Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and Puerto Penasco

For one person, living is cheaper in Puerto Penasco: $1,216 a month against $2,704 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Penasco
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Puerto Penasco Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,704

/mo nomad

Puerto Penasco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,216

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Austin, TX and in Puerto Penasco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,704 in Austin, TX versus $1,216 in Puerto Penasco.

Austin, TX $2,704
Puerto Penasco $1,216

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,133 in Austin, TX versus $1,963 in Puerto Penasco.

Austin, TX $4,133
Puerto Penasco $1,963

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,562 in Austin, TX versus $2,710 in Puerto Penasco.

Austin, TX $5,562
Puerto Penasco $2,710

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 122% more expensive than in Puerto Penasco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 102% above, Puerto Penasco is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.22 $20.22

$12.20 MX$224

65.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.0 $85.0

$44.66 MX$820

90.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.35 $12.35

$8.56 MX$157

44.28%

Cappuccino

$5.47 $5.47

$4.83 MX$88.7

13.25%

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

$3.82 $3.82

$1.40 MX$25.67

172.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 $2.50

$1.05 MX$19.32

138.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.06 $8.06

$2.67 MX$49.05

201.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.99 $8.99

$3.95 MX$72.6

127.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 $1.13

$1.60 MX$29.32

-29.38%

White Bread (500g)

$3.78 $3.78

$3.05 MX$55.9

23.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.25 $3.25

$1.68 MX$30.92

93.45%

Eggs

$4.14 $4.14

$2.99 MX$54.8

38.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.08 $13.08

$4.88 MX$89.7

168.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.31 $14.31

$10.75 MX$197

33.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.96 $15.96

$9.68 MX$178

64.88%

Apples (1kg)

$4.38 $4.38

$4.47 MX$82.1

-2.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.91 MX$35.06

-24.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.54 $4.54

$3.15 MX$57.8

44.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 $4.19

$2.11 MX$38.80

98.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 $2.63

$1.95 MX$35.88

34.87%

Onion (1kg)

$2.36 $2.36

$2.02 MX$37.14

16.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.46 MX$26.85

20.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.16 $2.16

$1.59 MX$29.19

35.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.81 $9.81

$4.48 MX$82.2

118.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.72 $14.72

$13.70 MX$252

7.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 $2.78

$1.57 MX$28.91

77.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 $3.48

$1.56 MX$28.67

123.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 $1.49

$0.64 MX$11.71

132.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.51 $40.51

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 $2.67

$2.25 MX$41.40

18.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 $1.58

$3.13 MX$57.5

-49.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.29 $35.29

$11.22 MX$206

214.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 $0.99

$1.38 MX$25.27

-28.26%

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

$35.8K $35.8K

$21.3K MX$391.3K

68.01%

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

$27.2K $27.2K

$24.4K MX$448.1K

11.36%

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

$219 $219

$71.5 MX$1,314

206.50%

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

$58.0 $58.0

$12.60 MX$231

360.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.4 $68.4

$43.81 MX$804

56.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.9 $57.9

$33.41 MX$613

73.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.82 $14.82

$20.26 MX$372

-26.85%

Cinema Ticket

$14.13 $14.13

$5.43 MX$99.6

160.22%

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

$1,509 $1,509

$226 MX$4,143

568.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K $21.5K

$4,696 MX$86.2K

356.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 $51.7

$55.9 MX$1,026

-7.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.05 $44.05

$42.12 MX$773

4.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 $85.1

$100 MX$1,839

-15.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 $105

$90.6 MX$1,664

16.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,932 $1,932

$533 MX$9,787

262.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,272 $1,272

$387 MX$7,112

228.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,670 $3,670

$958 MX$17.6K

283.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 $2,525

$764 MX$14.0K

230.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,617 $7,617

$1,873 MX$34.4K

306.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,199 $3,199

$1,168 MX$21.4K

173.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,105 $5,105

$596 MX$10.9K

756.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

10.55

-35.64%

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

Last update for Austin, TX: October 5, 2026

Last update for Puerto Penasco: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 48.2%

Puerto Penasco

$387 31.9% 69.6% $885

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$403 15.3%

Puerto Penasco

$293 24.1% 27.3% $110

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$348 13.2%

Puerto Penasco

$212 17.5% 39% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$346 13.1%

Puerto Penasco

$128 10.5% 63% $218

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$129 4.9%

Puerto Penasco

$130 10.7% 0.9% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.3%

Puerto Penasco

$44 3.6% 48.6% $42

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$57 2.2%

Puerto Penasco

$20 * 1.7% 64.1% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,932 in Austin, TX and $533 in Puerto Penasco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays 757% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $85.0 in Austin, TX vs $45.00 in Puerto Penasco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $403 vs $293 per month, with Puerto Penasco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇲🇽 Puerto Penasco

🕒 Local time

03:40 3:40 AM

01:40 1:40 AM

2 h behind Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

56,756

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Austin, TX Puerto Penasco 1,510 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
Puerto Penasco

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

Austin, TX vs Puerto Penasco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Puerto Penasco wins on cost – living expenses run 122% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Puerto Penasco the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 757% higher in Austin, TX, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,932 in Austin, TX versus $533 in Puerto Penasco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,509 in Austin, TX versus $226 in Puerto Penasco. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Puerto Penasco – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $85.0 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,216 in Puerto Penasco versus $2,704 in Austin, TX, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Puerto Penasco but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Puerto Penasco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Austin, TX and Puerto Penasco are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Puerto Penasco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 122% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.