Mexico vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Mexico United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$900
$2434
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2217
$5606
🏠 One person rent
$408
$1567
🏘️ Family rent
$756
$2757
🍽️ Food expenses
$333
$606
🚐 Transport expenses
$73.2
$106
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$747
$4759
💸 GDP per capita
$11091
$76399
😃 Human freedom index
6.6
8.23
❤️ Life expectancy
70.2
76.3
👮 Corruption perceptions index
31
69
🌐 English speaking %
13%
95.5%
🎓 Higher education
89
100
😀 Quality of life
41
86
🏙️ Population
125M
331M

The average cost of living in Mexico ($900) is 63% less expensive than in the United States ($2434). Mexico ranked 89th vs 6th 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 2 months in the United States. Ranked 119th 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

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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
$8.65
$18.1
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$31.4
$71.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$7.53
$9.83
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.38
$5.91
 Cappuccino
$3.28
$4.85
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.14
$2.41
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$482
$1626
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$303
$1308
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$898
$2940
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$606
$2379
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$41.1
$125
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$63.3
$193
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$28.2
$70
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.28%
6.52%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1553
$5279
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1195
$3887
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.6
$2.3
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$26.1
$70.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.6
$18.7
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.28
$1.02
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.4
$1.08
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.98
$3.4
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.55
$4.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.28
$4.26
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.08
$12.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.1
$11.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.8
$15.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.74
$4.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.33
$1.73
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$4.46
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.51
$4.44
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.68
$2.79
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$2.7
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.63
$1.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.87
$2.45
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.8
$13.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.48
$2.25
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.9
$9.57
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.9
$9.17
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.55
$5.6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.99
$4.13
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.9
$2.07
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$39.8
$48.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.49
$13.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$33.4
$116
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.59
$20
👖 Brand Jeans
$51.2
$51.5
👟 Brand Sneakers
$90.5
$85.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$254
$1279
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5116
$15858

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
$1194
9.21M
Tijuana
$1123
1.96M
Ciudad Juarez
$935
1.32M
Zapopan
$950
1.48M
Ecatepec de Morelos
$916
1.93M
Monterrey
$1263
1.14M
Guadalajara
$987
1.46M
Leon
$832
1.58M
Saltillo
$832
864K
Puebla
$848
1.43M
Aguascalientes
$703
934K
San Luis Potosi
$948
773K
Mexicali
$758
1.03M
Naucalpan
$931
872K
Chihuahua
$831
878K
Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl
$833
1.08M
Cancun
$1177
889K
Hermosillo
$861
856K
Queretaro
$956
626K
Merida
$1061
892K
Culiacan
$808
808K
Tlaquepaque
$796
664K
Irapuato
$659
593K
Torreon
$733
717K
Morelia
$661
963K
Reynosa
$752
589K
Cuautitlan Izcalli
$707
531K
Tlalnepantla
$882
653K
Guadalupe
$828
692K
Tultitlan de Mariano Escobedo
$796
521K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4030
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3274
3.9M
Chicago
$2791
2.75M
Houston
$2655
2.3M
San Diego
$3451
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2571
1.6M
Phoenix
$2566
1.61M
San Jose
$3650
1.01M
Dallas
$2641
1.3M
San Francisco
$3840
874K
San Antonio
$2247
1.43M
Austin
$2674
962K
Seattle
$3194
737K
Washington
$3227
690K
Fort Worth
$2214
919K
Charlotte
$3011
875K
Jacksonville
$2394
950K
Hempstead
$2649
793K
Boston
$3279
676K
Indianapolis
$2228
888K
Denver
$2760
716K
Columbus
$2182
906K
Nashville
$3313
689K
Portland
$2606
653K
Louisville
$1795
633K
El Paso
$1408
679K
Baltimore
$2273
586K
Detroit
$1932
639K
Atlanta
$2771
499K
Memphis
$1782
633K