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

Updated:

Livingcost

Mexico City San Jose
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1288
$1169
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3248
$3119
🏠 One person rent
$663
$496
🏘️ Family rent
$1322
$1078
🍽️ Food expenses
$407
$471
🚐 Transport expenses
$105
$71.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$819
$877
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
7 km
🎓 Higher education
90
60
😀 Quality of life
66
67
🏙️ Population
9.21M
342K

The cost of living in Mexico City is 10% more expensive than in San Jose, Costa Rica. Cities ranked 4206th and 4518th ($1288 vs $1169) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 8th and 3rd 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 0.8 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 4184th and 4043rd 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
$10.1
$10.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$46.4
$51.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$8.85
$9.47
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.87
$3.31
 Cappuccino
$3.86
$4.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.25
$1.78
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$928
$597
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$520
$368
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1792
$1266
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1104
$901
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$34.7
$42.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$52.7
$64.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$27.1
$40
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
10.98%
8.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3145
$1778
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2277
$1310
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.35
$0.88
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$22.9
$40.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$7.07
$13.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.4
$1.45
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.64
$1.96
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.14
$2.32
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.76
$2.15
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.67
$3.59
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.3
$9.52
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.59
$9.16
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.5
$13.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.01
$4.79
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.48
$1.38
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.89
$2.62
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.9
$2.58
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.16
$2.45
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.09
$2.21
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.67
$1.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.02
$3.02
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.2
$15.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.72
$2.25
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.34
$4.81
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.09
$6.97
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.53
$8.01
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.61
$3.06
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.81
$3.18
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$56.7
$57.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.6
$7.43
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$45.4
$62.4
💇 Haircut, simple
$16.1
$13.6
👖 Brand Jeans
$65.3
$84.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$107
$113
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$426
$369
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$10204
$9894

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Cities near Mexico City

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 7.1 mi Naucalpan
$905
14 km or 8.7 mi Tlalnepantla
$887
17 km or 10 mi Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl
$828
19 km or 12 mi Ciudad Lopez Mateos
$1009
22 km or 14 mi Ecatepec de Morelos
$904
25 km or 16 mi Tultitlan de Mariano Escobedo
$874
25 km or 16 mi Chicoloapan de Juarez
$924
26 km or 16 mi Cuautitlan Izcalli
$816
29 km or 18 mi Texcoco de Mora
$899
30 km or 19 mi Tultepec
$861
31 km or 19 mi Chalco de Diaz Covarrubias
$910
42 km or 26 mi Zumpango
$875
55 km or 34 mi Toluca
$781
56 km or 35 mi Cuernavaca
$767
60 km or 37 mi Jiutepec
$804
70 km or 44 mi Cuautla
$927
89 km or 55 mi Pachuca
$826
93 km or 58 mi Atlixco
$915
105 km or 65 mi San Jose Villa de Allende
$856
106 km or 66 mi Puebla
$1066
107 km or 67 mi Taxco
$853
126 km or 79 mi Iguala
$851
140 km or 87 mi San Juan del Rio
$913
184 km or 114 mi Queretaro
$996
192 km or 119 mi Teziutlan
$810
211 km or 131 mi Chilpancingo
$702
213 km or 132 mi Tehuacan
$596
214 km or 133 mi Celaya
$682
216 km or 134 mi Poza Rica
$768
217 km or 135 mi Morelia
$765
224 km or 139 mi Cortazar
$774
224 km or 139 mi Orizaba
$833
225 km or 140 mi Yuriria
$812
229 km or 143 mi Coatepec
$779
234 km or 145 mi Xalapa
$662
236 km or 146 mi San Miguel de Allende
$1384
239 km or 149 mi Cordoba
$853
250 km or 155 mi Salamanca
$707
269 km or 167 mi Irapuato
$763
281 km or 174 mi Zacapu
$881

Cities near San Jose, Costa Rica

Distance City Cost of living
7.9 km or 4.9 mi Heredia
$1040
17 km or 11 mi Alajuela
$1163
20 km or 12 mi Cartago
$1009
82 km or 51 mi Puntarenas
$1024
115 km or 72 mi Limon
$1147
124 km or 77 mi Santa Teresa
$1114
167 km or 104 mi Liberia
$1220
197 km or 122 mi Tamarindo
$1473
244 km or 151 mi San Juan del Sur
$805
246 km or 153 mi David
$789
279 km or 173 mi Juigalpa
$647
302 km or 188 mi Granada
$680
316 km or 196 mi Masaya
$699
343 km or 213 mi Managua
$787
387 km or 241 mi Matagalpa
$548
398 km or 247 mi Santiago de Veraguas
$961
408 km or 253 mi Jinotega
$458
413 km or 257 mi Leon
$614
429 km or 266 mi Esteli
$593
438 km or 272 mi Penonome
$940
447 km or 278 mi Chinandega
$627
457 km or 284 mi Chitre
$980
463 km or 288 mi Colon
$1157
486 km or 302 mi La Chorrera
$917
508 km or 316 mi Balboa
$1189
513 km or 319 mi Panama City
$1316
524 km or 326 mi Tocumen
$1171
535 km or 333 mi Pacora
$1182
574 km or 357 mi Tegucigalpa
$863
596 km or 370 mi San Miguel
$1107
609 km or 378 mi Usulutan
$1031
635 km or 395 mi Comayagua
$702
666 km or 414 mi Yoro
$738
696 km or 432 mi San Salvador
$1147
697 km or 433 mi Soyapango
$1117
701 km or 435 mi Mejicanos
$1112
702 km or 436 mi Apopa
$1093
703 km or 437 mi Santa Tecla
$1153
713 km or 443 mi La Ceiba
$676
729 km or 453 mi El Progreso
$892