The True Cost of Living in Belize (2025): A Full Expense Breakdown

A Troll-Inspired Endeavour

Back in December, I had a rather frustrating encounter on one of the Belize FB groups. An anonymous participant asked what the average cost of living, groceries, rent, etc., was for a foreigner in Belize. As you can imagine, the responses were mostly snarky and, while amusing, unhelpful. 

If you want to skip all my ramblings and head straight to the cost of living in Belize, click here.

I realize this is a tricky question to answer, as many factors influence the cost of living in Belize; how you want to live is one of the most significant. For the uninitiated, there are many ways to live in Belize, from "simple" living—by which I mean a standard of living that most foreigners would consider to be below their ideal, characterized by limited running water and electricity—to coastal lavishery (yes, I know that's not an actual word, but I like the sound of it). Many people in Belize still live in a simple (often off-grid) way. Not having running water or electricity is characteristic of many of the Mayan villages that dot the jungle landscape, albeit this is changing. Even a lovely young woman my family has come to know well, who's in her early twenties, remembers growing up without power—that was less than ten years ago. And there is the fellow who works for my neighbour, who I speak about in Leave It For The Locals,  who lives without water or electricity in Santa Cruz, just a short drive from Maya Beach but seemingly a world away.

While some foreigners come to Belize in search of such austerity—hey, whatever floats your boat, no judgment—many North American transplants find that living that way is too far-flung from their accustomed living standards, nor would they care to subject themselves to it. All this is to say that when inquisitive developed-nationers ask questions on forums about "the average cost of living in Belize," they don't get an answer.  

Back to my FB encounter: Given the context above, I decided to provide a subjective response—that's all anyone can go on, after all—and outlined some of my basic costs, only to be ridiculed by a FB troll for "not knowing what an average was." I have my GED and diploma from a post-secondary institution, and while math was never my strong suit, I am familiar with mean, median, and mode. I attempted to inform the troll that no one has calculated such averages, so only personal experiences are available and relevant. I explained that I only know what I spend, and to put together an average, you'd need an extensive sampling of foreigners to weigh in on what they shell out every month. Things degraded from there. 

After being harshly criticized by other group members for his attitude, the troll posted a ChatGPT response that was far too inaccurate; apparently, he was determined to show how easy it was to provide an answer and was willing to spread misinformation to do so. Now, I'm not one to disregard the validity of AI for aiding in research—I use it regularly to compile facts and figures for my client projects, and I used it to assist with data analysis for this article—but I also know how it works: it provides its answers by scraping the internet, misinformation and all, then adds a sprinkling of hallucination when data is thin, which is the case for the topic at hand. For example, his monthly expenses included "going to the movies." Going to the movies isn't a regular event for foreigners, who typically end up on the coast or in the jungle. From what I understand, there is only one theater in the entire country, at the Ramada Hotel in Belize City.

As annoying as the whole encounter was, it sparked my desire to zero in on an actual average cost of living in Belize (you can jump to it here if you like). So, I compiled a survey with a list of everyday expenses and asked the foreign diaspora in Belize to participate. The participation was quite good. I ran the survey for a month and received 97 responses. I'm confident I could have made 100+, but I failed to realize the survey end date, and my final push was past the cutoff (it was a paid add-on from my website provider).

A Sincere Thank You

Before I discuss the data—which proved to be much more than I anticipated and is why it has taken nearly three months to publish the results—I would like to sincerely thank all the participants. Your input and feedback were greatly appreciated and made this article possible. 

The Survey

The survey was anonymous, as knowing who responded wasn't necessary; I considered that a barrier to entry. It's also none of my business to know who spends what, and if I were on the other end of things, I wouldn't provide my name or contact details, though I did provide an option to leave an email address to receive the survey results directly. 

I broke the survey down into what I consider to be the most common and essential living expenses for a foreigner in Belize. I left participation open to anyone to avoid alienating nationals in their own country (yet only foreigners participated). Still, I wanted to distinguish foreigners from locals as there can be significant differences in how these two populations live. I also decided to determine which district of the country survey participants were responding from, as each area offers a different standard of living and expenses. The rest was straightforward, outlining expenditures like utilities, groceries, internet, and cell services, vehicle expenses (if owned), and home expenses like rent, property tax, and maintenance. I asked all participants to submit all costs in Belize Dollars (BZD). 

A Caveat About Accuracy

The averages I present here represent the data compiled from the survey and may not reflect costs with 100% accuracy. Say, for example, the people who pay the highest rent costs in a particular area didn't participate, then the data I collected won't reflect those numbers. I think that the cost of rent for Stann Creek, where I live, seemed low, but I am also comparing it to the only rent cost I am aware of: the monthly rent I paid (USD 1650) when I first moved here, and my home was under construction. Perhaps rent costs have come down, or I just overpaid compared to the going market rate. Anyhow, while this survey provides an accurate ballpark on the average cost, it's based on the participant information and the degree of accuracy they offered. 

A Recap of Questions

• Are you a foreigner in Belize?

• District

• Rent or Own

• Cost of Rent (if a renter)

• Cost of Property Tax, Maintenance, and Home Insurance (if an owner)

• Number of members in the household

• Grocery/ Market Produce 

• Fun- activities and eating out

• Electricity

• Water

• Gas

• Vehicle Expense: Fuel, Maintenance, Licensing, Insurance

• Cell Phone and Internet

• Health Care costs

• Clothing

• Miscellaneous

A Brief Refresher

For those who are rusty on math terms, mean, median, and mode are three ways to measure the average of a dataset. Each offers a different perspective. I use them extensively in this report, so I'd like to provide a refresher so you don't have to Google the terms. Each measure provides unique insights, helping to understand data more effectively.

Mean

When discussing averages, we typically think of the mean. When I refer to "the average" in the report, I mean this: the mean is determined by adding all the numbers in a set and dividing the sum by the number of inputs. While useful, extreme numbers can skew it. 

Median

The median is found in the middle of a series of numbers when those numbers are arranged in numerical order; if there's an even number of values, it's the mean of the two middle ones. Knowing the median allows for a better representation when there are outliers, which there were in the survey results. 

Mode

The mode is the most frequently occurring number in a dataset, which helps identify trends. In the case of the survey results, the mode can indicate the likelihood of paying a particular amount for a given expense category.

BZD USD Exchange Rate

I provide some BZD to USD conversions, but when I don't, just remember the Belize Dollar is pegged to the greenback at 2:1. 

How I Present the Data

I wanted to cater to as many people as possible, so I've presented the data in numerous ways. I have bolded key information for the skim reader, including mean, median, and modal values for each category. For those who are visual, I've included charts and graphs for most expense types. I've added as much colour to the data as possible for those who enjoy reading, providing additional facts and personal experiences where I found it natural or necessary. If you want to jump to the survey results now, click here.

The Data Set

As previously mentioned, there were 97 separate entries. These came from four of Belize's six districts: Corozal (10), Belize (22), Stann Creek (49), and Cayo (16). 

Participant Household Size

While I don't focus too much on family size in this report—as crunching the numbers was already more work than I expected and I could essentially rehash everything through the lens of family size—I included it in the survey so I felt it pertinent to touch on it off the bat. As you can see from the pie chart, most participants came from two-person households, representing 58 out of the 97 participants. This statistic doesn't surprise me, as retired couples are a prominent demographic in the foreign community. The next largest was single persons (22/97), followed by families of four (8 of 97, including yours truly) and families of 3 and five or more (3/97 each). A few people also input Yes and No for family size— I'm not sure how that was even possible as that field was a drop-down menu with set choices. As I explain in the following section, there were glitches and errors in the data, which I had to correct for.  

Dealing with Errors and Missing or Incomplete Data

Unfortunately, the data collected wasn't as clean as I would have liked. Numerous submissions were incomplete or anomalous (i.e., an abnormally high amount potentially caused by a typo or error when inputting the data). Some entries included negative numbers or a phone number in place of a monthly bill amount; some people who own their home didn't input a property tax amount, while other people who said they owned a vehicle didn't provide fuel, licensing, or insurance costs, all which are necessary when operating vehicle in Belize. Still, others didn't indicate maintenance—which could indicate a new car or that they just don't maintain their vehicle—which is a significant expense for many as secondary roads aren't paved and are rough on automobiles.

I realize that errors happen— maybe a spouse, who isn't sure of the cost, filled out the form—but I, unfortunately, had to leave these types of responses out of the calculations. Therefore, I had to omit some submissions in each category so they wouldn't skew the results. However, I only removed submissions with errors from the related expense and did not delete the entire submission because a vehicle owner didn't input an insurance cost; I just omitted them from that specific expense calculation. So, as you read through, you will notice that the sample size will vary depending on the expense category.

Calculating the Data

While tallying the data, I opted to remove all zero-sum fields due to the ambiguity: I wasn't able to determine if the participant, for the example of LP gas: 

1. Didn't use LP gas, 

2. Didn't know the answer, or 

3. Forgot or missed the entry. 

Either way, leaving in the zero-sum would only bring down the average and skew the calculation for that category. Not everyone uses gas here, so including those that don't with a zero-dollar value skews the actual cost for those who do. Some may rely 100% on electricity to cook and heat water, so I didn't feel it was correct to leave them in when calculating the average.

If a participant whose submission had left empty fields happened to include an email address, I contacted them to request the missing information. If they replied with the information, I manually updated their entry.

Okay, on to the survey results!

Survey Results: The Cost of Living in Belize

The following results represent the average (mean) of all 97 survey participants.

Average Monthly Living Expenses at a Glance

Click a category to jump to it.

EXPENSE CATEGORY	MONTHLY AMOUNT IN BELIZE DOLLARS
School Cost	$761
Rent	$1,492
Home Ownership	$822
Prop Tax	$11
Prop Main	$573
Prop Ins	$238
Utilities	$436
Electricity	$335
Water	$54
Gas	$47
Groceries	$889
Fun/Activities	$614
Vehicle	$751
Fuel	$332
Insurance	$80
Maintenance	$318
Licensing	$21
Transportation	$342
Phone	$113
Internet	$115
Healthcare	$668
Clothing	$101
Misc	$362
TOTAL (not including school costs)	$5,212

The total represents bolded numbers minus the school cost category, as most participants didn't have kids in school

Cost of Living in Belize by Category

Cost of Rent in Belize

Out of 97 participants, 41 submitted as renters. Of these, 32 left monthly rent costs; this was partially my fault, as early on in the survey, I failed to provide a drop-down field for it. Therefore, nine renters didn't leave monthly costs due to my error or failure to fill in the information.

Average Rent Cost

• Mean: 1491.94 BZD/USD 745.97

• Mediant: 1200 BZD/USD 600

• Mode: 1200 BZD appeared five times in the results.

Rent Cost By District

• Belize: 1914.44 BZD/USD 957.22 based on 9 of 32 participants.

• Corozal: 983.33 BZD/USD 491.65 based on 6 of the 32.

• Stann Creek: 1674.00 BZD/USD 837 based on 13 of the 32.

• Cayo: 712.50 BZD/USD 356.25 based on 4 of the 32.

Costs of Owning a Property in Belize

56 participants out of the 97 indicated that they own their property, and of the 56, 54 provided annual amounts, which I broke down monthly. The average monthly cost of property ownership, which I calculated to include property tax, property maintenance, and insurance, equaled 822 BZD/USD 411. See below for a chart comparing costs by district. 

Property Tax in Belize

I decided to include this even though property tax is marginal in Belize compared to what North Americans are used to. 54 of 56 owners submitted amounts. The participant-wide mean was 10.66 BZD (127.92 BZD annually), and the median was 5.63 BZD (67.56 BZD annually). The data didn't produce a decisive modal value. I should point out that the Lands Department calculates taxes annually, even though I broke them down into monthly expenses.   

Home and Property Maintenance in Belize 

Property maintenance was the most significant homeowner expense, with a mean average of 573.23 BZD, provided by 40 of the 54 homeowners. Maintenance usually includes groundskeeping, air conditioner servicing, and preservation of exterior wood and the home's exterior. The median value was 310 BZD, and the modal cost was 100 BZD, which occurred eight times in the group of 40, indicating that one is most likely to pay 50 USD a month in property maintenance. 

Home Insurance Costs in Belize

12 of 54 property owners provided insurance costs. The mean monthly home insurance expense was 237.78 BZD, with a median cost of 185 BZD. The mode was 100 BZD, appearing 5 times in the 12. The low number of participants in this expense category may indicate that many people don't carry an insurance policy on their home. Home insurance is still relatively new in Belize, and there are some conditions regarding the insurance of wood homes in coastal areas, which may lend to the low number.

Utility Costs in Belize

Electricity

Electricity is a significant expense whether you own or rent your home. 82 out of 97 participants provided their monthly power bill, with a mean of 335.22 BZD. The calculated median was 225 BZD. The mode was a two-way tie, with 300 BZD and 400 BZD occurring nine times each. 

Water

67 of 97 entries indicated monthly water cost:

• Mean: 53.73 BZD

• Median: 35 BZD

• Mode: 30 BZD appearing nine times

Many people still don't have access to the government water supply and rely on rainwater catchment and/or water deliveries by retail suppliers. BWS recently made its way down the Placencia Peninsula, installing water mains and meters. "City" water became available to us in late October 2024. Previously, our home's water supply came through the means just explained. With the substantial rainfall this past season, we deferred installing a meter until January. I connected our BWS meter to our home last week, and we now use it to fill our holding tanks as needed, allowing us to still capture rainwater. 

The BWS rate is $0.01 (1 cent) per gallon, substantially less than the water delivery rate of $0.10/ gallon we previously paid to Loewan's Hardware store, the primary water delivery service in the area. BWS charges 450 BZD to register a property and install a meter. There is a minimum monthly charge of 10 BZD and no charge for the first 1000 gallons.

Gas

69 out of 97 entries were tallied, with the mean monthly average totaling 46.55 BZD. The median was 30 BZD, and the mode was 10 BZD, appearing 14 times. Gas is efficient for heating hot water and cooking, so many who fill tanks don't need to do so regularly. Depending on usage, we fill our ten-gallon tank every 4-6 weeks, costing around 60 BZD. For up-to-date LP gas prices, click here. 

There is an ongoing debate about whether electricity or gas is better for cooking. Ultimately, the answer is subjective, but it's important to remember that if you plan to cook indoors, gas stoves are a significant source of residual heat. In a tropical climate, this is an important consideration. Belize uses Liquified Petroleum (LP) gas, so be sure your stove is made for it or is appropriately converted. LPG doesn't burn as clean as the natural gas used in North America, so stoves here require additional maintenance. 

Costs of Owning a Vehicle in Belize 

Image by Ronald Plett from Pixabay

This country is rough on vehicles. The main roads are pretty good and routinely maintained, but potholes and rough patches persist countrywide. While registration and licensing are affordable, maintenance costs can be a significant factor, especially if you plan to live in a rural or off-grid area that requires traversing secondary and tertiary roads, which are almost always unpaved and locally maintained. 

68 out of 97 indicated they owned a vehicle and provided expenditures, with a mean of 765 BZD/USD 382.50 per month, including fuel (gasoline or diesel), insurance, maintenance, and vehicle registration (done annually). 

Fuel (63 of 68)

• Mean: 332.13 BZD

• Median: 300 BZD

• Mode: 300 BZD appearing 14 times

Maintenance (46 of 68)

• Mean: 318.40 BZD

• Median: 150 BZD

• Mode: 100 BZD appearing ten times

Licensing (48 of 68)

• Mean: 20.59 BZD

• Median: 16.67 BZD

• Mode: 16.67 BZD appealing 11 times

Insurance (57 of 68)

• Mean: 79.68 BZD

• Median: 41.67 BZD

• Mode: 29.16 and  41.67 BZD appearing five times each.

Transportation Cost in Belize

Image by Makalu from Pixabay

29 of the 97 survey participants indicated that they don't own a vehicle. If you plan to do the same, you can expect to pay an average of 342.26 BZD monthly. This mean came from the input of 19 out of the 29; the remaining 10 didn't include any transportation cost. This may mean they don't go anywhere or just didn't fill out this field. As with all zero-sum fields, I omitted them from the calculations. The median monthly transportation cost was 100 BZD. The sample was too small to produce a definitive mode, but 50 BZD showed up thrice. 

While the survey didn't gather information on the types of transportation used, the most common forms are buses, taxis (land and water), and car rentals. Given the small sample size, I didn't see a reason to provide district averages. If you plan to live far from a town or village and do not own your transportation, expect to pay more than if you live in an established area. Trips to immigration will be necessary every month for your first year in the country. Other than that, you could live with limited transportation (i.e., a bicycle) if you are in the right area, like Placencia Village, Hopkins, San Ignacio, Belmopan, Belize City, and Caye Caulker.   

The Costs for Staying Connected in Belize

Reliable cellphone and internet service are available, with two leading national providers, Digi and Smart.

Cell Phone (79 of 97)

• Mean: 112.51 BZD

• Median: 80 BZD

• Mode: 100 BZD appearing seven times

Internet (80 of 97)

• Mean: 115.46 BZD

• Median: 92.5 BZD

• Mode: 100 BZD

Grocery Costs in Belize

The cost of groceries can vary widely depending on the district you live in and the community within that district. Surprisingly enough, the household size (although I haven't mentioned it much) didn't have as significant an impact as I imagined. I assumed large families would have the highest grocery bills, but that wasn't so. For example, two participants from the Belize district, one with a household of five or more, had a monthly food expenditure of 5000 BZD while the other who has four in their home spent 1500 BZD. Conversely, two Stann Creek families with 5+ members each spent 1000 BZD and 2400 BZD, respectively, while two two-person households spent 1800 BZD and 3000 BZD. The data indicates how you choose to live and shop will drastically influence your monthly grocery bill. It also shows a broad spectrum of shopping options and habits are available in Belize.

Here are the numbers for all participants, of which only one didn't provide a figure:

• Mean: 889.17 BZD

• Median: 950 BZD

• Mode: 700 BZD and 1000 BZD, occurring 8 and 7 times, respectively.

I was surprised that Corozal had the second highest grocery costs because I found food cheaper there when I visited last year. There were ten participants from this district, and nine contributed data to this category. The higher values for Corozal could result from the spending habits of the particular participants just so happening to be on the higher end or the fact that their sample group was the smallest, causing the survey not to accurately capture the grocery expenses for that area. Another possibility is that food costs have risen in the region since I visited last, but I find that hard to believe given their proximity to Mexico. As a general rule, things get costlier as you head south, which is due to the additional transportation expense. There are only two accessible borders in Belize: one in the north of Mexico and the other in the west of Guatemala. There are no southern borders, which means everything must be shipped south.   

Cost of Fun and Activities in Belize

88 of the 97 survey participants filled this category, averaging 614.20 BZD. The median was 455 BZD, and the mode was 200 BZD, occurring 19 times. The mean for Corozal and Cayo was almost a dead tie at 323.89 BZD and 324 BZD, respectively, and Belize and Stann Creeks were very close at 777.23 BZD and 700 BZD.

Not surprisingly, Belize District has the most fun, followed closely by Stann Creek. Both districts represent the highest concentration of foreigners and survey participants, many of whom are retired and actively doing so. "Who has the most fun" is tongue-in-cheek, though, as the higher spending can also indicate that these areas are more expensive to participate in activities. 

Healthcare Costs in Belize

Healthcare costs vary widely due to age and overall health. I decided not to provide stats on the district as many foreigners carry international health plans that don't relate to Belize. Domestic plans through insurance providers are available to Belizean residents. 51 of 97 submitted healthcare costs. I've decided not to provide an overall average, as household size is a significant factor. A single person's average (10 of the 51) monthly healthcare expenses came to 198.03 BZD. It rose considerably for two-person households (31 of 51) to 857.62 BZD. The remaining household sizes data samples were relatively small (2 and 3 each) and I question how clear a picture it provides. See the chart below.

Clothing Costs in Belize

51 of 97 participants provided a monthly clothing budget. From my experience, you don't need many clothes: shorts, swimsuits, tank tops, t-shirts, and light footwear. It helps to have some long-sleeved shirts, pants, and light sweaters for the odd cool weather in November, but these don't need replacement often because you rarely wear them. I've ordered some new shorts in the last three years, but that's it, although it is time for some new shirts. There aren't a lot of new clothing stores, so my wife and I opted to order from the US and ship in through Belizean Queen. We buy our kids used clothes as they outgrow them quickly. 

• Mean: 100.79 BZD

• Median: 50 BZD

• Mode: 50 & 100 BZD, appearing 12 and ten times each.

Miscellaneous

I included this category as a catchall for anything else I didn't ask. I also included a comment box so participants could add more information to their survey answers. Many took the opportunity to explain what they included in this category. Some common monthly "miscellaneous" items included cat, dog, and other animal food, veterinarian visits, dental care, shipping fees (i.e., Belizean Queen), and visitor permit extensions. 

• Mean: 362.2 BZD

• Median: 225 BZD

• Mode: 100 BZD

The Average Cost of School for Foreigners in Belize

Out of 97 participants, 12 indicated they had school age children. Of the 12, eight provided costs. A family of 5+ stated a cost of 3000 BZD per month while another family of the same size said 300 BZD. Four didn't leave amounts which could indicate home schooling. The mean cost of the eight came to 761 BZD with the average number of kids being 2.625, indicating a cost per child of 290 BZD. To put this in perspective, the cost of schooling for my two boys is 500 BZD (250 BZD per child) per month, but they are in half days at Coastal Academy which is a private institution. In September, they will start full time and the cost will double to 1000 BZD per month (500 BZD/ child).

An Annual Survey?

There you have it! Please comment below if you have any questions, and let me know if you would like this to be an annual occurrence. Also, if you have an expense category you would like to see calculated (someone mentioned "Alcohol and Drugs” in their survey comment box 🤣), please indicate that in the comment section, too.   

Things I Missed and Areas For Survey Improvement 

While I covered the ordinary expenses, I failed to include a significant cost for many foreigners in Belize: the monthly visitor permit extensions, which cost 200 BZD per person, regardless of age. If these fees apply to you, make sure to add them to the monthly expenses listed above. 

I also failed to ask questions about school-aged children, such as the cost of additional school expenses, such as books, supplies, and uniforms, and the importation of goods, such as whether people frequently used Belizean Queen (or a similar service), how much they are paying for items from the US and the BQ fees. In the future, I would also provide the option to select an exact location within each district, as this would give a greater understanding of costs in each area. For example, Placencia Village, Maya Beach, and Hopkins are all in Stann Creek, but rent prices undoubtedly vary in each place. The current survey failed to account for this information. 

While the survey gives a good idea of average living expense costs, I admittedly missed some things. However, the reader can account for this by adding a contingency of approximately to the numbers determined by the survey; 20% is a good start. It's a good thing to do anyway; you don't know what you don't know, and you may not realize now that you will require a particular item or service after moving here. If you don't need the contingency, fabulous, straight bank, but it's good to account for if you do. Things are constantly changing here; it's a developing country, and I've witnessed it in the last four-plus years since purchasing my lot and even more so since we moved here nearly three years ago.

Thank You!

Once again, thank you to all who participated. The survey was a success, and I hope it will be helpful to those moving or considering relocating to Belize.

Photo by Wilhelm Gunkel on Unsplash

Thanks for reading! If you are interested in other works of mine, check out Simo's Substack, the Lili Art Blog, or my award receiving self-published book. If you found this content valuable, please consider supporting the blog so I can continue providing meaningful information on Belize, by donating. Alternatively you can show your support by subscribing. And a special thanks to those readers who have shown their support; it is greatly appreciated!!