La Paz vs Quito
In short
Calculated from the figures below, with no overall “who wins” score.
Rent
✓in La Paz cheaper — −37%
Family budget
✓in Quito cheaper — −29%
Internet
✓in La Paz cheaper — −44%
In numbers
Exchange rate as of the date each figure was checked.
House or apartment rent
per month✓La Paz≈ $350–700BOB 4,200–8,400cheaper by 37%Quito$460–1,200$460–1,200Family groceries
per month✓La Paz≈ $252BOB 3,020cheaper by 32%Quito$372$372Family budget
per monthLa Paz≈ $519BOB 6,231✓Quito$369.6$369.6cheaper by 29%Internet
per month✓La Paz≈ $19BOB 229cheaper by 44%Quito$33.93$33.93Winter
averageLa Paz12 °C12 °CQuito10–22 °C10–22 °CPrecipitation
per yearLa Paz502 mm502 mmQuito1,098 mm1,098 mmReady-made house
purchasealmost equalLa Paz$120–190k$120–190kQuito$85–230k$85–230k
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
Quito
An apartment with three or more bedrooms on RE/MAX listings is mostly 460-1200 dollars a month, median 690. In the north by La Carolina park and Quito Tenis the median is 1200.
SpecialistRE/MAX Ecuador: all active listings of apartments for rent (the site's open data) · checked 6 Oct 2026
A house with three or more bedrooms in the canton of Quito on RE/MAX listings is mostly 85-230k dollars, median 138k. An apartment with three or more bedrooms: median 112k.
SpecialistRE/MAX Ecuador: all active listings of houses for sale (the site's open data) · checked 6 Oct 2026
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
Quito
In INEC's official basket for a family of four in Quito, food and drinks cost 372 dollars a month (August 2026), of which 48 is eating out.
OfficialINEC: basic family consumption basket (CFBC) by city, August 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
INEC's poverty line for a family of four is 370 dollars a month. INEC's basic basket for four in Quito is 846, including 175 for rent.
OfficialINEC: bulletin on income poverty, ENEMDU, December 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
Quito
Nothing yet
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
Quito
The public Eugenio Espejo hospital has 416 beds and 110 specialist consulting rooms. The Baca Ortiz children's hospital has 361 beds, paediatric ICU and neonatal intensive care.
OfficialEcuadorian Ministry of Public Health: Hospital de Especialidades Eugenio Espejo · 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
Quito
Mariscal Sucre international airport is in Tababela, 24 km from the city. From December 2026 Air Canada flies direct to Montreal and Toronto.
SpecialistQuiport: about the Quito airport concessionaire · checked 6 Oct 2026
Quito has a metro line with 15 stations. In July 2026 it carried 5.4 million trips, and 154 million since opening.
OfficialMetro de Quito: home page, "Metro en cifras" · 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
Quito
There is no winter as a season: all year round it is about 10 degrees at night and 21-22 by day. In June-August nights are 9.4-9.8 and days 21-22; this is the dry season.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Quito 1981-2010 · checked 6 Oct 2026
About 1100 mm a year. Dry in June-August, 22-40 mm and 7-10 rainy days a month. The wettest month is April: 171 mm and 20 days with rain.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Quito 1981-2010 · 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
Quito
Guagua Pichincha, 12 km to the west, covered Quito in ash in 1999-2000. Cotopaxi, 45 km away, could send mudflows into the Los Chillos valley.
OfficialIG-EPN: Guagua Pichincha volcano · checked 6 Oct 2026
Pichincha with Quito is on the list of provinces under a state of emergency from 15 Sep 2026. Pickpocketing and muggings are common, especially in the old town and at stations.
OfficialUK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: travel advice for Ecuador · 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
Quito
Netlife sells 850 Mbit/s fibre for 33.93 dollars a month including tax, 16.96 for the first 9 months. The provider has 16 service points in Quito.
SpecialistNetlife: home fibre-optic internet plans · 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
Quito
Electricity is 0.078-0.105 dollars per kWh by block plus 1.41 a month. 300 kWh comes to about 28 dollars before the street lighting and fire service charges.
OfficialRegistro Oficial No. 380, 9th supplement: resolution ARCONEL-009/2026, electricity tariffs for October-December 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
As of 2024, a cubic metre of water in Quito cost 0.31 dollars for use up to 8 m³ and 0.40 at 16-30 m³. We could not open the utility's full tariff schedule.
SpecialistPrimicias: Quito municipality discusses a water tariff increase · checked 6 Oct 2026

