Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ajijic and Puerto la Cruz

For one person, living is cheaper in Puerto la Cruz: $745 a month against $1,267 in Ajijic, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ajijic outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Ajijic
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Ajijic Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Puerto la Cruz
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Puerto la Cruz Living Index

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Ajijic

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,267

/mo nomad

Puerto la Cruz

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$745

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ajijic and in Puerto la Cruz

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ajijic and in Puerto la Cruz actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,267 per month in Ajijic vs $745 in Puerto la Cruz, rent included.

Ajijic $1,267
Puerto la Cruz $745

A couple spends around $2,020 per month in Ajijic vs $1,321 in Puerto la Cruz, rent included.

Ajijic $2,020
Puerto la Cruz $1,321

A family of three spends $2,773 per month in Ajijic vs $1,897 in Puerto la Cruz, rent included.

Ajijic $2,773
Puerto la Cruz $1,897

Ajijic costs about 70% more than Puerto la Cruz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Ajijic and Puerto la Cruz are more affordable than the global median – Ajijic 6% lower, Puerto la Cruz 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.81 MX$181

$10.13 VES 8,891

-3.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.69 MX$807

$60.7 VES 53.3K

-28.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.22 MX$133

$7.57 VES 6,646

-4.62%

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$64.1

$3.44 VES 3,017

0.87%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 MX$29.62

$0.71 VES 621

125.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.92

$0.45 VES 394

175.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 MX$41.31

$1.28 VES 1,124

75.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 MX$61.4

$1.52 VES 1,334

118.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 MX$27.52

$2.05 VES 1,797

-27.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.24 MX$41.31

$1.23 VES 1,083

82.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 MX$19.78

$1.21 VES 1,064

-11.57%

Eggs

$2.19 MX$40.54

$2.34 VES 2,054

-6.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.84 MX$145

$7.04 VES 6,178

11.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.56 MX$158

$9.15 VES 8,032

-6.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.21 MX$133

$10.97 VES 9,629

-34.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.42

$7.07 VES 6,207

-67.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 MX$24.42

$1.33 VES 1,165

-0.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.42

$0.49 VES 428

202.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.66

$2.36 VES 2,069

-27.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.60 MX$29.60

$2.22 VES 1,946

-27.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.57

$2.20 VES 1,928

-37.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 MX$19.03

$1.64 VES 1,437

-37.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.55

$1.68 VES 1,479

-50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.47 MX$82.7

$3.95 VES 3,469

13.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.92 MX$165

$8.15 VES 7,155

9.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 MX$28.60

$0.98 VES 860

58.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 MX$25.61

$1.47 VES 1,291

-5.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MX$11.84

$0.36 VES 320

77.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.01 VES 26.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 MX$23.18

$3.07 VES 2,697

-59.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.40 MX$81.3

$2.73 VES 2,396

61.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.00 MX$203

$10.12 VES 8,883

8.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 MX$27.50

$0.48 VES 421

210.42%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$20.9K MX$386.5K

$24.7K VES 21.7M

-15.37%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$24.2K MX$447.2K

$38.5K VES 33.8M

-37.15%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$55.9 MX$1,033

$21.34 VES 18.7K

161.95%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$14.30 MX$264

$10.10 VES 8,870

41.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.07 MX$445

$27.09 VES 23.8K

-11.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.24 MX$448

$29.74 VES 26.1K

-18.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.42 MX$100

$25.35 VES 22.3K

-78.62%

Cinema Ticket

$4.78 MX$88.3

$4.98 VES 4,373

-4.02%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$212 MX$3,922

$60.1 VES 52.8K

253.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,953 MX$54.6K

$3,028 VES 2.7M

-2.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.03 MX$814

$47.20 VES 41.4K

-6.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.71 MX$309

$34.44 VES 30.2K

-51.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.7 MX$1,270

$45.90 VES 40.3K

49.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.6 MX$1,286

$47.49 VES 41.7K

46.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$841 MX$15.5K

$148 VES 129.7K

469.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$630 MX$11.6K

$95.2 VES 83.5K

561.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 MX$27.8K

$311 VES 272.7K

384.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 MX$23.4K

$198 VES 173.7K

540.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,332 MX$61.6K

$752 VES 660.5K

342.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,734 MX$32.0K

$373 VES 327.4K

364.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$562 MX$10.4K

$223 VES 195.6K

152.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.2

-25.33%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Ajijic: October 12, 2026

Last update for Puerto la Cruz: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Ajijic

$630 49.7%

Puerto la Cruz

$95 12.8% 84.9% $535

Groceries & Markets

Ajijic

$222 17.6%

Puerto la Cruz

$266 35.7% 19.6% $43

Eating Out

Ajijic

$171 13.5%

Puerto la Cruz

$159 21.3% 7% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ajijic

$94 7.4%

Puerto la Cruz

$59 7.9% 37.9% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Ajijic

$90 7.1%

Puerto la Cruz

$79 10.6% 12.1% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Ajijic

$34 2.7%

Puerto la Cruz

$40 5.3% 17.5% $5.9

Getting Around

Ajijic

$26 * 2%

Puerto la Cruz

$48 6.5% 86.5% $22

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $841 in Ajijic versus $148 in Puerto la Cruz. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 152% higher in Ajijic, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Ajijic versus $61.0 in Puerto la Cruz. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $266 – making Ajijic the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ajijic

🇻🇪 Puerto la Cruz

🕒 Local time

11:35 11:35 AM

13:35 1:35 PM

2 h ahead of Ajijic

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,439

272,231

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 VES = 1.14 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 878 VES (1,000 VES = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 987 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ajijic Puerto la Cruz 4,280 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ajijic
Puerto la Cruz

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Ajijic vs Puerto la Cruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ajijic is pricier by about 70%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,900 per month in Ajijic and $1,118 in Puerto la Cruz. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Puerto la Cruz, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,267 in Ajijic and $745 in Puerto la Cruz. That's a gap of about 70%.

Kindergarten costs $212 per month in Ajijic and $60.1 in Puerto la Cruz. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Puerto la Cruz, where all-in costs run around $745, than in Ajijic at $1,267. In Puerto la Cruz it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ajijic it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Puerto la Cruz – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Puerto la Cruz. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ajijic makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.