Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Urbandale, IA and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,042 a month against $2,285 in Urbandale, IA, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Urbandale, IA
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Urbandale, IA Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Urbandale, IA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,285

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,285 in Urbandale, IA versus $1,042 in Lima.

Urbandale, IA $2,285
Lima $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,346 in Urbandale, IA versus $1,651 in Lima.

Urbandale, IA $3,346
Lima $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,407 in Urbandale, IA versus $2,259 in Lima.

Urbandale, IA $4,407
Lima $2,259

Living in Urbandale, IA is roughly 119% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Urbandale, IA is 69% above, Lima is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.85 $14.85

$4.64 PEN 15.95

220.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.1 $50.1

$34.34 PEN 118

45.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.90 $9.90

$7.01 PEN 24.12

41.23%

Cappuccino

$5.09 $5.09

$3.22 PEN 11.09

58.07%

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

$1.24 $1.24

$1.13 PEN 3.90

9.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 $1.00

$0.61 PEN 2.09

63.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.18 $5.18

$2.93 PEN 10.07

76.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.78 $7.78

$4.25 PEN 14.63

83.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 $1.01

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-36.08%

White Bread (500g)

$3.34 $3.34

$2.61 PEN 8.98

27.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.91 $3.91

$1.30 PEN 4.46

200.77%

Eggs

$2.15 $2.15

$2.92 PEN 10.04

-26.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.26 $14.26

$9.54 PEN 32.82

49.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.95 $9.95

$5.71 PEN 19.66

74.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.42 $13.42

$9.47 PEN 32.57

41.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 $3.22

$2.01 PEN 6.91

60.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 $1.60

$1.02 PEN 3.52

56.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.57 $3.57

$1.45 PEN 4.99

146.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 $3.17

$1.49 PEN 5.14

112.75%

Potato (1kg)

$3.21 $3.21

$0.91 PEN 3.14

252.75%

Onion (1kg)

$3.46 $3.46

$0.89 PEN 3.07

288.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.07 $2.07

$0.86 PEN 2.97

140.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 $2.07

$0.89 PEN 3.05

132.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.19 $8.19

$5.47 PEN 18.83

49.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.31 $12.31

$10.17 PEN 34.99

21.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 $1.75

$1.81 PEN 6.21

-3.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 $1.98

$3.15 PEN 10.83

-37.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.95 $1.95

$0.66 PEN 2.28

195.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$59.2 $59.2

$31.89 PEN 110

85.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.47 $2.47

$3.43 PEN 11.79

-27.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.29 $1.29

$1.98 PEN 6.80

-34.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.87 $41.87

$9.60 PEN 33.03

336.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 $1.00

$1.71 PEN 5.89

-41.52%

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

$34.6K $34.6K

$21.9K PEN 75.2K

58.07%

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

$26.2K $26.2K

$29.0K PEN 99.9K

-9.91%

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

$139 $139

$65.8 PEN 227

111.10%

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

$15.15 $15.15

$15.26 PEN 52.5

-0.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.56 $24.56

$26.87 PEN 92.5

-8.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.88 $43.88

$32.91 PEN 113

33.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.21 $20.21

$20.12 PEN 69.2

0.45%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 $15.09

$7.12 PEN 24.49

111.94%

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

$1,149 $1,149

$309 PEN 1,063

271.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.7K $23.7K

$21.4K PEN 73.5K

11.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.7 $60.7

$52.0 PEN 179

16.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.57 $21.57

$35.69 PEN 123

-39.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.29 $44.29

$81.8 PEN 281

-45.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.2 $76.2

$78.0 PEN 268

-2.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$928 $928

$727 PEN 2,501

27.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,262 $1,262

$373 PEN 1,284

238.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,243 $1,243

$1,249 PEN 4,296

-0.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,129 $2,129

$739 PEN 2,543

187.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,786 $2,786

$2,380 PEN 8,190

17.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,122 $2,122

$1,365 PEN 4,696

55.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,637 $3,637

$650 PEN 2,237

459.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.71

8.38

-19.93%

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

Last update for Urbandale, IA: November 3, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Urbandale, IA

$1.3K 55.2%

Lima

$373 35.8% 70.4% $889

Groceries & Markets

Urbandale, IA

$343 15%

Lima

$228 21.9% 33.6% $115

Eating Out

Urbandale, IA

$260 11.4%

Lima

$127 12.2% 51.2% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Urbandale, IA

$179 7.8%

Lima

$108 10.4% 39.6% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Urbandale, IA

$91 4%

Lima

$111 10.7% 22% $20

Getting Around

Urbandale, IA

$76 3.3%

Lima

$48 4.6% 37% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Urbandale, IA

$74 3.2%

Lima

$47 4.5% 36.4% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $928 in Urbandale, IA and $727 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Urbandale, IA pays about 5.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $50 in Urbandale, IA vs $34 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $343 vs $228 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Urbandale, IA

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

15:04 3:04 PM

16:04 4:04 PM

1 h ahead of Urbandale, IA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,580

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 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 = 0.895 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.85 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

PEN to USD in detail →

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Urbandale, IA Lima 6,210 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Urbandale, IA
Lima

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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

Urbandale, IA vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,285 in Urbandale, IA and $1,042 in Lima, so Lima is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Urbandale, IA is about 5.6 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: $928 in Urbandale, IA versus $727 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,149 in Urbandale, IA versus $309 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 51% higher in Urbandale, IA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,042 in Lima versus $2,285 in Urbandale, IA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Urbandale, IA. 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 54% less than in Urbandale, IA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.