Peru / South America
Cusco is an indexed city in Peru (South America), with a metropolitan population of about ~428K. This profile brings together deterministic city-intelligence indicators for Cusco spanning cost of living, climate, safety and quality of life, economy and jobs, education, and healthcare. Cusco is a south america city of about ~428K in Peru. On the composite city-intelligence score, Cusco sits at an early stage relative to the indexed set (59/100).
Image credit: Image: W. Bulach / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Composite profile
59/100
Use the Cusco profile to compare affordability, livability, and economic indicators against other indexed cities in Peru and across South America, and to explore nearby nature and weekend destinations.
59/100
Composite directional score across affordability, air quality, clean energy, and resilience.
Directional
Directional indicators pending integration of verified city-level data.
See country hub
Emergency, healthcare, and transport verification status appears on the country hub.
The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 59/100 | Composite score across major city intelligence modules. |
| Cost of Living | 67/100 | Cusco's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Air Quality | 59/100 | Cusco's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated. |
| Energy | 63/100 | Cusco's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context. |
| Safety | 60/100 | Cusco's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available. |
| Internet Speed | 61/100 | Cusco's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references. |
| Climate Risk | 61/100 | Cusco's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Resilience | 61/100 | Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context. |
Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.
Cusco has a moderate safety estimate (57/100); standard urban precautions are advised, particularly after dark.
A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.
Cusco has a moderate quality-of-life estimate (64/100), with notable strengths in green space.
How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.
Cusco scores moderate for family living (66/100), helped by parks and green space.
Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.
Cusco is moderate for remote workers (64/100), based on connectivity, affordability and walkability and day-to-day amenities.
Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.
Cusco is moderate for retirement (62/100), appealing for affordability.
Local public safety guidance for Cusco, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.
For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Cusco, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the Peru emergency profile, which currently lists no verified national contacts.
Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.
Healthcare context for Cusco, with national-level information from Peru where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.
For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Cusco, see the Peru healthcare profile, which currently lists no verified national healthcare information.
Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.
Local mobility context for Cusco, with national-level context from Peru where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.
For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Cusco, see the Peru transport profile, which currently lists no verified national transport information.
Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.
Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Cusco. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.
Source-attributed values for Cusco will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.
| Metric | Value | Data year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air quality | Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location. | ||
Global City Intelligence — air-quality dataset
Verified data unavailableThe air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).
Numeric measurements appear in this section only after they are sourced from accepted official publishers. The dataset is independently validated at build time; malformed records cannot ship to production.
Quick, evidence-based answers about Cusco drawn from this profile's indexed cost, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data. Figures are deterministic estimates for orientation — verify specifics with official sources.
Yes — good quality of life (64/100), with nearby nature such as Sacred Valley, Pukamuqu.
Strong (66/100) on safety, schools and green space.
More affordable than average; about S/ 3,000/month for one person (estimate).
Late spring to early autumn; warmest in Jan, coldest in Jul.
Mainly tourism, hospitality, mining.
A desert climate, averaging about 28.8°C.
Higher education is good (54/100).
Healthcare access is good (53/100).
Retirement suitability is good (58/100).
Within ~170 km: Sacred Valley, Pukamuqu.
City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.
Cusco's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies.
Cusco's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated.
Cusco's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context.
Cusco's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available.
Cusco's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references.
Cusco's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity.
Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.
Cost of living estimates for Cusco — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.
Climate profile for Cusco — Desert climate, annual average 28.8°C, comfort score 45/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.
Economy and jobs profile for Cusco — tourism economy, economy score 54/100, key industries including tourism, hospitality, mining. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.
Education profile for Cusco — mixed education base, education score 52/100, 3 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.
Healthcare and retirement profile for Cusco — developing healthcare market, healthcare score 53/100, retirement score 58/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.
Source-attributed visual context for Cusco using verified Wikimedia imagery from the existing media catalog, alongside structured city intelligence and planning links. Not a tourism guide or attractions ranking.
Weekend trip planning checklist for Cusco — links into arrival planning, Summer 2026 travel context, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not an itinerary, events calendar, hotel-price guide, restaurant guide, or tourism ranking.
Source-backed nearby place records for local-first weekend planning, with verification status, official source links, Wikidata identity, and visual context.
Estimate a monthly budget for Cusco using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.
Plan a trip budget for Cusco using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.
Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Cusco. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.
Same region · about 99 km from Cusco. Explore Abancay's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 246 km from Cusco. Explore Ayacucho's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 296 km from Cusco. Explore Juliaca's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 319 km from Cusco. Explore Puerto Maldonado's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 324 km from Cusco. Explore Arequipa's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 333 km from Cusco. Explore Puno's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 386 km from Cusco. Explore Huancayo's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 410 km from Cusco. Explore Ica's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 457 km from Cusco. Explore Pisco's city intelligence profile.
Cross-border · about 527 km from Cusco. Explore El Alto's city intelligence profile.
Regional discovery collections that include Cusco — named natural regions grouping nearby nature, parks, lakes, coasts, and mountains for local-first day and weekend planning.
Weekend escapes · 28 places across 25 cities.
Theme-first discovery collections that include Cusco — grouped by outdoor interest (mountains, lakes, coasts, forests, national parks) rather than geography.
Weekend Nature Retreats · 40 places across 25 cities.
Common questions about living in, visiting, working in, studying in and retiring to Cusco, answered from the indexed cost-of-living, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data on this profile.
Cusco has a moderate quality-of-life estimate (64/100), with notable strengths in green space. Visitors can also reach nature such as Sacred Valley, Pukamuqu and Pikchu within weekend range.
Cusco has a moderate quality-of-life estimate (64/100), with notable strengths in green space. It indexes 64/100 for overall quality of life.
A single resident of Cusco spends roughly S/ 3,000 per month, with a one-bedroom rent near S/ 1,600. Overall the city is more affordable than average for Peru. These are modelled estimates, not live quotes — verify locally.
Plan for below-average living costs and check current rents before relocating. Cusco is moderate for remote workers (64/100), based on connectivity, affordability and walkability and day-to-day amenities.
Cusco's labour market is developing, with opportunities concentrated in tourism and hospitality, manufacturing and technology. Cusco has a tourism-driven economy with strengths in tourism, hospitality and mining.
Cusco offers solid infrastructure and amenities for remote professionals, with a remote-work score of 58/100.
Cusco is a developing education base with a mix of universities and research activity in our dataset, spanning fields such as Physics, Mathematics and Business.
Cusco offers a moderate student environment, supported by walkable neighborhoods and relatively affordable living.
Cusco has a developing healthcare market, supported by hospitals, specialist services, and public-health infrastructure, with a healthcare score of 53/100. Residents have solid access to healthcare across primary, specialist, and emergency care.
Cusco offers a combination of healthcare access, safety, and amenities that may appeal to retirees, with a retirement score of 58/100. Residents benefit from parks and green space and walkable streets and day-to-day services.
Cusco has a desert climate, averaging about 28.8°C annually with roughly 149 mm of rain. The hottest month is Jan and the coldest Jul. The driest is typically Jan.
Cusco has a moderate safety estimate (57/100); standard urban precautions are advised, particularly after dark.
Cusco indexes a walkability score of 72 and a cycling score of 55 out of 100. Check the local operator for live transit routes and fares.
Nature destinations within about 170 km of Cusco include Sacred Valley, Pukamuqu and Pikchu. Each is linked with its official source on the profile.
Cusco scores moderate for family living (66/100), helped by parks and green space.
Cusco rates 46/100 for outdoor lifestyle and 91/100 for green space. Nearby nature such as Sacred Valley, Pukamuqu and Pikchu supports day hikes, water activities and weekend trips.
Use the Cusco profile to compare affordability, livability, and economic indicators against other indexed cities in Peru and across South America, and to explore nearby nature and weekend destinations. Its standout dimensions are cost of living (67/100) and energy (63/100). The area most worth watching is air quality (59/100), where the model registers practical gaps. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 4 institutional references.
Country context is available on the Peru country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Cusco appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
4 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
Used as an energy-resource and weather-normalization reference.
Used to normalize air-quality indicators toward health-protective benchmarks.
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.