Santa Cruz de la Sierra vs La Paz
In short
Calculated from the figures below, with no overall “who wins” score.
Rent
≈ about equal≈ $342–700BOB 4,100–8,400 and ≈ $350–700BOB 4,200–8,400 per month
Family budget
✓in Santa Cruz cheaper — −21%
Ready-made house
✓in Santa Cruz cheaper — −14%
In numbers
Exchange rate as of the date each figure was checked.
House or apartment rent
per monthalmost equalSanta Cruz de la Sierra≈ $342–700BOB 4,100–8,400La Paz≈ $350–700BOB 4,200–8,400Family groceries
per month✓Santa Cruz de la Sierra≈ $208BOB 2,490cheaper by 18%La Paz≈ $252BOB 3,020Family budget
per month✓Santa Cruz de la Sierra≈ $410BOB 4,917cheaper by 21%La Paz≈ $519BOB 6,231Internet
per monthSanta Cruz de la Sierra≈ $19BOB 229La Paz≈ $19BOB 229One figure for the whole country, not calculated per city
Winter
averageSanta Cruz de la Sierra22 °C22 °CLa Paz12 °C12 °CPrecipitation
per yearSanta Cruz de la Sierra1,372 mm1,372 mmLa Paz502 mm502 mmReady-made house
purchase✓Santa Cruz de la Sierra$87,900 – 180k$87,900 – 180kcheaper by 14%La Paz$120–190k$120–190k
By topic
A quick look at each city. Details and sources are on the city page.
Housing
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
A three-bedroom house by listings costs 88-180 thousand dollars, median 123 thousand. In Urubó about 228 thousand, in the north of the city about 117 thousand.
SpecialistInfoCasas Bolivia: sale of three-bedroom houses in Santa Cruz · checked 6 Oct 2026
A three-bedroom apartment by listings costs 4100-8400 Bs a month, median about 5500 Bs (about 460 dollars at 11.97). Almost twice as much in Equipetrol.
SpecialistInfoCasas Bolivia: rental of three-bedroom apartments in Santa Cruz · 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 35-50 thousand dollars.
SpecialistInfoCasas Bolivia: three-bedroom apartments in anticrético in Santa Cruz · checked 6 Oct 2026
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
Money and prices
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
A family of four in Santa Cruz is considered poor with an income below 4917 Bs a month (about 410 dollars). This is the lowest 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 Santa Cruz is about 2490 Bs a month (about 210 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
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
Family and kids
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
In 2025 the department of Santa Cruz had 822 thousand students, about 104 thousand (12.6%) 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
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
Healthcare
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
The department of Santa Cruz had 5131 hospital beds in 2024, about 691 inhabitants per bed. This is slightly worse than the national average (669).
OfficialINE with Ministry of Health data: hospital beds and inhabitants per bed by department, 2005 - 2024 · checked 6 Oct 2026
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
Transport
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
INE names Viru Viru near Santa Cruz one of the three key international airports; the city also has El Trompillo. A highway runs to Cochabamba and La Paz.
OfficialINE: geographic information on Bolivia (roads and international airports) · checked 6 Oct 2026
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
Climate
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
About 1370 mm of precipitation a year, from 980 to 1740 mm in different years. The rainiest are December and January (about 180 mm), the driest is July (about 26 mm).
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
Winter is warm: the mean temperature in June-August is about 21.7 degrees. But the yearly absolute minimum at the city weather station is 2-9 degrees.
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
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
Safety
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
In 2024 police in the department of Santa Cruz got 15.6 thousand crime reports, 5.1 thousand on robberies. Homicide reports in 2023: 228, three times La Paz.
OfficialINE with police data: crime reports in the department of Santa Cruz by type, 2007 - 2024 · checked 6 Oct 2026
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
Internet and phone
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
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
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
Services
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
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 the CRE cooperative in 2024 was 11 US cents per kWh without VAT, about 0.77 Bs. 300 kWh a month is about 230 Bs before tax.
OfficialAETN: statistical yearbook 2024, average tariff for the final consumer by category (CRE, Área Integrada) · checked 6 Oct 2026
The SAGUAPAC water utility received on average about 7 Bs per billed m³ in 2025. Only two thirds of residents in its area have sewerage.
OfficialSAGUAPAC: annual report (Memoria) for 2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
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

