Cost of living comparison

compared to

Mexico City vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Mexico City is 40.6% more expensive than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 87.3% more in Mexico City
Groceries: pay 46.9% more in Mexico City
Transportation: pay 23.8% less in Mexico City
Housing: pay 38.5% more in Mexico City
Childcare: pay 78.2% more in Mexico City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.7% more in Mexico City
Clothing: pay 28.1% more in Mexico City

The cost of restaurants, childcare, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Mexico City are more expensive than in Lima. Notably, restaurants and childcare are significantly more expensive in Mexico City.

Mexico City vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mexico City instead of Lima, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 87.3% more for restaurants

	Lima	Mexico City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.28 PEN14.38	$10.86 MX$198.62	+153.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.14 PEN23.96	$8.82 MX$161.38	+23.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 PEN3.37	$1.73 MX$31.68	+72.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 PEN2.19	$1.30 MX$23.86	+99.8%
Average			+87.3%

Lima vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.9% more for groceries

	Lima	Mexico City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.67 PEN8.95	$2.63 MX$48.03	-1.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.52 PEN15.16	$5.04 MX$92.21	+11.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.76 PEN19.32	$6.54 MX$119.62	+13.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.96 PEN9.94	$2.61 MX$47.69	-12.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.63 PEN8.84	$3.80 MX$69.61	+44.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 PEN3.41	$1.37 MX$25.05	+34.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 PEN1.70	$0.80 MX$14.63	+57.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.58 PEN1.93	$0.97 MX$17.81	+69.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 PEN1.89	$0.91 MX$16.58	+61.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 PEN1.55	$0.96 MX$17.54	+107.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 PEN1.46	$0.99 MX$18.19	+129.1%
Average			+46.9%

Lima vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.8% less for transportation

	Lima	Mexico City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.20 PEN17.44	$5.14 MX$93.99	-1.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.85 PEN76.67	$19.54 MX$357.52	-14.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,990.85 PEN67,088.33	$20,030.45 MX$366,457.13	+0.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.70 PEN72.84	$4.42 MX$80.95	-79.6%
Average			-23.8%

Lima vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.5% more for housing

	Lima	Mexico City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.99 PEN83.85	$30.93 MX$565.92	+23.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$661.42 PEN2,219.71	$1,079.15 MX$19,743.00	+63.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$374.24 PEN1,255.92	$677.25 MX$12,390.21	+81.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.53 PEN146.09	$37.36 MX$683.53	-14.2%
Average			+38.5%

Lima vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing

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pay 78.2% more for childcare

	Lima	Mexico City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$192.22 PEN645.08	$430.39 MX$7,873.93	+123.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,215.29 PEN27,570.11	$10,897.53 MX$199,370.32	+32.6%
Average			+78.2%

Lima vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Lima	Mexico City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.28 PEN7.67	$3.26 MX$59.59	+42.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.61 PEN8.77	$3.81 MX$69.77	+45.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.71 PEN19.17	$4.34 MX$79.45	-24.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.13 PEN104.46	$58.44 MX$1,069.25	+87.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.14 PEN23.96	$6.51 MX$119.17	-8.8%
Average			+28.7%

Lima vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.1% more for clothing

	Lima	Mexico City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.07 PEN171.39	$60.95 MX$1,114.99	+19.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.74 PEN119.93	$48.08 MX$879.56	+34.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.99 PEN281.88	$105.72 MX$1,934.15	+25.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$83.70 PEN280.90	$110.91 MX$2,029.10	+32.5%
Average			+28.1%

Lima vs. Mexico City - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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