Living Bolivia is significantly cheaper than living in the United States if you want to reach the same standard and quality of living, while poor and middle class people need around $500 to live without any important necessity in the country high income people will reach almost the same quality of living as an American if they only spent between $1,000 to $2,000 per month.
The average cost of living in Bolivia is $491 a month, nearly 1/10 when compared to the average cost in the US of $5,101 a month. The average cost of living in Bolivia to match the standard of living of a common US citizen is $1,742. To live in Bolivia as if you were in the US, you will need around $1,742.
We are real estate experts and citizens from Bolivia, who have spent all their lives here, so we’ll give you all the insights about how the cost of living in Bolivia really is compared to the cost of living in the United States, with all the breakdowns that you need to fully understand all the numbers. The costs you are going to see here are valid from 2021 to 2023 with an inflation rate of 3%.
Summary: Cost of living Americans vs Bolivians
To better understand how Americans compare to Bolivians in their costs of living, we need to make 2 types of comparisons
- The rough cost of living for both Bolivians and US citizens.
- The cost of living that matches the standard of living of both Bolivians and US citizens.
Notice that a low to middle-class Bolivian (which represents more than 70% of the Bolivian population) will be able to cover all his monthly expenses with around $500 a month, but it doesn’t mean this person will have the same standard of living as an average person in the US, instead, this Bolivian will be closer to a poor US citizen.
However, an upper-class Bolivian, who will spend ~$1,750 to cover all his monthly expenses, will have a closer standard of living to a middle-class or common American.
Then, if you want to live in Bolivia with $500 a month, you will feel like you were a poor American, but if you want to have in Bolivia the same standard living as a common American, you will need to live like an upper-class Bolivian and have a average cost of living off ~$1,750 per month, as you can see the table below.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Food & beverages | $70 | $660 | $150 |
| Housing | $150 | $1,674 | $250 |
| Apparel | $22 | $156 | $50 |
| Transportation | $50 | $813 | $150 |
| Medical care | $30 | $414 | $100 |
| Education | $15 | $117 | $290 |
| Communication | $15 | $45 | $35 |
| Entertainment | $30 | $269 | $350 |
| Pension and personal insurance | $64 | $608 | $227 |
| Miscellaneous | $45 | $345 | $140 |
| Total | $491 | 5,101 | $1,742 |
You can see that to cover all the basic monthly expenses in Bolivia, including food, housing, health, education, etcetera, without pension costs, you will live very comfortably with less than $1,500 per month. With his budget, you will have your home in a great neighborhood, the best food, decent apparel, decent healthcare, etcetera. In summary, you will feel a very close standard of living as in the United States, but in Bolivia.
On the other hand, if you want to leave like a common Bolivian, with a lot of restrictions, needing to buy everything in ant markets, having poor healthcare, poor education, poor transportation, only free entertainment and your home in bad areas, etcetera, you will need only $500 a month per person.
Breakdown: Cost of living Americans vs Bolivians
Next, we are going to make a deep breakdown in the components of the costs of living for both Bolivians and Americans.
1) Food and groceries
Food in Bolivia is very cheap compared to the prices in the US, no matter if you buy it in open grocery markets, ant markets or supermarkets. This is because Bolivia produces its own food in rural areas, which are very near to urban areas, also the workforce is really cheap in rural areas. Additionally, you need to know that food in Bolivia is healthy and organic on average.
If you do everything you can to save as much money when buying food in Bolivia, with only $50 a month you can have all the groceries needed in a month for a person, without obviously the cost and work for preparing the food. But this is how a poor person or middle-class person normally behaves here.
However, upper-class Bolivians commonly buy groceries and food in supermarkets, restaurants or they get them with delivery services, also, they are very used to hiring household employees to prepare their food.
An average Bolivian will spend ~$70 per month on food. An upper-class Bolivian will spend around $150, getting the same quality in food as a common American in the US.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Food & beverages | $70 | $660 | $150 |
| Meal in a restaurant | $3 | $30 | $7 |
| Fruit juice (1 glass) | $0.80 | $3 | $1.50 |
| Milk (1 liter) | $0.50 | $0.90 | $0.60 |
| Loaf of bread (1 portion) | $0.07 | $0.50 | $0.07 |
| Red meat (1 pound) | $4.50 | $8 | $5 |
| Rice (1 pound) | $0.60 | $2.20 | $0.90 |
| Apple (1 unit) | $0.15 | $0.60 | $0.20 |
| Banana (1 unit) | $0.04 | $0.20 | $0.05 |
| Orange (1 unit) | $0.07 | $0.70 | $0.10 |
| Potatoes (1 pound) | $0.31 | $1.50 | $0.40 |
2) Housing
Housing in Bolivia is also very cheap compared to the United States, in a very exclusive neighborhood a small apartment with one bedroom can be rented for as low as $250 to $350. But Bolivian people from poor class and middle class normally rent in common and bad neighborhoods having a cost of between $100 to $150 per person.
In these so-called “exclusive neighborhoods” in Bolivia you will feel as if you were in a common suburban area of the United States, with beautiful houses and very cutting edge designs, every service and amenities will be available for you. These neighborhoods will also be very safe and you will find many expats from developed countries living there.
The average price of a house in Bolivia is $150,000. In the best neighborhoods (Urubo or Las Palmas in Santa Cruz, Calatoto or San Miguel in La Paz, Cala Cala or Queru Queru in Cochabamba) the average price will be $500,000, but these are the best neighborhoods existing in Bolivia.
If you are coming to Bolivia, we encourage you to live in these neighborhoods, as you can see in our dedicated article: Where do expats live in Bolivia, a complete guide.
An average Bolivian will spend ~$150 per month on housing. An upper-class Bolivian will spend around $250, getting the same quality in housing as a common American in the US.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Housing | $150 | $1,674 | $250 |
| 1-bedroom apartment | $150 | $1,250 | $250 |
| 3-bedroom apartment | $250 | $2,200 | $500 |
| Renting a house | $500 | $3,900 | $1,500 |
| Mortgage $100,000 house | $710 | $480 | $710 |
| Average house sales price | $150,000 | $300,000 | $500,000 |
3) Apparel
The majority of people in Bolivia attend to not spend too much on clothes and apparel, they are also used to conserving their clothes for years, more than 3 years in most cases, they also buy in ant markets and open markets where you can find some pants for even only $3 per unit and sneakers for $20. But this is how poor-class and middle-class people in Bolivia live.
Instead upper-class Bolivians tend to buy branded clothes that are high quality, specialized clothing stores. They also tend to buy more clothes for different and special occasions and change their apparel more often. Even with this, you will find that apparel spendings are significantly cheaper in Bolivia compared to the US, getting the same quality, and in many cases the same brand, for the bought clothes.
If you want 1 branded high quality clothing change in Bolivia, you will spend around $100, it will include everything but the shoes, the shirt, T-shirt, jacket, sweater, pants, accessories, etcetera. A high quality and branded pair of shoes will be around $50. You will find this apparel in dedicated stores and feel as if you were buying in the first world.
An average Bolivian will spend ~$22 per month on apparel. An upper-class Bolivian will spend around $50, getting the same quality in apparel as a common American in the US.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Apparel | $22 | $156 | $50 |
| 1 change of clothes | $40 | $150 | $100 |
| 1 pair of shoes | $20 | $67 | $40 |
| 1 sweater | $10 | $40 | $20 |
| 1 pant | $7 | $34 | $15 |
| 1 suit | $40 | $180 | $90 |
4) Transportation
The common Bolivian citizen doesn’t have a car, even the common Bolivian family doesn’t have a car. The majority of Bolivians use public transportation to go from one place to another. They are also not used to flying to their destinations; they almost all the time go by ground transportation.
But this is not the case for upper-class Bolivians, these folks normally have one car at least for the whole family, and many of the family members have their own cars also. Gas in Bolivia is currently partially subsidized by the government, having a price of $1.80 per gallon. The average car cost here is $8,000 but these are mostly cars from China or used cars. Upper-class citizens normally have cars that cost from $20,000 to $30,000.
You also need to know that there are some cities in Bolivia that really don’t need to own a car to go from one place to another. This is the case of La Paz city where everything is very near as if you were in the metro area of New York. In contrast, other cities like Santa Cruz are very wide and you will need to have a car most of the time. In Bolivia you will feel very comfortable with a $20,000 car.
An average Bolivian will spend ~$50 per month on transportation. An upper-class Bolivian will spend around $150, getting the same quality in transportation as a common American in the US.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Transportation | $50 | $813 | $150 |
| Car price | $8,000 | $42,000 | $25,000 |
| Gas cost (1 gallon) | $1.80 | $3.67 | $1.80 |
| Car parking (1 hour) | $0.70 | $5 | $1 |
| Car monthly loan | $150 | $563 | $350 |
| 1 bus trip | $0.30 | $2.20 | $0.30 |
| 1 taxi trip | $3 | $7 | $4 |
| 1 Uber trip | $3 | $9 | $3 |
| 1 flight to other city | $70 | $260 | $70 |
5) Medical care
Poor and middle class people in Bolivia tend to not go that much to the doctor and to not pay a lot of attention to their health. In many cases, only when it’s too late do they get medical assistance. This is a bad common behavior of many people in this country. So at the end of the day they spent very little in medical expenses. There is also a universal full and free health insurance available in Bolivia created by the government.
In contrast to this, upper-class Bolivians normally get their health care in private hospitals and clinics, they go to expensive doctors and hospitals and in most cases they buy full private health insurance. Some private expensive clinics in Bolivia are world class, and they will cost only around 1/4 of what they can cost in the US.
For example, a complete tooth treatment can cost $300 with the same quality as in the first world, a pair of glasses $150, and other similar routinary treatments will be in the same price range. You need to be a lot more careful with serious illnesses.
Be sure to really know which professional you choose to treat your illness here in Bolivia, some of them may be bad and unethical doctors or offer bad services. We don’t recommend you by any means to go to public hospitals in this country.
An average Bolivian will spend ~$22 per month on medical care. An upper-class Bolivian will spend around $50, getting the same quality in medical care as a common American in the US.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Medical care | $30 | $414 | $100 |
| Health insurance | $0 | $456 | $100 |
| Periodic health check | $12 | $100 | $30 |
| 1 month gym access | $15 | $37 | $40 |
| 1 visit to oculist | $18 | $95 | $25 |
| 1 visit to dentist | $15 | $100 | $25 |
| 1 tooth extraction | $15 | $130 | $40 |
| 1 pair of glasses | $70 | $200 | $100 |
| 1 bone scan (big) | $30 | $360 | $50 |
| Intensive care unit/day | $500 | $3,500 | $500 |
6) Entertainment
Most low and middle-class Bolivians have mostly free entertainment activities, normally they go outside the city to have a picnic, tend to hang out in the center of the city with family and friends, they visit malls, open markets and parks. Young people also tend to go to nightclubs once a month. Drinking is a common activity in Bolivia.
But these same low to middle income people spend heavily on some parties and holidays that take place every year. Examples of these are carnival and christmas, but also for folkloric parades, on which many people participate or watch. People with average income normally save a lot to spend heavily on these seasonal parties. They also travel to other cities within the country twice or more times a year. They usually don’t go overseas.
On the other hand upper-class Bolivians, hove many one way more expensive entertainment activities, as you can see entertainment is a big expense for upper-class Bolivians (see the table below), because they have already covered their living costs and they spend heavily on entertainment.
They travel a lot, and by air, in many cases overseas, and pay as much as 3 times more than people with less money for any entertainment activity. They also spend a lot on family parties like weddings, birthdays, etcetera, with a range of $3,000 to $10,000 per party. Together with traveling overseas this is the main spending for entertainment that an upper-class Bolivian normally does.
An average Bolivian will spend ~$30 per month on entertainment. An upper-class Bolivian will spend around $350, getting the same quality in entertainment as a common American in the US.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Entertainment | $30 | $269 | $350 |
| 1 movies ticket | $7 | $12 | $10 |
| 1 touristic trip (1 week) | $300 | $1,700 | $500 |
| 1 football ticket | $20 | $100 | $40 |
| 1 park access | $1 | $10 | $4 |
| 1 month pool access | $20 | $180 | $40 |
| 1 nightclub access | $15 | $30 | $30 |
| 1 side hustle course | $70 | $300 | $100 |
| Netflix 1 month | $14 | $14 | $14 |
7) Education
In Bolivia public education is free, including elementary, primary, and secondary school together with college. But the quality of this education is very low if you compare it with the standards of the United States. Private education in Bolivia is also very cheap compared to the US, about the same again, the quality of private education here is very poor compared to the quality in America.
In Bolivia, you can get a college degree in one of the best colleges available in the country with only around $12,000 only taking into account the tuition costs. A normal private college will have a tuition cost of around $8,000 here. Take into account that the best universities in Bolivia are not even in the top 2,000 best universities in the world.
Elementary and high schools are another story. There are some of these schools available in Bolivia that are specifically designed for people from overseas and from the US where students even take classes in English. This is the case of Calvert institute, located in La Paz Bolivia. Employees working for embassies and international companies send their kids to these colleges while they are living here.
An average Bolivian will spend ~$15 per month on education. An upper-class Bolivian will spend around $290, getting a decent education in high schools, but he won’t get the same quality of college education as in the US no matter which Bolivian college he chooses.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Education | $15 | $117 | $290 |
| Public College tuition | $700 | $13,500 | $700 |
| Private College tuition | $6,000 | $30,000 | $12,000 |
| Elementary school 1 month | $50 | $350 | $200 |
| Secondary school 1 month | $70 | $700 | $250 |
| Specialization course 1 month | $50 | $1,200 | $350 |
8) Communication
In regard with all the communication tools and utilities you need in Bolivia you will spend awesome almost the same as if you were in the United States, but internet expensive here in Bolivia, you will get a fast internet connection for around $30, but an iPhone or another brand of a smartphone will cause some of the same here as in the US.
In Bolivia there is not that much difference in the spendings between the poor and middle class and the upper class in regards to communication. You need to know that we are still struggling with 5G, which is not available in the country and it won’t be for at least 2 years more (maybe it’ll be plenty available in 2023). Also sometimes even the best internet providers may experience some shortcuts once a week.
The cost of a call per minute in Bolivia is a little more expensive than in the US, $0.10.
An average Bolivian will spend ~$15 per month on apparel. An upper-class Bolivian will spend around $35, getting almost the same quality in apparel as a common American in the US.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Communication | $15 | $45 | $35 |
| 30 Mbps internet (1 month) | $30 | $30 | $30 |
| 1 IPhone | $750 | $650 | $750 |
| Call cost per minute | $0.10 | $0.05 | $0.10 |
| 1 high end smartphone | $350 | $300 | $350 |
| 1 avg. smartphone | $150 | $120 | $150 |
9) Pensions and personal insurance
In Bolivia people are not used to saving money for their retirement, this is because the majority of people here don’t have formal jobs, so they normally don’t make their retirement contributions. For people that do have a formal job, the Bolivian law says that a 15% of their income needs to become a contribution for retirement. Bolivians also have a dignity and universal rent available for elderly people, consistent on $50 per month.
If you as a foreigner have a job here in Bolivia, then you can make contributions to your retirement in the country, you are allowed to do it by law. Laws in Bolivia state that foreigners have the same rights as Bolivians in almost everything, including jobs and retirement rights.
Notice that to get $1,000 each month after you retire in Bolivia, you only will need $80,000 in contributions, whereas in the US you will need around $300,000.
An average Bolivian will spend ~$64 per month on pension expenses. An upper-class Bolivian will spend around $227, getting the same quality of living as a retired common person in the US.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Pension and personal insurance | $64 | $608 | $227 |
| Retirement monthly contribution (% of wage) | 15% | 7% | 15% |
| Total contribution to get $1,000 each month on retirement | $80,000 | $300,000 | $80,000 |
| Is contribution mandatory? | No | No | No |
10) Miscellaneous
Here we include house stuff buying and replacement and housing utilities, with other minor costs. In Bolivia people from low and middle class tend to hold their furniture for a very long time, several decades in most cases. They also tend to buy this house stuff in upper markets and not in furniture stores. They also in most cases pay a few tens of dollars for housing utilities each month.
In relation to upper-class people in Bolivia it’s another story, they normally buy high quality and well designed furniture from dedicated stores, and they replace it once a decade at least. They also pay way more for housing utilities each month, because they spend a lot more on water, light, gas at home, and other specific services like home safety, garden care, air conditioning, etcetera.
An average Bolivian will spend ~$45 per month on various and minor things. An upper-class Bolivian will spend around $140, getting the same quality in miscellaneous spendings as a common American in the US.
| Type of cost | Avg. spending in Bolivia (1 ppl.) | Avg. spending in the US (1 ppl.) | Upper-class Bolivian spending (1 ppl.) |
| Miscellaneous | $45 | $345 | $140 |
| Furnishing a 1-bedroom apartment | $3,000 | $9,000 | $5,000 |
| Household utilities 1 month | $35 | $120 | $50 |
| Water service | $5 | $18 | $12 |
| Electricity service | $7 | $35 | $15 |
| A Plumber job | $30 | $250 | $70 |
| An electrician job | $25 | $250 | $60 |
Other considerations about the comparison
Remember that in Bolivia you have two ways of living:
- Living as a Bolivian common person (~$500/month cost of living).
- Living as an American expat in Bolivia (~$1,750/month cost of living).
With the first option you will suffer all the restrictions and limitations that Bolivians commonly face in their day-to-day lives. We by all means don’t recommend you to do it. You may save some money at the beginning but at the end you will hurt your development in this country as a person and in your business or working and activities.
The second way should be your choice, and the best option for you, because you will leave as if you were a common person in the United States with all the services and of the things and goods that you need to have a great life here in Bolivia, and also being in touch with other foreigners inside great and very safe neighborhoods and areas.
Final conclusions:
In this article you have known how really the cost of living in Bolivia is compared to the cost of living in the United States. You have seen that we have made two types of comparisons, the 1st one comparing the raw numbers between the average cost of living of Bolivia versus the US, and the 2nd one to find the cost of living in Bolivia necessary to match the standard of living of a common American in the US.
You have seen that with around $500 per month a Bolivian can live without any important necessity in the country, and too much a similar standard of living that is common in the United States this Bolivian person needs to spend around $1,750 per month in the country. This implies that if you want to live in Bolivia as if you were in America you need to spend this amount of money here.
You have seen that in general food, housing apparel, health, transportation, and education are very cheap in Bolivia compared to the US, but entertainment can vary widely, from being almost free to even match or surpass the monthly spending in the US. You have also seen that communication spendings is almost the same in both countries.
Finally, you have realized that it’s way better for you to try to live with an American standard of living in Bolivia, and not like a Bolivian common citizen, spending around $1,750 per month to achieve this standard.
We hope this information has helped you and if you want to know even more and also calculate how much does it cost to live in Bolivia, visit our dedicated guide: The cost of living in Bolivia, all the facts and numbers.
CasasenBolivia.com, information about how to live, work, invest and travel in Bolivia.
