Cost of Living in Guatemala

Where the money goes, line by line

The city cards above show one total per place. The table below opens the comfortable tier into its nine lines, so you can see which line drives the difference between cities. A dagger (†) marks a line no data feed on this site prices; everything else is computed.

† Editorial estimate (last checked 2026-02-24): no feed on this site prices that line in that city at this tier. Unmarked cells come from data we maintain: rent: median of Encuentra24 asking rents read on 2026-10-26 (asking prices on one portal, not signed leases); utilities: CNEE electricity tariff (EEGSA to DEOCSA), with water, gas and trash estimated; internet: carriers' published tariffs; phone: carriers' published tariffs. Tier computed on 2026-11-09.

In the comfortable tier the rent line is $1,400 a month in Guatemala City Zones 10/14/15 (median of 586 Encuentra24 asking rents) and $1,676 in Antigua (median of 15), both read on 2026-10-26. In Guatemala City that tier’s estimated lines add up to $1,150 of the $2,706 total; in Antigua, $790 of $2,622. For rents by zone and by number of bedrooms, see how much rent costs in Guatemala.

The budget tier, line by line

† Editorial estimate (last checked 2026-02-24): no feed on this site prices that line in that city at this tier. Unmarked cells come from data we maintain: rent: 25th percentile of Encuentra24 asking rents read on 2026-10-26 (asking prices on one portal, not signed leases); groceries: INE basic food basket per person, urban or rural by city; transport: Transmetro fare published by the Municipalidad de Guatemala; utilities: CNEE electricity tariff (EEGSA to DEOCSA), with water, gas and trash estimated; internet: carriers' published tariffs; phone: carriers' published tariffs. Tier computed on 2026-11-09.

At this tier the grocery line is INE’s basic food basket for one person. That basket includes food and drinks outside the home, so the separate eating-out allowance can overlap; it is not a groceries-only bill. In Guatemala City and Antigua the rent line is the 25th percentile of asking rents.

Testing one specific amount, such as $600, $1,000 or $1,500 a month? The monthly budget guide checks each amount city by city, next to local wages, and has a calculator for your own household.

Which city for which budget

Totals are only part of the choice. The other question is how much of each city’s number was measured and how much was estimated, because that tells you how much homework is left before you sign a lease.

Two things follow from the table. In Guatemala City and Antigua the rent line is a market read, but other lines of the total are still estimates (see the dagger cells above); check the rent by zone before choosing a neighborhood. In Xela, the lake towns and Flores the rent line is our estimate, so price real places in person before you commit to a budget. Cobán has its own cost of living page but is not one of the 6 places in this feed. If you are weighing where to live rather than what it costs, see the best places to live in Guatemala.

Guatemala vs the United States, line by line

The US column is what the average one-person US household actually spent in 2024, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Surveys. The Guatemala columns are this page’s comfortable tier. The lines are matched as closely as the two sources allow, and the note under the table lists what does not match.

US column: average annual spending by one-person consumer units in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Surveys 2024 (Table 1400), divided by 12. It averages every such household (owners and renters, all ages and incomes); it is not a budget tier. Its total includes lines this page's Guatemala budgets do not carry, for example personal insurance and pensions ($361 a month), cash contributions ($179), apparel ($93) and education ($68). Guatemala columns: this page's feed, comfortable tier, computed on 2026-11-09.

Two cautions before you quote a percentage. BLS shelter averages owners and renters together, so it is not a rent figure. And the BLS total carries lines the Guatemala budget leaves out, so the totals row overstates the gap. For country-to-country comparisons see Guatemala vs Costa Rica vs Mexico, Guatemala vs Mexico and Guatemala vs Panama. Paid in pounds? See cost of living in Guatemala for British retirees.

Supermarket prices at four chains

We read shelf prices at four supermarket chains; the date of the last read is under the table.

For the official side of food prices, the canasta básica page tracks INE’s monthly basket, and the food price tracker lists item prices.

How these numbers are built

• 6 places, three tiers, nine lines. Each total on this page is the sum of rent, groceries, eating out, transport, utilities, internet, phone, entertainment and healthcare for one person. The tiers differ in which rent percentile they use (25th, 50th or 75th), in the grocery and service levels, and in editorial allowances.
• Measured lines. Rent: percentiles of Encuentra24 asking rents for Guatemala City and Antigua, read on 2026-10-26 (586 listings in zones 10/14/15, 106 in the outer sample, 15 in Antigua). Groceries at the budget tier: INE’s basic food basket per person (urban or rural). Utilities: the CNEE electricity tariff, from EEGSA to DEOCSA, plus estimated water, gas and trash. Internet and phone: the carriers’ published tariffs. The line-by-line tables mark every estimated cell.
• Estimated lines. Read from the data file’s own flags: at the budget tier, rent, eating out, transport, entertainment and healthcare; at the comfortable tier, rent, groceries, eating out, transport, entertainment and healthcare; at the luxury tier, rent, groceries, eating out, transport, entertainment and healthcare are editorial estimates in at least one place, last checked in February 2026. The line-by-line tables show exactly which cells.
• Dates. The city budgets were computed on 2026-11-09. Quetzal conversions use the Banguat reference rate, Q7.64 per US dollar on 2026-11-09, refreshed daily.
• US comparison. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys 2024, Table 1400, one-person consumer units, annual means divided by 12.

More data

• Exchange rates: live USD/GTQ: today’s Banguat reference rate
• Canasta básica: INE’s monthly food basket, urban and rural
• Food price tracker: item prices, market and supermarket
• How much is rent in Guatemala: medians by zone and bedrooms
• Monthly budget: is $600, $1,000 or $1,500 enough?
• Is $100 a lot in Guatemala?: what dollars buy against local wages
• Is Guatemala a poor country?: World Bank income group next to the national poverty rate
• Guatemala salary data: local pay next to these budgets
• Service prices: plumber, electrician, notary, lawyer
• Gas prices and the Transmetro guide
• SIM cards and schools and education
• Living in Guatemala on Social Security
• Building a house in Guatemala and starting a business
• Remittance rate comparison and Guatemalan consulates in the USA
• Health insurance for expats in Guatemala: licensed local insurers and international plans. One international plan, Genki Native, describes itself as “Long-term cover for nomads, expats, and families living abroad”, and Genki says you can join up to age 55 (Genki product page, read 25 September 2026). Affiliate link: we may earn a commission if you buy; see our disclosure.