Mexico vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Mexico United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$982
$2433
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2375
$5667
🏠 One person rent
$446
$1552
🏘️ Family rent
$782
$2714
🍽️ Food expenses
$365
$618
🚐 Transport expenses
$82.2
$104
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$790
$4694
💸 GDP per capita
$11497
$76330
😃 Human freedom index
6.55
8.39
❤️ Life expectancy
70.2
76.3
👮 Corruption perceptions index
31
69
🌐 English speaking %
13%
95.5%
🎓 Higher education
89
100
😀 Quality of life
42
86
🏙️ Population
125M
331M

The average cost of living in Mexico ($982) is 60% less expensive than in the United States ($2433). Mexico ranked 81st vs 7th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.8 months in Mexico compared to 1.9 months in the United States. Ranked 116th and 21st best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Mexico vs United States infographic

Share this infographic!

Prices in Mexico vs the United States

We calculate prices for Mexico and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 144 and 2202 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Mexico United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.97
$18.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$34.5
$73.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$8.25
$10.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.53
$6.08
 Cappuccino
$3.69
$5.09
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.3
$2.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$563
$1611
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$329
$1301
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$990
$2861
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$614
$2352
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$42.2
$122
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$64.9
$188
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$28.2
$67
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.4%
6.5%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1801
$4763
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1368
$3852
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.65
$2.38
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$30.1
$71.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$11.9
$18.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.31
$0.99
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.49
$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.04
$3.44
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.57
$4.32
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.49
$3.89
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.03
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.94
$11.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.5
$16.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.74
$5.02
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.41
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.74
$4.43
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$4.66
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.88
$2.78
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.77
$2.87
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.69
$1.41
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.88
$2.51
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.2
$14.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.63
$2.12
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.1
$10.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.24
$9.27
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.66
$5.79
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.02
$4.29
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.82
$2.09
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$39
$50
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.77
$13.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$34.1
$116
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.3
$20.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$54.8
$53.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$94.2
$89.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$279
$1423
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5961
$19463

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Mexico vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Mexico

City Cost of living Population
Mexico City
$1288
9.21M
Tijuana
$1184
1.96M
Ecatepec de Morelos
$904
1.93M
Zapopan
$1217
1.48M
Monterrey
$1415
1.14M
Ciudad Juarez
$1126
1.32M
Leon
$812
1.58M
Guadalajara
$1035
1.46M
Puebla
$1066
1.43M
Saltillo
$927
864K
Aguascalientes
$818
934K
Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl
$828
1.08M
Mexicali
$1054
1.03M
Chihuahua
$1010
878K
Naucalpan
$905
872K
Morelia
$765
963K
Culiacan
$795
808K
San Luis Potosi
$984
773K
Cancun
$1291
889K
Queretaro
$996
626K
Merida
$1128
892K
Tlaquepaque
$785
664K
Hermosillo
$914
856K
Torreon
$773
717K
Acapulco
$846
673K
Ensenada
$1027
557K
Cuautitlan Izcalli
$816
531K
Tlalnepantla
$887
653K
Reynosa
$910
589K
Apodaca
$975
523K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4044
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3165
3.9M
Chicago
$2613
2.75M
Houston
$2221
2.3M
San Diego
$3427
1.39M
Phoenix
$2390
1.61M
Dallas
$2497
1.3M
San Jose
$3502
1.01M
Philadelphia
$2422
1.6M
San Francisco
$3729
874K
San Antonio
$2219
1.43M
Austin
$2590
962K
Seattle
$2974
737K
Washington
$3079
690K
Indianapolis
$2129
888K
Charlotte
$2710
875K
Hempstead
$2627
793K
Fort Worth
$2173
919K
Boston
$3345
676K
Jacksonville
$2246
950K
Denver
$2771
716K
Columbus
$2202
906K
Nashville
$2623
689K
Portland
$2579
653K
Louisville
$1918
633K
Atlanta
$2648
499K
Baltimore
$2197
586K
Detroit
$1979
639K
Las Vegas
$2408
642K
El Paso
$1613
679K