Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between University Place, WA and Guatemala City

For one person, living is cheaper in Guatemala City: $1,347 a month against $2,876 in University Place, WA, rent and utilities included – about $18,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in University Place, WA
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University Place, WA Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index

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University Place, WA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,876

/mo nomad

Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,347

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in University Place, WA and in Guatemala City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in University Place, WA and in Guatemala City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,876 in University Place, WA versus $1,347 in Guatemala City.

University Place, WA $2,876
Guatemala City $1,347

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,279 in University Place, WA versus $2,028 in Guatemala City.

University Place, WA $4,279
Guatemala City $2,028

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,682 in University Place, WA versus $2,710 in Guatemala City.

University Place, WA $5,682
Guatemala City $2,710

Living in University Place, WA is roughly 114% more expensive than in Guatemala City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.38 $23.38

$7.76 Q 59.3

201.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 $101

$49.88 Q 381

101.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.15 $12.15

$7.72 Q 59.0

57.38%

Cappuccino

$6.08 $6.08

$3.31 Q 25.28

83.69%

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

$3.12 $3.12

$1.17 Q 8.98

166.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.14 $3.14

$1.01 Q 7.75

210.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.93 $7.93

$3.18 Q 24.29

149.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.86 $7.86

$4.71 Q 36.00

66.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 $1.10

$2.08 Q 15.88

-47.12%

White Bread (500g)

$4.05 $4.05

$3.11 Q 23.78

30.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.95 $5.95

$2.12 Q 16.19

180.66%

Eggs

$4.97 $4.97

$2.44 Q 18.68

103.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.11 $16.11

$6.19 Q 47.28

160.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$18.19 $18.19

$9.64 Q 73.7

88.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.33 $23.33

$13.48 Q 103

73.07%

Apples (1kg)

$5.91 $5.91

$3.98 Q 30.43

48.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.77 $1.77

$1.65 Q 12.58

7.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.55 $5.55

$2.83 Q 21.66

96.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.48 $4.48

$1.63 Q 12.48

174.85%

Potato (1kg)

$3.48 $3.48

$1.53 Q 11.70

127.45%

Onion (1kg)

$2.82 $2.82

$2.18 Q 16.63

29.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.96 $1.96

$0.69 Q 5.26

184.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.06 $3.06

$1.17 Q 8.94

161.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.43 $12.43

$4.01 Q 30.62

209.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.17 $18.17

$8.08 Q 61.7

124.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 $1.75

$1.79 Q 13.71

-2.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.95 $4.95

$2.68 Q 20.46

84.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.13 $2.13

$1.01 Q 7.69

110.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.8 $65.8

$11.11 Q 84.9

491.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 $2.66

$5.17 Q 39.48

-48.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.70 $1.70

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.49 $30.49

$10.66 Q 81.5

186.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.37 Q 10.47

5.84%

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

$27.9K $27.9K

$27.1K Q 207.4K

2.83%

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

$26.5K $26.5K

$24.9K Q 190.7K

6.18%

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

$233 $233

$73.1 Q 559

218.81%

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

$68.7 $68.7

$29.48 Q 225

133.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$88.6 $88.6

$45.73 Q 349

93.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.56 $39.56

$38.04 Q 291

4.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.79 Q 97.8

Cinema Ticket

$17.88 $17.88

$6.57 Q 50.2

172.15%

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

$2,087 $2,087

$338 Q 2,582

517.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.9K $27.9K

$15.8K Q 120.8K

76.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.3 $60.3

$49.96 Q 382

20.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.90 $44.90

$47.37 Q 362

-5.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 $130

$119 Q 908

9.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 $127

$111 Q 845

15.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,573 $1,573

$835 Q 6,383

88.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,280 $1,280

$538 Q 4,114

137.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,599 $2,599

$1,568 Q 12.0K

65.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,111 $2,111

$823 Q 6,292

156.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,918 $2,918

$2,041 Q 15.6K

43.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,644 $2,644

$1,099 Q 8,398

140.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,149 $8,149

$846 Q 6,463

863.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.64

11.62

-42.86%

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

Last update for University Place, WA: November 2, 2026

Last update for Guatemala City: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

University Place, WA

$1.3K 44.5%

Guatemala City

$538 40% 57.9% $742

Groceries & Markets

University Place, WA

$505 17.6%

Guatemala City

$283 21% 44% $222

Monthly Utilities & Internet

University Place, WA

$390 13.6%

Guatemala City

$148 11% 62% $242

Eating Out

University Place, WA

$377 13.1%

Guatemala City

$159 11.8% 57.8% $218

Clothing & Footwear

University Place, WA

$163 5.7%

Guatemala City

$147 10.9% 9.8% $16

Getting Around

University Place, WA

$85 3%

Guatemala City

$20 * 1.5% 76.2% $65

Sport & Entertainment

University Place, WA

$75 2.6%

Guatemala City

$51 3.8% 32.1% $24

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 $1,573 in University Place, WA and $835 in Guatemala City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

University Place, WA pays about 9.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $101 in University Place, WA vs $50 in Guatemala City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $505 vs $283 per month, with Guatemala City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 University Place, WA

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🕒 Local time

08:18 8:18 AM

10:18 10:18 AM

2 h ahead of University Place, WA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,866

2,450,212 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.897 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 8, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.897 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 8, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.52 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

GTQ to USD in detail →

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Between locations

University Place, WA Guatemala City 4,680 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

University Place, WA
Guatemala City

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

University Place, WA vs Guatemala City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guatemala City wins on cost – living expenses run 53% lower than in University Place, WA. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Guatemala City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in University Place, WA is about 9.6 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: $1,573 in University Place, WA versus $835 in Guatemala City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Guatemala City – a meal for two runs $50 versus $101 in University Place, WA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,876 per month in University Place, WA versus $1,347 in Guatemala City – Guatemala City is about 53% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Guatemala City is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Guatemala City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in University Place, WA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.