PEN 23.37

33.68%

Cappuccino

$3.14 MX$58.0

$3.30 PEN 11.34

-4.85%

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

$1.26 MX$23.24

$1.06 PEN 3.64

18.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 MX$13.97

$0.66 PEN 2.26

15.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.54 PEN 8.71

-15.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 MX$60.8

$4.24 PEN 14.55

-22.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.71

$1.58 PEN 5.43

12.03%

White Bread (500g)

$3.12 MX$57.7

$2.61 PEN 8.97

19.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 MX$40.28

$1.34 PEN 4.60

62.69%

Eggs

$3.05 MX$56.3

$2.93 PEN 10.08

4.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.94 MX$147

$9.45 PEN 32.45

-15.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.36 MX$155

$5.75 PEN 19.75

45.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.91 MX$165

$9.69 PEN 33.29

-8.05%

Apples (1kg)

$4.08 MX$75.3

$2.02 PEN 6.95

101.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 MX$39.00

$1.07 PEN 3.66

97.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.07

$1.37 PEN 4.70

62.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.28 MX$42.16

$1.47 PEN 5.05

55.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.82 MX$52.2

$0.95 PEN 3.25

196.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.58

$0.91 PEN 3.14

152.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 MX$30.26

$0.90 PEN 3.10

82.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.07

$0.89 PEN 3.04

15.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.87 MX$90.0

$5.74 PEN 19.71

-15.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.25 MX$226

$9.21 PEN 31.64

33.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 MX$36.76

$1.84 PEN 6.31

8.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 MX$67.5

$3.11 PEN 10.67

17.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MX$13.92

$0.72 PEN 2.46

4.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 MX$59.0

$3.54 PEN 12.17

-9.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.01 MX$37.22

$2.07 PEN 7.12

-2.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.17 MX$188

$7.75 PEN 26.62

31.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.66

$1.71 PEN 5.86

-15.79%

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

$24.6K MX$454.6K

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

13.93%

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

$23.5K MX$433.9K

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

-17.85%

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

$58.1 MX$1,074

$68.2 PEN 234

-14.73%

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

$25.04 MX$463

$15.73 PEN 54.0

59.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.71 MX$586

$26.48 PEN 90.9

19.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.08 MX$889

$33.94 PEN 117

41.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 MX$419

$20.10 PEN 69.0

12.74%

Cinema Ticket

$6.95 MX$128

$7.22 PEN 24.80

-3.74%

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

$224 MX$4,131

$201 PEN 689

11.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,244 MX$96.9K

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

-59.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.7 MX$1,233

$53.7 PEN 184

24.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.7 MX$992

$35.88 PEN 123

49.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 MX$1,920

$83.8 PEN 288

24.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 MX$1,923

$78.8 PEN 271

32.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 MX$13.0K

$729 PEN 2,505

-3.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$289 MX$5,345

$349 PEN 1,197

-17.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$972 MX$18.0K

$1,186 PEN 4,073

-18.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$703 MX$13.0K

$696 PEN 2,391

0.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,296 MX$24.0K

$2,360 PEN 8,105

-45.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$915 MX$16.9K

$1,356 PEN 4,657

-32.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,273 MX$23.5K

$663 PEN 2,278

91.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.07

8.78

26.08%

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

Last update for Toluca: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Toluca

$289 26.4%

Lima

$227 22.4% 21.5% $62

Accommodation & Living

Toluca

$289 26.3%

Lima

$349 34.4% 20.5% $59

Eating Out

Toluca

$178 16.3%

Lima

$123 12.2% 30.8% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Toluca

$148 13.5%

Lima

$113 11.2% 23.2% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toluca

$115 10.5%

Lima

$110 10.9% 3.9% $4.5

Sport & Entertainment

Toluca

$62 5.7%

Lima

$48 4.8% 21.9% $14

Getting Around

Toluca

$16 * 1.5%

Lima

$43 4.2% 163% $27

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 $705 in Toluca and $729 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toluca pays 92% 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: $43.00 in Toluca vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $227 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Toluca

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

16:36 4:36 PM

17:36 5:36 PM

1 h ahead of Toluca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

223,876

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Toluca Lima 4,280 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Toluca
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

Toluca vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Toluca and Lima differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($1,098 vs $1,014 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 92% higher in Toluca, 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: $705 in Toluca versus $729 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Toluca. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,098 per month in Toluca versus $1,014 in Lima – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,014 in Lima versus $1,098 in Toluca, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Toluca. 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 8% less than in Toluca. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.