Lima vs San Salvador - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Lima	San Salvador
🚶 Cost of living one person	$977	$1204
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2440	$2687
🏠 One person rent	$407	$656
🏘️ Family rent	$726	$1067
🍽️ Food expenses	$278	$363
🚐 Transport expenses	$203	$85.4
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$498	$418
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	9 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	78	42
😀 Quality of life	65	50
🏙️ Population	9.94M	316K

The cost of living in Lima is 19% less expensive than in San Salvador. Cities ranked 5647th and 4469th ($977 vs $1204) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in Peru and El Salvador, respectively. Check Peru vs El Salvador comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.5 months in Lima compared to 0.3 months in San Salvador. Lima ranked 1st best city to live in Peru vs San Salvador ranked 1st in El Salvador, while ranked 4234th and 6219th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Lima vs San Salvador infographic

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Prices in Lima vs San Salvador

Prices for goods and services in Lima and San Salvador are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Lima	San Salvador
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$4.73	$9.72
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$29	$27.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.33	$7.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.45	$2.12
☕ Cappuccino	$3.29	$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.88	$1.16
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$525	$736
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$305	$512
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$943	$1236
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$577	$860
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$34.3	$62.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$52.6	$95.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$23.8	$36
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	10%	9.37%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1476	$2408
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1418	$1341
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.68	$0.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$33.7	$22.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$20.6	$26.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.35	$1.14
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.45	$2.07
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.9	$1.67
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.04	$1.37
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.94	$3.1
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.74	$7.63
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.28	$6.38
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.7	$10.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.02	$3.12
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.08	$1.68
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.12	$2.57
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.17	$2.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.06	$2.18
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1	$2.16
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.59	$0.69
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.24	$2.23
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.11	$15.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.64	$1.56
🚬 Cigarette pack	$5.28	$4.03
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$5.54	$6.95
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.11	$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.08	$2.33
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.1	$1.68
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$33.1	$32.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.4	$5.88
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$32.9	$38.7
💇 Haircut, simple	$10.4	$8.88
👖 Brand Jeans	$47.9	$63
👟 Brand Sneakers	$88.1	$115
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$201	$161
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$7764	$5642

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Lima

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi	Callao	$790
64 km or 40 mi	Huaral	$727
122 km or 76 mi	Huacho	$685
198 km or 123 mi	Huancayo	$562
205 km or 128 mi	Pisco	$614
251 km or 156 mi	Huanuco	$622
265 km or 165 mi	Ica	$656
285 km or 177 mi	Huaraz	$561
329 km or 204 mi	Ayacucho	$598
372 km or 231 mi	Chimbote	$504
483 km or 300 mi	Abancay	$591
489 km or 304 mi	Trujillo	$714
490 km or 304 mi	Pucallpa	$489
567 km or 352 mi	Cajamarca	$549
572 km or 355 mi	Cusco	$626
623 km or 387 mi	Tarapoto	$562
655 km or 407 mi	Chachapoyas	$549
663 km or 412 mi	Chiclayo	$598
685 km or 426 mi	Cruzeiro do Sul	$580
732 km or 455 mi	Jaen	$548
765 km or 475 mi	Arequipa	$588
838 km or 521 mi	Juliaca	$547
855 km or 531 mi	Puerto Maldonado	$560
858 km or 533 mi	Piura	$565
866 km or 538 mi	Puno	$520
891 km or 554 mi	Sullana	$505
896 km or 557 mi	Paita	$518
927 km or 576 mi	Loja	$600
952 km or 591 mi	Talara	$513
987 km or 614 mi	Mancora	$505
988 km or 614 mi	Tacna	$414
1014 km or 630 mi	Iquitos	$694
1014 km or 630 mi	Arica	$748
1015 km or 631 mi	Tumbes	$463
1029 km or 639 mi	Machala	$569
1032 km or 642 mi	Rio Branco	$735
1041 km or 647 mi	Cuenca	$758
1073 km or 666 mi	El Alto	$673
1077 km or 669 mi	La Paz	$688
1138 km or 707 mi	Milagro	$697

Cities near San Salvador

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.2 km or 3.2 mi	Mejicanos	$1175
6.1 km or 3.8 mi	Soyapango	$1182
11 km or 6.8 mi	Santa Tecla	$1194
11 km or 7 mi	Apopa	$1160
49 km or 30 mi	Santa Ana	$698
57 km or 35 mi	Sonsonate	$884
75 km or 46 mi	Ahuachapan	$1449
89 km or 55 mi	Usulutan	$1083
112 km or 69 mi	San Miguel	$1088
135 km or 84 mi	Jalapa	$936
172 km or 107 mi	San Miguel Petapa	$941
176 km or 109 mi	Guatemala City	$1070
185 km or 115 mi	Mixco	$653
187 km or 116 mi	Comayagua	$753
219 km or 136 mi	Tegucigalpa	$863
220 km or 137 mi	Villanueva	$897
235 km or 146 mi	Coban	$916
236 km or 147 mi	San Pedro Sula	$1047
237 km or 147 mi	La Lima	$897
241 km or 150 mi	Panajachel	$819
241 km or 150 mi	El Progreso	$903
250 km or 156 mi	Choloma	$719
253 km or 157 mi	Chinandega	$638
266 km or 165 mi	Mazatenango	$886
273 km or 170 mi	Yoro	$755
277 km or 172 mi	Puerto Cortes	$788
281 km or 174 mi	Quetzaltenango	$784
282 km or 175 mi	Momostenango	$881
287 km or 178 mi	Leon	$632
315 km or 196 mi	Esteli	$598
347 km or 216 mi	La Ceiba	$626
352 km or 219 mi	Jinotega	$455
357 km or 222 mi	Tapachula	$632
361 km or 224 mi	Managua	$738
365 km or 227 mi	Matagalpa	$624
367 km or 228 mi	Flores	$878
385 km or 239 mi	San Ignacio	$1034
387 km or 240 mi	Masaya	$710
397 km or 247 mi	Belmopan	$973
402 km or 250 mi	Granada	$701