Cusco vs Lima for couples
Cusco and Lima are both in Peru, about 573 km apart. Every figure below comes from the data behind our city pages: an estimated monthly cost for a couple, tax tier, annual climate, safety, healthcare, internet speed, language and residency rules. Cusco leads on cost.
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Side by side
Source: the datasets behind our city pages. Cost is our model estimate (a country-level cost index scaled for city size); tax tiers are assigned by hand from each country's top marginal income tax rate and overall tax reputation; temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages); rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals); safety and healthcare are our own country-level estimates; internet from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index; English from the EF English Proficiency Index; residency from our hand-reviewed residency dataset (not legal advice); short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset.
Factor by factor
Cost of living
Cusco is cheaper: we estimate about €2,127 a month for a couple living centrally, against €2,347 in Lima. That is €220 a month, or 9%, less.
Taxes
Same country, same tax: Peru is in our low to medium tax tier.
Climate
Lima is 7°C warmer on average over the year: 19°C against 12°C in Cusco. Lima is drier, with about 35 mm of rain a year against 692 mm in Cusco (95% less).
Safety
Our safety score is country-level, so both cities get the same 48 out of 100.
Healthcare
Our healthcare score is country-level, so both cities get the same 55 out of 100.
Internet
Our broadband figure is country-level: about 110 Mbps median fixed download in both.
Language
Main languages in both: Spanish. English proficiency is rated the same in both: limited English.
Residency and visas
Same country, same rules: long-term residency in Peru is rated comparatively open, with a self-funded route from about $1,000 a month in income.
Which one fits a couple
On the factors we measure, Cusco leads on cost (€2,127 against €2,347 a month), and Lima leads on none of them. What our data does not cover can still tip it toward Lima: jobs, family nearby, or simply which one each of you prefers after a visit.
Climate can pull the two of you apart too: a partner who wants warmth leans toward Lima (19°C on average), while one who minds the heat leans toward Cusco (12°C), and whoever minds rain will prefer Lima (35 mm a year against 692 mm).
Size differs too: Cusco is a mid-sized city (250,000 to 1 million people) and Lima a major one (over 5 million people). Cusco is inland; Lima is coastal.
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