Cost of Living inChiquimula, Guatemala
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Guatemala: $12,987/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 55% 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.
Income Category
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
This describes Guatemala as a whole. Enrollment rules and school quality can vary within the country, so check with schools in Chiquimula.
Quality
Limited public-school fit
Expat access
Possible for residents
conditionalInstruction
Spanish
Local-language fluency usually matters.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Guatemala's public-school system is not the path most expat families choose when they have alternatives.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families may be able to enroll, but Spanish-medium instruction and uneven quality make the public route a situational choice at best.
❓ Homeschooling
Not specifically regulatedGuatemala requires compulsory primary education but does not have specific homeschooling legislation. Many expat families in Antigua and Lake Atitlán homeschool without interference. No formal registration or approval process.
Homeschool legality in Guatemala — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
No schools in Chiquimula are confirmed yet by their own websites. The nearest city with confirmed schools is Guatemala City, 105 km away (1 school).
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Guatemala.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$375-$525
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$650-$900
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Chiquimula is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Guatemala.
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.
Healthcare system
LimitedCoverage looks thinner, hospital capacity looks tighter, and households still pay a large share themselves weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedPublic coverage looks thinner, public funding looks lighter, and patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs weigh on this rating.
Private care
LimitedThe tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
58/100
2023
Physicians
1.28/1k
2020
Hospital beds
0.45/1k
2023
Out of pocket
57%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
72.7 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
94/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
9.5/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedPrice transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Guatemala yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-11-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2024 annual wages in Chiquimula, Guatemala · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can stay up to 90 days without a visa.
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Chiquimula compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.3x further in Chiquimula than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Guatemala here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Chiquimula cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Chiquimula is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 55% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Chiquimula. We are using the country-level cost index for Guatemala here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Chiquimula compare with New York City?
Rent in Chiquimula is about 81% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Guatemala here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Chiquimula?
Groceries in Chiquimula are about 46% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 59% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Guatemala here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Chiquimula
Chiquimula is the capital of Chiquimula department in eastern Guatemala, sitting in the dry-corridor lowlands about 170 kilometers east of Guatemala City on the road toward the Honduran border. The roughly 112,000 residents live in a regional commercial hub for the Ladino-dominated eastern departments, with the local economy combining cattle ranching, tobacco, and substantial cross-border trade flowing through the Esquipulas crossing into Honduras and El Salvador. The setting in the Central American Dry Corridor gives a hot climate with a pronounced dry season that has produced recurrent drought and food-insecurity crises through the past decade. Spanish is universal. The basilica at Esquipulas, about 50 kilometers south, is one of Central America's largest pilgrimage sites and shapes regional traffic patterns through Chiquimula.
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