Bogotá vs Arequipa
In short
Calculated from the figures below, with no overall “who wins” score.
Rent
✓in Arequipa cheaper — −31%
Family groceries
✓in Arequipa cheaper — −30%
Internet
✓in Arequipa cheaper — −8%
In numbers
Exchange rate as of the date each figure was checked.
House or apartment rent
per monthBogotá≈ $969–1,760COP 3.2–5.8M✓Arequipa≈ $585–1,290S/ 2,000–4,420cheaper by 31%Family groceries
per monthBogotá≈ $347COP 1,145,256✓Arequipa≈ $243S/ 830cheaper by 30%Internet
per monthBogotá≈ $26–31COP 84,900–102,990✓Arequipa≈ $26S/ 89.9cheaper by 8%Private school
per monthBogotá≈ $909–1,240COP 3–4.1M✓Arequipa≈ $219–519S/ 750–1,775cheaper by 66%Winter
averageBogotá6–16 °C6–16 °CArequipa6–21 °C6–21 °CPrecipitation
per yearBogotá799 mm799 mmArequipa94.6 mm94.6 mmReady-made house
purchase✓Bogotá≈ $246–258kCOP 813–850Mcheaper by 22%Arequipa$157–490k$157–490k
By topic
A quick look at each city. Details and sources are on the city page.
Daily life
Bogotá
Every building in Bogotá is assigned a stratum from 1 to 6. A two-bedroom in stratum 3 costs about 2.2 million pesos, in stratum 6 about 6 million, and water in stratum 6 is twice as expensive as in 3.
SpecialistFincaraíz: two-bedroom apartments for rent in Chapinero · checked 29 Sep 2026
Arequipa
Nothing yet
Housing
Bogotá
Two-bedroom apartment: Teusaquillo and Cedritos about 3.2 million pesos ($970), Usaquén 3.4 million, Chapinero 4.3 million, Chicó 5.8 million. The building maintenance fee is on top.
SpecialistFincaraíz: two-bedroom apartments for rent in Teusaquillo · checked 29 Sep 2026
Three-bedroom apartment in Teusaquillo or Usaquén, by listings: median 813–850 million pesos, about $250k. These are sellers’ prices, not transaction prices.
SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for sale in Teusaquillo · checked 29 Sep 2026
Arequipa
A three-bedroom apartment in Yanahuara or Cayma is 2000–4400 soles a month, most often 2500–3000 (about 700–900 dollars). Building maintenance fees on top.
SpecialistUrbania: apartments for rent in Yanahuara · checked 29 Sep 2026
A three-bedroom apartment in Cayma by listings: 157–490k dollars, median about 225k. Sellers quote prices in dollars.
SpecialistUrbania: apartments for sale in Cayma · checked 29 Sep 2026
Money and prices
Bogotá
The DANE minimum food basket for Bogotá is 286k pesos per person per month, about 1.15 million for a family of four ($350). Prices from 2024.
SpecialistProBogotá: bulletin on monetary poverty, DANE data for 2024 · checked 29 Sep 2026
The DANE poverty line for a family of four in Bogotá is 2.5 million pesos a month (2024). The digital nomad visa requires an income of at least 5.25 million pesos a month.
SpecialistProBogotá: bulletin on monetary poverty, DANE data for 2024 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Arequipa
The average resident of the region spends 876 soles a month, which for a family of four is about 3500. Rent alone for a three-bedroom apartment in Cayma is 2500–3000.
OfficialINEI: Arequipa, statistical compendium 2025 · checked 29 Sep 2026
A rough guide is about 830 soles a month for a family of four: food accounts for 23.7% of the urban price basket, and average spending per person is 876 soles.
OfficialINEI: Arequipa, statistical compendium 2025 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Family and kids
Bogotá
Enrollment in city schools is online and free; for 2027 it runs until 23 December 2026. Children aged 3–5 are admitted to preschool classes at any time of the year.
OfficialBogotá City Hall: how to enroll in a public school for 2027 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Expensive private schools in Bogotá charge about 3–4.1 million pesos a month ($900–1,240). We did not find prices for mid-level schools.
SpecialistInfobae: tuition at Gimnasio Campestre and Colegio Marymount, February 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Arequipa
The most expensive schools in the city charged 750–1775 soles a month in 2024. In 80% of private schools the fee is below 400 soles a month.
SpecialistEncuentro: 80% of private schools in Arequipa charge under 400 soles, table of monthly fees 2023-2024 from Identicole · checked 29 Sep 2026
Almost every second pupil in Arequipa attends a private school: 47% across the two city education authorities, 54% in the northern one (2024 census).
OfficialINEI: Arequipa, statistical compendium 2025 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Healthcare
Bogotá
Half of the top ten hospitals in Colombia in the Newsweek 2026 ranking are in Bogotá, including Fundación Santa Fe (2nd place) and Cardioinfantil (4th).
SpecialistNewsweek and Statista: World’s Best Hospitals 2026, Colombia · checked 29 Sep 2026
Arequipa
The city is at 2335 m, just below the CDC altitude sickness threshold (2450 m). For children the CDC sees no particular risk, and it advises caution with infants under 6 weeks.
OfficialCDC Yellow Book: high-altitude travel and altitude sickness · checked 29 Sep 2026
The level III public hospital Honorio Delgado: paediatrics, neonatology, intensive care, neurosurgery, oncology. The social insurer EsSalud has 29 facilities in the region.
OfficialHospital Regional III Honorio Delgado: website and list of services · checked 29 Sep 2026
Transport
Bogotá
A ride on TransMilenio, TransMiZonal and the TransMiCable cable car costs 3,550 pesos (about a dollar). With a personalized card, transfers within 125 minutes are free.
OfficialTransMilenio: questions and answers about the 2026 fare · checked 29 Sep 2026
Arequipa
The airport is 8 km from the centre and is open between 5 and 22 hours. The departures board on 29 September 2026 showed 22 departures: 20 to Lima and 2 to Cusco, with no international ones.
SpecialistAeropuertos Andinos del Perú: Arequipa airport and departures board · checked 29 Sep 2026
Climate
Bogotá
There are no seasons by temperature: 15–17 degrees in the daytime all year round, 6–9 at night. The coldest nights are in January, 5.6 degrees on average.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals for Bogotá · checked 29 Sep 2026
About 800 mm a year and 185 rainy days. Two rainy seasons: April–May and October–November. Driest in December–February.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals for Bogotá · checked 29 Sep 2026
Arequipa
In winter it is about 5.5 degrees at night and 21–22 during the day. Daytime temperature is almost the same all year round, with a day-night difference of 13–16 degrees.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Arequipa · checked 29 Sep 2026
About 95 mm a year, and almost all of it in January–March. From April to November, 0 to 2 mm a month falls.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Arequipa · checked 29 Sep 2026
Even in July, SENAMHI forecast an ultraviolet index of 8–12 for Arequipa, from “very high” to “extreme”. The weather service advises staying out of the sun from 9 to 16.
SpecialistInfobae: SENAMHI warns of extreme ultraviolet in the southern sierra, 4-6 July 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Safety
Bogotá
14.8 murders per 100k residents in 2025, 25.8 for the country. But for burglaries from homes, the well-off Chapinero and Teusaquillo are at the top.
SpecialistProBogotá: annual report on security in Bogotá for 2025 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Arequipa
IGP calls Misti the most dangerous volcano in Peru: more than a million people live on its slopes and around it. The last eruption was in the fifteenth century.
OfficialIGP: volcanic Arequipa, 5 facts about active volcanoes · checked 29 Sep 2026
The 2001 earthquake of magnitude 8.2 caused shaking of intensity VIII on the Mercalli scale in Arequipa. According to IGP, about 30% of the energy off the southern coast has still not been released.
OfficialIGP: memories of the earthquake that will happen again (Arequipa, 2001) · checked 29 Sep 2026
Internet and phone
Bogotá
Movistar fiber: 500 Mbit/s in both directions for 84,900 pesos a month ($26), 900 Mbit/s for 102,990 pesos; when ordered online, the first year is cheaper.
SpecialistMovistar: home fiber-optic internet plans in Bogotá · checked 29 Sep 2026
Arequipa
Movistar sells home fibre at 400 Mbit/s for 89.90 soles a month, 79.90 for the first two months. Arequipa is on Movistar's list of fibre zones.
SpecialistMovistar Perú: “Solo internet” plans · checked 29 Sep 2026
Services
Bogotá
At 11 m³ a month, water with sewerage costs about 107k pesos in stratum 4 ($32), 91k in stratum 3 and 197k in stratum 6. Electricity and gas are extra.
OfficialEAAB: water and sewerage tariffs in Bogotá by stratum, 2026 (Acuerdo JD 255) · checked 29 Sep 2026
Enel electricity, September 2026: in stratum 4 - 875 pesos per kWh, in strata 5 and 6 - 1,050. For 300 kWh, stratum 4 comes to about 263k pesos ($79), stratum 6 about 315k.
OfficialEnel Colombia: electricity tariffs, September 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Arequipa
For consumption above 140 kWh, electricity costs 0.66 soles per kWh plus 3.60 soles a month, without IGV tax. 200 kWh is about 136 soles before tax.
OfficialSEAL: tariff schedule No. 003-2026 for end users, from 4 February 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Water and sewerage: the first 10 m³ at 1.65 soles, then 2.96 and 6.00. A bill for 15 m³ is about 41 soles with tax; this is a calculation based on the SEDAPAR tariff.
OfficialSunass: resolution 00146-2025-SUNASS-CD, SEDAPAR tariff structure for year 5 of the 2021-2026 period · checked 30 Sep 2026
There is no piped gas concessionaire in Arequipa; the network is being built under the state Bonogas programme in five districts. The rest cook on cylinders, and we did not find their price.
OfficialMINEM: first stage of gas network construction in Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna (Sur Oeste concession) · checked 30 Sep 2026

