Cost of living comparison

 Lima, Peru
compared to
 Boston (MA), United States
Boston vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Boston is 3.5 times more expensive than Lima.

Restaurants
pay 3.8 times more in Boston
Groceries
pay 3.2 times more in Boston
Transportation
pay 66.4% more in Boston
Housing
pay 4.6 times more in Boston
Childcare
pay 7.3 times more in Boston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.7 times more in Boston
Clothing
pay 39.3% more in Boston

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

Boston vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Boston instead of Lima, you would:

pay 3.8 times more for restaurants

 
Lima
Boston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.23
PEN19.03
$22.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.10
PEN22.20
$12.55
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.83
PEN3.02
$3.14
 

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pay 3.2 times more for groceries

 
Lima
Boston
Bread
1 loaf
$2.42
PEN8.83
$4.39
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.22
PEN15.38
$9.48
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.95
PEN18.04
$4.97
 

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pay 66.4% more for transportation

 
Lima
Boston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.39
PEN19.62
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $23.85
PEN86.88
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $23,163.52
PEN84,372.46
$32,000.00
 

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pay 4.6 times more for housing

 
Lima
Boston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$26.56
PEN96.76
$70.88
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $575.58
PEN2,096.53
$3,280.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $363.71
PEN1,324.79
$2,453.85
 

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pay 7.3 times more for childcare

 
Lima
Boston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $213.68
PEN778.32
$2,428.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $7,818.35
PEN28,478.12
$25,000.00
 

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pay 2.7 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Lima
Boston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.12
PEN7.72
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.62
PEN9.54
$5.79
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.30
PEN19.31
$13.83
 

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pay 39.3% more for clothing

 
Lima
Boston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$42.79
PEN155.87
$64.32
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$34.98
PEN127.42
$43.83
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$85.21
PEN310.36
$98.17
 

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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: June 2025
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