La Paz vs Cusco
In short
Calculated from the figures below, with no overall “who wins” score.
Family budget
✓in Cusco cheaper — −9%
Internet
✓in La Paz cheaper — −27%
In numbers
Exchange rate as of the date each figure was checked.
Family groceries
per month✓La Paz≈ $252BOB 3,020cheaper by 8%Cusco≈ $273S/ 940Family budget
per monthLa Paz≈ $519BOB 6,231✓Cusco≈ $470S/ 1,620cheaper by 9%Internet
per month✓La Paz≈ $19BOB 229cheaper by 27%Cusco≈ $26S/ 89.9Winter
averageLa Paz12 °C12 °CCusco0–19 °C0–19 °CPrecipitation
per yearLa Paz502 mm502 mmCusco708 mm708 mm
By topic
A quick look at each city. Details and sources are on the city page.
Housing
La Paz
A three-bedroom apartment by listings costs 4200-8400 Bs a month, median about 5500 Bs (about 460 dollars at 11.97). Calacoto is pricier, about 7000.
SpecialistInfoCasas Bolivia: rental of three-bedroom apartments in La Paz · checked 6 Oct 2026
Instead of renting you can give the owner a large sum for a term and live without paying: a three-bedroom apartment in anticrético is about 40-55 thousand dollars.
SpecialistInfoCasas Bolivia: three-bedroom apartments in anticrético in La Paz · checked 6 Oct 2026
A three-bedroom apartment by listings costs 120-190 thousand dollars, median 148 thousand. In Calacoto about 218 thousand; a three-bedroom house about 230 thousand.
SpecialistInfoCasas Bolivia: sale of three-bedroom apartments in La Paz · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cusco
Nothing yet
Money and prices
La Paz
A family of four in La Paz is considered poor with an income below 6231 Bs a month (about 520 dollars). This is the highest line among the cities in the INE table.
OfficialINE: poverty line and extreme poverty line per person per month by city, 2016 - December 2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
The minimum food basket for a family of four in La Paz is about 3020 Bs a month (about 250 dollars) by the INE extreme poverty line for December 2025.
OfficialINE: poverty line and extreme poverty line per person per month by city, 2016 - December 2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cusco
A family of four in highland cities counts as poor with spending below 1,620 soles a month (INEI line, 2025). In the Cusco department 18.8% are poor.
OfficialINEI: Peru, evolution of monetary poverty 2016-2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
The INEI minimum food basket for highland cities is 235 soles per person a month, 940 soles for a family of four. Figures for 2025.
OfficialINEI: Peru, evolution of monetary poverty 2016-2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Family and kids
La Paz
In 2025 the department of La Paz had 718 thousand students, about 95 thousand (13.2%) in private schools and kindergartens. Private school fees: not found.
OfficialINE with Ministry of Education data: students in public and private schools by department, 2011 - 2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cusco
In the Cusco department about 18% of children attend private schools: 27 thousand of 152 thousand in primary school and 22 of 122 thousand in secondary (2024).
OfficialINEI: Cusco, statistical compendium 2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Healthcare
La Paz
The department of La Paz had 4294 hospital beds in 2024, about 724 inhabitants per bed. The national average is 669 inhabitants per bed.
OfficialINE with Ministry of Health data: hospital beds and inhabitants per bed by department, 2005 - 2024 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cusco
The Cusco department has 24 hospitals, including private clinics, and 2,504 hospital beds (2024). The social insurer EsSalud has 5 hospitals in the region.
OfficialINEI: Cusco, statistical compendium 2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Transport
La Paz
The Mi Teleférico cable car is mass transit in the city: in 2025 it carried 87.7 million passengers, about 7.3 million a month.
OfficialINE with Mi Teleférico data: passengers of the La Paz cable car by month, 2014 - 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
The city is served by El Alto international airport in the neighbouring city, one of the three key ones per INE. A highway runs to Oruro, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz.
OfficialINE: geographic information on Bolivia (altitude zones, roads, international airports) · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cusco
In 2025 Cusco airport handled 4.57 million domestic passengers and only 203 thousand international ones, 22 times fewer.
OfficialCORPAC: passenger movement at network airports, domestic flights, 2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Climate
La Paz
The mean temperature in June-August is about 11.7 degrees, and 11 to 15 all year round. About 20 in the daytime, about 6 at night, with frosts in some winters.
OfficialINE with SENAMHI data: mean temperature and precipitation by city by month, 1990 - 2026; annual tables by weather station, 2005 - 2024 · checked 6 Oct 2026
About 500 mm of precipitation a year, 70% of it from December to March. May to August is dry: 5-19 mm a month.
OfficialINE with SENAMHI data: mean temperature and precipitation by city by month, 1990 - 2026; annual tables by weather station, 2005 - 2024 · checked 6 Oct 2026
La Paz lies at about 3640 m, and neighbouring El Alto, where the airport is, is colder still: about 6 degrees on average in winter versus 12 in La Paz.
SpecialistOpenStreetMap: municipality of Nuestra Señora de La Paz, coordinates and elevation · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cusco
About 710 mm a year, almost three quarters of it from December to March. From May to August it is dry: 1.5-9 mm a month.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Cusco · checked 6 Oct 2026
In June-July it averages about 0 degrees at night and 19-20 during the day. Daytime temperature is almost the same all year, but winter nights are 6 degrees colder than summer ones.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Cusco · checked 6 Oct 2026
Safety
La Paz
In 2024 police in the department of La Paz got 10.2 thousand crime reports, 1.5 thousand on robberies. Homicide reports in 2023: 69, against 228 in Santa Cruz.
OfficialINE with police data: crime reports in the department of La Paz by type, 2007 - 2024 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cusco
The city stands at 3,414 m above sea level. Even in winter SENAMHI forecasts an ultraviolet index of 8-12 for Cusco, from "very high" to "extremely high".
OfficialINEI: Cusco, statistical compendium 2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Internet and phone
La Paz
The state operator Entel sells home fiber at 200 Mbps for 229 Bs a month, 1000 Mbps for 450 Bs. Installation is 200 Bs, subject to an address check.
SpecialistEntel: home fiber internet, Simple plans · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cusco
Movistar sells home fibre at 400 Mbit/s for 89.90 soles a month, 79.90 for the first two months. The Cusco department is on the list of fibre coverage areas.
SpecialistMovistar Perú: "Solo internet" plans and fibre coverage areas · checked 6 Oct 2026
Services
La Paz
Liquefied gas at a regulated price of 2.25 Bs per kg, a 10 kg cylinder is 22.50 Bs (under 2 dollars). We did not find the piped gas tariff.
OfficialANH: regulated prices of petroleum products on the domestic market, including liquefied gas (GLP) · checked 6 Oct 2026
The average residential tariff of DELAPAZ in 2024 was 10.9 US cents per kWh without VAT, about 0.76 Bs. 300 kWh a month is about 227 Bs before tax.
OfficialAETN: statistical yearbook 2024, average tariff for the final consumer by category (DELAPAZ) · checked 6 Oct 2026
According to EPSAS (May 2024), the water tariff in La Paz and El Alto has not changed since 2009. The subsidized tariff is 1.78 Bs per m³ for use below 15 m³.
OfficialEPSAS: “The process is supervised by AAPS, EPSAS assures there is no water tariff hike” · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cusco
For consumption above 140 kWh, electricity costs 0.82 soles per kWh plus 4 soles a month, without IGV. 300 kWh comes to about 250 soles before tax, about 295 with IGV.
OfficialElectro Sur Este: tariff schedule for end users from 4 August 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026

