Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lima vs. Sao Carlos Cost of Living Summary
Lima is 41.8% more expensive than Sao Carlos.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.0% less in Lima
- Groceries
-
pay 10.2% more in Lima
- Transportation
-
pay 43.2% more in Lima
- Housing
-
pay 65.5% more in Lima
- Childcare
-
pay 82.5% more in Lima
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 59.6% more in Lima
- Clothing
-
pay 33.5% more in Lima
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, and groceries in Lima are more expensive than in Sao Carlos. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Lima.
Lima vs. Sao Carlos Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lima instead of Sao Carlos, you would:
pay 2.0% less for restaurants
|
Sao Carlos
|
Lima
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.66
R$25.34
|
$4.28
PEN14.40
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.96
R$32.43
|
$7.14
PEN24.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.16
R$6.30
|
$1.01
PEN3.38
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.70
R$3.80
|
$0.65
PEN2.19
|
|
Sao Carlos vs. Lima - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.2% more for groceries
|
Sao Carlos
|
Lima
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.54
R$8.36
|
$2.67
PEN8.96
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.12
R$27.87
|
$4.52
PEN15.19
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.98
R$21.62
|
$5.76
PEN19.35
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.30
R$12.53
|
$2.96
PEN9.96
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.87
R$10.17
|
$2.63
PEN8.85
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.82
R$4.49
|
$1.02
PEN3.41
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.51
R$2.76
|
$0.51
PEN1.71
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.71
R$3.85
|
$0.58
PEN1.94
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.73
R$3.98
|
$0.56
PEN1.89
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.65
R$3.52
|
$0.46
PEN1.55
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.59
R$3.22
|
$0.43
PEN1.46
|
|
Sao Carlos vs. Lima - Cost of groceries
pay 43.2% more for transportation
|
Sao Carlos
|
Lima
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.98
R$21.65
|
$5.20
PEN17.47
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$22.36
R$121.63
|
$22.85
PEN76.80
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,615.18
R$117,573.58
|
$19,990.85
PEN67,196.30
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.76
R$47.64
|
$21.70
PEN72.96
|
|
Sao Carlos vs. Lima - Cost of transportation
pay 65.5% more for housing
|
Sao Carlos
|
Lima
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$20.65
R$112.30
|
$24.99
PEN83.99
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$232.92
R$1,266.96
|
$661.42
PEN2,223.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$198.76
R$1,081.14
|
$374.24
PEN1,257.94
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$63.17
R$343.62
|
$43.53
PEN146.32
|
|
Sao Carlos vs. Lima - Cost of housing
pay 82.5% more for childcare
|
Sao Carlos
|
Lima
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$270.19
R$1,469.67
|
$192.22
PEN646.12
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,795.07
R$15,203.48
|
$8,215.29
PEN27,614.48
|
|
Sao Carlos vs. Lima - Cost of childcare
pay 59.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Sao Carlos
|
Lima
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.49
R$8.11
|
$2.28
PEN7.68
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.07
R$11.23
|
$2.61
PEN8.79
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.24
R$12.16
|
$5.71
PEN19.20
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$28.42
R$154.57
|
$31.13
PEN104.63
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$4.66
R$25.34
|
$7.14
PEN24.00
|
|
Sao Carlos vs. Lima - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 33.5% more for clothing
|
Sao Carlos
|
Lima
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$35.40
R$192.58
|
$51.07
PEN171.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.54
R$182.44
|
$35.74
PEN120.12
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.19
R$441.62
|
$83.99
PEN282.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$46.58
R$253.39
|
$83.70
PEN281.35
|
|
Sao Carlos vs. Lima - Cost of clothing
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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