ArequipavsLimaArequipa vs Lima: cost, size & quality of life compared
Arequipa (composite 6.0) vs Lima (composite 5.6). Side-by-side on cost of living, population & size, affordability, quality of life, remote-work friendliness and healthcare — with the calculation behind each score.
Composite scores
Overall: Arequipa wins by 0.4 points
Population & size
Is Arequipa bigger than Lima?
Lima is the bigger city: about 9.6M people versus Arequipa's 1.1M — roughly 8.7× larger.
City-proper / metro population estimates. Size is one input — scroll on for cost of living, salary equivalence and quality-of-life scoring.
Arequipa edges out Lima on the Mundevo composite, 6.0 to 5.6 out of 10 — a narrow 0.4-point margin across safety, healthcare, air quality and cost.
The composite gap is small enough that one weighted axis can flip the result. Use the per-axis breakdown below to see which city wins your specific priorities — someone optimizing for healthcare can land on a different answer than someone optimizing for affordability.
Run the salary calculator for both cities at your target lifestyle before deciding — Arequipa winning on quality doesn't mean the gross-salary requirement also lands in your favor. If you're on a balanced tier, the cost-of-living pages for each city carry the full monthly basket and the gross-salary figure.
Data signals
What separates Arequipa and Lima
How decisive
Arequipa comes out ahead by 0.4 composite points — a narrow edge.
Biggest difference
The widest gap is quality of life, where Arequipa leads by 1.2 points.
Where they match
They're most evenly matched on healthcare — within 0.0 points of each other.
Overall cost gap
Total monthly costs in Lima run about 41% higher than in Arequipa.
Where budgets split most
Housing is the line item that diverges most: roughly 64% pricier in Lima than Arequipa.
Score-by-score, side-by-side
Each axis is scored independently with disclosed weights and a calculation string.
| Axis | Arequipa | Lima | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affordability | 7.7 | 7.2 | Arequipa +0.5 |
| Quality of life | 5.4 | 4.2 | Arequipa +1.2 |
| Remote-work friendliness | 5.4 | 5.4 | Arequipa +0.0 |
| Healthcare | 5.6 | 5.6 | Arequipa +0.0 |
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)32
- Rent index (weight 40%)10
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Arequipa: ((100 − 32)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 10)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 7.7.
Arequipa sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)45
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)55
- Air quality index (weight 25%)65
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Arequipa: (45/100 × 0.4 + 55/100 × 0.35 + 65/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.4.
Arequipa has a mixed quality profile. Safety: fair; healthcare: good; air: good. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)70 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)12.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)32
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Arequipa: (min(70/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.12) × 0.3 + (100 − 32)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.4.
Arequipa works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 70 Mbps, income tax 12%, cost index 32.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)55
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)200
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Arequipa: (55/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 200/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 5.6.
Arequipa has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is good, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~200 PEN/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)36
- Rent index (weight 40%)16
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Lima: ((100 − 36)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 16)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 7.2.
Lima sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)30
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)58
- Air quality index (weight 25%)40
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Lima: (30/100 × 0.4 + 58/100 × 0.35 + 40/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 4.2.
Lima has a mixed quality profile. Safety: fair; healthcare: good; air: fair. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)80 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)12.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)36
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Lima: (min(80/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.12) × 0.3 + (100 − 36)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.4.
Lima works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 80 Mbps, income tax 12%, cost index 36.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)58
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)250
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Lima: (58/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 250/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 5.6.
Lima has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is good, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~250 PEN/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Monthly cost delta: Arequipa vs Lima
Normalized to PEN at 1 PEN = 1.0000 PEN.
| Category | Arequipa | Lima | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| housing | PEN 1,100 | PEN 1,800 | +64% |
| food | PEN 700 | PEN 850 | +21% |
| transport | PEN 100 | PEN 120 | +20% |
| utilities | PEN 240 | PEN 320 | +33% |
| leisure | PEN 600 | PEN 800 | +33% |
| healthcare | PEN 200 | PEN 250 | +25% |
Where each city's money goes
Two cities can have the same monthly total but very different shapes — one might burn 50% on housing while the other splits more evenly. The composition matters as much as the headline.
The biggest shape difference is housing: Lima spends 6.1 percentage points more of its budget on it (43% vs. 37%). If you're sensitive to that category, weight the per-axis scores accordingly.
Salary equivalence: Arequipa ↔ Lima
What earning the same purchasing power costs in each city. Cost-adjusted using the local cost-of-living index (Arequipa = 32, Lima = 36); currency-converted at 1 PEN = 1.0000 PEN. Tax differences are not modeled.
| Arequipa gross | Lima equivalent |
|---|---|
| PEN 40,000 | PEN 45,000 |
| PEN 75,000 | PEN 84,375 |
| PEN 120,000 | PEN 135,000 |
| Lima gross | Arequipa equivalent |
|---|---|
| PEN 40,000 | PEN 35,556 |
| PEN 75,000 | PEN 66,667 |
| PEN 120,000 | PEN 106,667 |
Equivalence here means same cost-of-living purchasing power, not same net take-home. Effective tax rates differ between countries; a salary equivalent on cost can still net more or less depending on the destination's tax regime. Use the calculator for tax-adjusted figures at a specific lifestyle tier.
Pros and cons
Why pick Arequipa
- Wins on affordability (+0.5 points vs Lima).
- Wins on quality of life (+1.2 points vs Lima).
Why pick Lima
Lima doesn't have any standout advantages of ≥0.3 points on the scoring model.
Arequipa trade-offs
No material trade-offs versus Lima on the scored axes.
Lima trade-offs
- Trails Arequipa on affordability by 0.5 points.
- Trails Arequipa on quality of life by 1.2 points.
Who should choose which
The composite winner doesn't always match what matters to you. These four reader profiles weigh the axes differently — find the closest fit.
Single, salaried remote worker, 25-40, optimizing for runway + bandwidth.
Axes scored: affordability, remoteWork
Couple with school-age children, prioritizing safety, healthcare, and air quality.
Axes scored: qualityOfLife, healthcare
Fixed income, healthcare-sensitive, prefers low cost and stable infrastructure.
Axes scored: healthcare, qualityOfLife, affordability
Salary stretch matters most. Cuts everything else if it lowers the burn rate.
Axes scored: affordability
Profiles use simple axis averaging — for a deeper read with your own weights, use the per-axis breakdown above.
Tools that work for either choice
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How this page is calculated
Data sources
- Mundevo per-city dataset. Cost basket, rent index, safety, healthcare, air quality and median internet for both cities. Reference date: 2026-06-10 (Arequipa) and 2026-06-10 (Lima).
- FX rate. 1 PEN = 1.0000 PEN, used to normalize cost baskets.
- CityScoreCalculator. Four axes (Affordability, Quality of life, Remote work, Healthcare) computed with explicit weights and explanations. See per-axis calculation strings rendered on this page.
- ComparisonService. Per-category cost deltas (housing, food, transport, utilities, leisure, healthcare) normalized to the origin currency.
Update cadence
Data as of . Last reviewed .
Calculation
For each of the four axes we compute an independent 0–10 score using the formulas printed beside each axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes. The overall winner is the city with the higher composite, unless the margin is under 0.05 points — in which case Arequipa is shown first as a tiebreaker to keep results stable.
Limitations
- Climate is not scored — we don't yet hold a maintained climate dataset, so weather-driven preferences are not modeled.
- Tax differences between cities in the same country are not modeled (Spain and Germany don't have material regional differences for this dataset).
- Indices are population-level. Personal cost varies with neighborhood, employer benefits and family status.
- Quality-of-life axis weights (safety 0.4 / healthcare 0.35 / air 0.25) are editorial defaults — readers with strong preferences should re-weight manually.
Frequently asked questions
Arequipa vs Lima: which is cheaper?
Arequipa is roughly 41% cheaper than Lima on the monthly cost basket (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare). Arequipa has cost index 32 vs Lima at 36 (both with New York = 100).
Which city has better quality of life?
Arequipa scores 6.0/10 on the Mundevo composite versus Lima at 5.6/10. The composite weights safety (40%), healthcare (35%) and air quality (25%). Arequipa wins overall by 0.4 points.
Is Arequipa or Lima better for remote work?
Arequipa has 70 Mbps median internet vs Lima at 80 Mbps. The four-axis decision rubric on this page (affordability, quality of life, remote work, healthcare) gives a per-dimension breakdown rather than a single answer.