Mexico City vs San Jose, Costa Rica - Cost of Living Comparison

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Livingcost

Mexico City San Jose
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1190
$1239
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3028
$3174
🏠 One person rent
$611
$555
🏘️ Family rent
$1253
$1038
🍽️ Food expenses
$376
$479
🚐 Transport expenses
$92.2
$75
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$740
$923
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
8 km
7 km
🎓 Higher education
90
60
😀 Quality of life
68
65
🏙️ Population
9.21M
342K

The cost of living in Mexico City is 4% less expensive than in San Jose, Costa Rica. Cities ranked 4630th and 4497th ($1190 vs $1239) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 5th in Mexico and Costa Rica, respectively. Check Mexico vs Costa Rica comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Mexico City compared to 0.7 months in San Jose, Costa Rica. Mexico City ranked 1st best city to live in Mexico vs San Jose, Costa Rica ranked 1st in Costa Rica, while ranked 3360th and 4226th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Mexico City vs San Jose, Costa Rica infographic

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Prices in Mexico City vs San Jose, Costa Rica

Prices for goods and services in Mexico City and San Jose are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Mexico City San Jose
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$10.3
$10.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$45.2
$49.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$8.05
$9.49
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.69
$3.03
☕ Cappuccino
$3.61
$4.75
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.08
$1.91
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$838
$645
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$489
$417
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1747
$1229
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1045
$842
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$27.7
$47.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$42.9
$73.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$24.4
$44.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.25%
11.24%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2781
$1929
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2233
$1540
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.31
$0.94
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$22.1
$40.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.65
$15.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.24
$1.41
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.44
$1.93
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.12
$2.27
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.69
$1.93
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.39
$3.34
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.69
$10.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.51
$9.11
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11
$14
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.58
$3.89
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.45
$1.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.73
$3.47
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.83
$2.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.84
$2.6
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$2.6
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.59
$1.68
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.85
$3.05
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.5
$16.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.59
$2.28
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.82
$4.96
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$7.01
$8.1
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.04
$6.99
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.29
$2.75
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.47
$3.91
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$61
$55.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.09
$8.01
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$53.8
$66.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$15.9
$12.8
👖 Brand Jeans
$55.6
$70.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$94.2
$119
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$396
$501
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$8550
$12846

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Mexico City

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 7.1 mi Naucalpan
$835
14 km or 8.7 mi Tlalnepantla
$783
17 km or 10 mi Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl
$723
19 km or 12 mi Ciudad Lopez Mateos
$884
22 km or 14 mi Ecatepec de Morelos
$734
25 km or 16 mi Tultitlan de Mariano Escobedo
$775
25 km or 16 mi Chicoloapan de Juarez
$835
26 km or 16 mi Cuautitlan Izcalli
$731
29 km or 18 mi Texcoco de Mora
$794
30 km or 19 mi Tultepec
$757
31 km or 19 mi Chalco de Diaz Covarrubias
$816
42 km or 26 mi Zumpango
$772
55 km or 34 mi Toluca
$844
56 km or 35 mi Cuernavaca
$729
60 km or 37 mi Jiutepec
$734
70 km or 44 mi Cuautla
$843
89 km or 55 mi Pachuca
$704
93 km or 58 mi Atlixco
$811
105 km or 65 mi San Jose Villa de Allende
$792
106 km or 66 mi Puebla
$939
107 km or 67 mi Taxco
$789
126 km or 79 mi Iguala
$797
140 km or 87 mi San Juan del Rio
$828
184 km or 114 mi Queretaro
$941
192 km or 119 mi Teziutlan
$763
211 km or 131 mi Chilpancingo
$623
213 km or 132 mi Tehuacan
$504
214 km or 133 mi Celaya
$601
216 km or 134 mi Poza Rica
$660
217 km or 135 mi Morelia
$748
224 km or 139 mi Cortazar
$691
224 km or 139 mi Orizaba
$723
225 km or 140 mi Yuriria
$729
229 km or 143 mi Coatepec
$694
234 km or 145 mi Xalapa
$589
236 km or 146 mi San Miguel de Allende
$1223
239 km or 149 mi Cordoba
$759
250 km or 155 mi Salamanca
$659
269 km or 167 mi Irapuato
$674
281 km or 174 mi Zacapu
$709

Cities near San Jose, Costa Rica

Distance City Cost of living
7.9 km or 4.9 mi Heredia
$1246
17 km or 11 mi Alajuela
$1233
20 km or 12 mi Cartago
$961
82 km or 51 mi Puntarenas
$1277
115 km or 72 mi Limon
$1201
124 km or 77 mi Santa Teresa
$1310
167 km or 104 mi Liberia
$898
197 km or 122 mi Tamarindo
$1687
244 km or 151 mi San Juan del Sur
$890
246 km or 153 mi David
$833
279 km or 173 mi Juigalpa
$664
302 km or 188 mi Granada
$697
316 km or 196 mi Masaya
$712
343 km or 213 mi Managua
$774
387 km or 241 mi Matagalpa
$550
398 km or 247 mi Santiago de Veraguas
$1056
408 km or 253 mi Jinotega
$457
413 km or 257 mi Leon
$639
429 km or 266 mi Esteli
$593
438 km or 272 mi Penonome
$1098
447 km or 278 mi Chinandega
$638
457 km or 284 mi Chitre
$1091
463 km or 288 mi Colon
$1182
486 km or 302 mi La Chorrera
$953
508 km or 316 mi Balboa
$1249
513 km or 319 mi Panama City
$1384
524 km or 326 mi Tocumen
$1231
535 km or 333 mi Pacora
$1249
574 km or 357 mi Tegucigalpa
$829
596 km or 370 mi San Miguel
$1081
609 km or 378 mi Usulutan
$1088
635 km or 395 mi Comayagua
$715
666 km or 414 mi Yoro
$734
696 km or 432 mi San Salvador
$1192
697 km or 433 mi Soyapango
$1173
701 km or 435 mi Mejicanos
$1161
702 km or 436 mi Apopa
$1145
703 km or 437 mi Santa Tecla
$1202
713 km or 443 mi La Ceiba
$650
729 km or 453 mi El Progreso
$883