Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Marcos vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary
San Marcos is 2.2 times more expensive than Lima.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.0 times more in San Marcos
- Groceries
-
pay 72.5% more in San Marcos
- Transportation
-
pay 0.5% more in San Marcos
- Housing
-
pay 3.0 times more in San Marcos
- Childcare
-
pay 3.3 times more in San Marcos
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.0 times more in San Marcos
- Clothing
-
pay 17.3% more in San Marcos
The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in San Marcos are more expensive than in Lima. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and housing are significantly more expensive in San Marcos.
San Marcos vs. Lima Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Marcos instead of Lima, you would:
pay 3.0 times more for restaurants
|
Lima
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.28
PEN14.40
|
$19.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.14
PEN24.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.01
PEN3.38
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.65
PEN2.19
|
$2.23
|
|
Lima vs. San Marcos - Cost of restaurants
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pay 72.5% more for groceries
|
Lima
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.67
PEN8.96
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.52
PEN15.19
|
$4.91
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.76
PEN19.35
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.96
PEN9.96
|
$3.83
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.63
PEN8.85
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.02
PEN3.41
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.51
PEN1.71
|
$0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.58
PEN1.94
|
$1.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.56
PEN1.89
|
$1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.46
PEN1.55
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.43
PEN1.46
|
$1.05
|
|
Lima vs. San Marcos - Cost of groceries
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pay 0.5% more for transportation
|
Lima
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.20
PEN17.47
|
$2.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$22.85
PEN76.80
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$19,990.85
PEN67,198.40
|
$36,278.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.70
PEN72.96
|
$14.39
|
|
Lima vs. San Marcos - Cost of transportation
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pay 3.0 times more for housing
|
Lima
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$24.99
PEN83.99
|
$70.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$661.42
PEN2,223.35
|
$1,340.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$374.24
PEN1,257.98
|
$1,400.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$43.53
PEN146.33
|
$145.65
|
|
Lima vs. San Marcos - Cost of housing
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pay 3.3 times more for childcare
|
Lima
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$192.22
PEN646.14
|
$670.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,215.29
PEN27,615.34
|
$26,120.00
|
|
Lima vs. San Marcos - Cost of childcare
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pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Lima
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.28
PEN7.68
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.61
PEN8.79
|
$4.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$5.71
PEN19.20
|
$8.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$31.13
PEN104.64
|
$69.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.14
PEN24.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Lima vs. San Marcos - Cost of entertainment and sports
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pay 17.3% more for clothing
|
Lima
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.07
PEN171.67
|
$45.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.74
PEN120.13
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$83.99
PEN282.34
|
$98.95
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$83.70
PEN281.36
|
$116.43
|
|
Lima vs. San Marcos - 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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