Sacaba

Cost of Living inSacaba, Bolivia

Cochabamba, Bolivia181KLower middle income

Image credit: Oscar Diego Solis

Purchasing Power vs. United States

Your money goes 2.91x further

Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Bolivia: $11,329/capita.

How Far Your Money Goes

Prices are 73% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.

Overall
3.7x further
Prices are 73% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Rent
12x further
Prices are 91% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Groceries
3.5x further
Prices are 72% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Restaurants
4.5x further
Prices are 78% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Income Category

Lower Middle
World Bank GNI

Happiness

5.8 / 10

#72 globally

GDP per Capita

$11,329
PPP, International $

City Population

181K

Child Education

Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.

Public schools

Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Bolivia; Sacaba-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.

Limited public-school fit

Quality

Limited public-school fit

Expat access

Resident families can use it

conditional

Instruction

Spanish

Language fit is more manageable.

PISA / outcomes

Qualitative only

Using curated quality notes for now.

Why this quality rating

Bolivia has one of the weaker public school systems in South America with significant infrastructure and quality gaps, especially outside major cities. Spanish (and indigenous language) medium.

Why the expat-access rating looks like this

Resident expat families can technically enroll in public schools, but quality concerns and language factors typically make private or international schools the practical choice in La Paz and Santa Cruz.

❓ Homeschooling

Not specifically regulated

Bolivia requires compulsory education but does not have specific homeschooling legislation. School attendance laws are not strongly enforced. Some expat families in Sucre and La Paz homeschool without interference. No formal framework exists.

Homeschool legality in Bolivia β€” check current regulations before committing.

Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)

Childcare & Domestic Help

Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Bolivia.

Full-time nanny (5 days)

$425-$575

Estimate-only country fallback

Live-in / 24-7 nanny

$775-$1,025

Estimate-only country fallback

Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)

Getting Around

Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Sacaba is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.

Healthcare

System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Bolivia.

Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.

11 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 2 months ago

Healthcare system

Limited

Hospital capacity looks tighter, headline outcomes are weaker, and maternal outcomes are weaker weigh on this rating.

Public care

Limited

A visible public hospital footprint help, but country-level outcomes are weaker.

Private care

Limited

The tracked private-style network still looks thin, the private footprint is not very visible yet, and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.

UHC coverage

67/100

2023

Physicians

1.28/1k

2021

Hospital beds

1.49/1k

2023

Out of pocket

27%

2023

Outcome signals

Life expectancy

68.7 yrs

2024

Maternal mortality

146/100k

2023

Neonatal mortality

7.3/1k

2024

International patient readiness

Limited

The private footprint is still thin, price transparency is still sparse, and headline outcomes are less reassuring weigh on this rating.

Pricing transparency

Limited

Published self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.

Facility coverage

Hospital: 4Pharmacy: 4Clinic: 2Doctor: 1

Self-pay pricing visibility

No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Bolivia yet.

This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.

Notable facilities

Hospital Amancayas
Hospital Β· Emergency
general
Caja Nacional de Salud Sacaba
Hospital Β· Emergency
Posta de Salud Tuska Pujio
Hospital Β· Emergency
general
Hospital MΓ©xico
Hospital Β· Emergency
general
ClΓ­nica Huayllani Chico
Clinic
general
Centro de Salud Magisterio Urbano Guadalupe
Clinic
general

System metrics: World Bank WDI Β· Updated 2026-06-01

Safety & Governance

City-level perceived-crime data is not sourced for Sacaba yet. Showing Bolivia national safety and governance signals until a matched city row lands.

Street Safety

Safety Index39/100
Crime Index61/100

Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.

Political Stability

Political Stability-0.29

World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.

Wages by Sector

SectorMedian
Administrative & Support Servicesβ€”
Agriculture & Farmingβ€”
Arts, Entertainment & Recreationβ€”
Constructionβ€”
Educationβ€”
Finance & Insuranceβ€”
Healthcare & Social Workβ€”
Hospitality & Food Serviceβ€”
Information & Technologyβ€”
Manufacturingβ€”
Mining & Quarryingβ€”
Other Servicesβ€”
Professional & Scientific Servicesβ€”
Public Administration & Defenceβ€”
Real Estateβ€”
Retail & Wholesale Tradeβ€”
Transport & Logisticsβ€”
Utilitiesβ€”

2024 annual wages in Sacaba, Bolivia Β· Source: ILO ILOSTAT (national)

Price Comparison vs. US

budget hotel
$10.50Estimated71% cheaper
childcare preschool
$182.50Estimated88% cheaper
eggs dozen
$1.77Estimated63% cheaper
gasoline liter
$0.66Estimated36% cheaper
inexpensive meal
$3.62Estimated83% cheaper
internet 60mbps
$25.49Estimated62% cheaper
International School (Annual)
$32000.00Estimated3% more
luxury hotel
$117.50Estimated75% cheaper
milk liter
$1.17Estimated4% cheaper
monthly pass
$21.36Estimated69% cheaper
rent 1br
$364.67Estimated80% cheaper
rent 3br
$814.68Estimated74% cheaper
utilities basic
$63.91Estimated70% cheaper

Visa Information (US passport)

Short-stay entry

visa on arrival

US passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival.

Quick comparison FAQ

Structured from the deltas already shown on this page β€” no invented facts, no extra data sources.

How far does your money go in Sacaba compared with the US?

Your money goes about 2.9x further in Sacaba than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Bolivia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

Is Sacaba cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?

Sacaba is cheaper overall than New York City β€” overall living costs are about 73% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Sacaba. We are using the country-level cost index for Bolivia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How does rent in Sacaba compare with New York City?

Rent in Sacaba is about 91% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Bolivia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Sacaba?

Groceries in Sacaba are about 72% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 78% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Bolivia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

About Sacaba

Sacaba sits in the high valley of Cochabamba in central Bolivia, immediately east of the city of Cochabamba at an elevation of about 2,700 meters in the Andean foothills. It is the second-largest municipality in the metropolitan area and has grown rapidly as Cochabamba's population has spread eastward along the road toward Santa Cruz. The local economy combines smallholder agriculture in the surrounding valley with commuter-driven retail, services, and informal trade tied to Cochabamba. Spanish and Quechua are both widely spoken. For relocation, the practical context is a temperate highland climate with warm days and cool nights year-round, dependence on Cochabamba for tertiary healthcare and air connections via Jorge Wilstermann airport, and infrastructure that lags the formal city core in water and sanitation coverage.