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

Updated:

Livingcost

Mexico City San Jose
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1160
$1324
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2923
$3344
🏠 One person rent
$603
$606
🏘️ Family rent
$1214
$1094
🍽️ Food expenses
$374
$499
🚐 Transport expenses
$78.2
$78
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$709
$990
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
8 km
7 km
🎓 Higher education
92
60
😀 Quality of life
67
66
🏙️ Population
9.21M
342K

The cost of living in Mexico City is 12% less expensive than in San Jose, Costa Rica. Cities ranked 4604th and 4143rd ($1160 vs $1324) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 7th and 2nd 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 3470th and 4085th 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
$11.1
$11.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$46.5
$51.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$8.02
$9.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.84
$2.9
☕ Cappuccino
$3.69
$4.5
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.23
$1.97
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$846
$738
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$475
$444
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1732
$1315
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$998
$874
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$27.8
$53.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$42.3
$82.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$26.7
$49.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.34%
10.31%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2952
$2883
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2197
$1718
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.29
$0.98
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$19.9
$41.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$3.96
$16.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.21
$1.42
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.45
$2.07
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.11
$2.32
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.59
$1.94
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.43
$3.34
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.12
$11.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.41
$8.97
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.8
$14.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.59
$3.92
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.54
$1.46
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.85
$3.91
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.87
$2.99
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.78
$2.99
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.97
$2.81
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.61
$1.85
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.8
$3.17
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.4
$18.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.51
$2.43
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.89
$5.13
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.17
$8.09
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.39
$7.94
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.79
$3.22
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.96
$3.77
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$56.6
$65
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.97
$9.08
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$45
$72.3
💇 Haircut, simple
$16.7
$15.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$53.2
$68.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$94.8
$125
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$401
$601
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$9034
$12527

Cost of living in other countries

Mexico CitySan Jose

Cost of living

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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
$800
14 km or 8.7 mi Tlalnepantla
$741
17 km or 10 mi Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl
$814
19 km or 12 mi Ciudad Lopez Mateos
$849
22 km or 14 mi Ecatepec de Morelos
$704
25 km or 16 mi Tultitlan de Mariano Escobedo
$770
25 km or 16 mi Chicoloapan de Juarez
$828
26 km or 16 mi Cuautitlan Izcalli
$742
29 km or 18 mi Texcoco de Mora
$787
30 km or 19 mi Tultepec
$747
31 km or 19 mi Chalco de Diaz Covarrubias
$820
42 km or 26 mi Zumpango
$761
55 km or 34 mi Toluca
$696
56 km or 35 mi Cuernavaca
$745
60 km or 37 mi Jiutepec
$752
70 km or 44 mi Cuautla
$858
89 km or 55 mi Pachuca
$632
93 km or 58 mi Atlixco
$825
105 km or 65 mi San Jose Villa de Allende
$760
106 km or 66 mi Puebla
$981
107 km or 67 mi Taxco
$788
126 km or 79 mi Iguala
$821
140 km or 87 mi San Juan del Rio
$826
184 km or 114 mi Queretaro
$983
192 km or 119 mi Teziutlan
$770
211 km or 131 mi Chilpancingo
$608
213 km or 132 mi Tehuacan
$485
214 km or 133 mi Celaya
$638
216 km or 134 mi Poza Rica
$635
217 km or 135 mi Morelia
$717
224 km or 139 mi Cortazar
$693
224 km or 139 mi Orizaba
$724
225 km or 140 mi Yuriria
$725
229 km or 143 mi Coatepec
$700
234 km or 145 mi Xalapa
$574
236 km or 146 mi San Miguel de Allende
$1139
239 km or 149 mi Cordoba
$759
250 km or 155 mi Salamanca
$634
269 km or 167 mi Irapuato
$667
281 km or 174 mi Zacapu
$804

Cities near San Jose, Costa Rica

Distance City Cost of living
7.9 km or 4.9 mi Heredia
$1296
17 km or 11 mi Alajuela
$1269
20 km or 12 mi Cartago
$1024
82 km or 51 mi Puntarenas
$801
115 km or 72 mi Limon
$1225
124 km or 77 mi Santa Teresa
$1213
167 km or 104 mi Liberia
$932
197 km or 122 mi Tamarindo
$1710
244 km or 151 mi San Juan del Sur
$839
246 km or 153 mi David
$890
279 km or 173 mi Juigalpa
$666
302 km or 188 mi Granada
$701
316 km or 196 mi Masaya
$710
343 km or 213 mi Managua
$738
387 km or 241 mi Matagalpa
$624
398 km or 247 mi Santiago de Veraguas
$1089
408 km or 253 mi Jinotega
$455
413 km or 257 mi Leon
$632
429 km or 266 mi Esteli
$598
438 km or 272 mi Penonome
$1116
447 km or 278 mi Chinandega
$638
457 km or 284 mi Chitre
$1117
463 km or 288 mi Colon
$1172
486 km or 302 mi La Chorrera
$957
508 km or 316 mi Balboa
$1328
513 km or 319 mi Panama City
$1479
524 km or 326 mi Tocumen
$1310
535 km or 333 mi Pacora
$1304
574 km or 357 mi Tegucigalpa
$863
596 km or 370 mi San Miguel
$1088
609 km or 378 mi Usulutan
$1083
635 km or 395 mi Comayagua
$753
666 km or 414 mi Yoro
$755
696 km or 432 mi San Salvador
$1204
697 km or 433 mi Soyapango
$1182
701 km or 435 mi Mejicanos
$1175
702 km or 436 mi Apopa
$1160
703 km or 437 mi Santa Tecla
$1194
713 km or 443 mi La Ceiba
$626
729 km or 453 mi El Progreso
$903