Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barbacena and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Barbacena: $857 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Barbacena
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Barbacena Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Barbacena

🇧🇷 Brazil

$857

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barbacena and in Mexico City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $857 in Barbacena versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Barbacena $857
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,305 in Barbacena versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Barbacena $1,305
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,753 in Barbacena versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Barbacena $1,753
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Barbacena costs roughly 45% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barbacena is 37% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.35 R$26.90

$10.75 MX$198

-50.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.84 R$105

$50.3 MX$923

-58.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.93 R$29.80

$11.10 MX$204

-46.58%

Cappuccino

$1.74 R$8.74

$3.68 MX$67.7

-52.72%

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

$1.57 R$7.90

$1.65 MX$30.25

-4.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 R$4.31

$1.30 MX$23.94

-33.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.32 R$6.63

$3.32 MX$61.0

-60.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 R$11.39

$5.54 MX$102

-59.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 R$5.71

$1.77 MX$32.50

-35.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 R$10.38

$3.05 MX$56.1

-32.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.13

$2.01 MX$36.98

-39.30%

Eggs

$2.38 R$11.98

$2.77 MX$50.8

-14.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.81 R$54.4

$11.91 MX$219

-9.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.44 R$22.29

$9.33 MX$171

-52.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.97 R$50.1

$15.02 MX$276

-33.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 R$14.56

$3.08 MX$56.5

-5.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.21

$1.95 MX$35.77

-6.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 R$7.91

$2.03 MX$37.32

-22.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.79 R$9.01

$2.21 MX$40.68

-19.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 R$6.09

$2.02 MX$37.20

-40.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.21

$1.82 MX$33.47

-42.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 R$3.56

$1.52 MX$27.91

-53.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 R$3.51

$1.28 MX$23.52

-45.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.02 R$15.20

$5.27 MX$96.8

-42.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 R$39.36

$16.12 MX$296

-51.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.94

$1.95 MX$35.84

-39.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.16

$4.25 MX$78.1

-43.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 R$4.87

$0.31 MX$5.79

212.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.05 R$226

$19.85 MX$365

126.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.26 R$6.35

$2.00 MX$36.72

-37.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 R$4.27

$0.53 MX$9.81

60.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.35 R$46.99

$5.62 MX$103

66.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 R$6.57

$1.52 MX$27.91

-13.82%

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

$23.5K R$118.2K

$21.0K MX$386.4K

11.77%

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

$32.7K R$164.4K

$25.2K MX$462.6K

29.88%

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

$136 R$686

$62.5 MX$1,148

118.37%

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

$11.02 R$55.4

$28.77 MX$529

-61.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.95 R$115

$34.45 MX$633

-33.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.50 R$133

$57.1 MX$1,049

-53.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.48 R$148

$24.81 MX$456

18.82%

Cinema Ticket

$7.94 R$39.92

$6.67 MX$122

19.04%

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

$596 R$2,997

$431 MX$7,918

38.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$67.4K

$11.7K MX$215.7K

14.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.74 R$210

$70.8 MX$1,301

-41.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.77 R$245

$51.8 MX$952

-5.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.6 R$380

$109 MX$2,000

-30.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.2 R$338

$112 MX$2,064

-40.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$234 R$1,174

$1,051 MX$19.3K

-77.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$168 R$842

$665 MX$12.2K

-74.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$434 R$2,182

$2,346 MX$43.1K

-81.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$307 R$1,542

$1,227 MX$22.5K

-74.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,629 R$8,189

$3,554 MX$65.3K

-54.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,334 R$6,704

$1,977 MX$36.3K

-32.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$17.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.3

5.58%

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

Last update for Barbacena: October 10, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Barbacena

$215 25.1%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 50.1% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barbacena

$170 19.9%

Mexico City

$126 8% 26.2% $45

Accommodation & Living

Barbacena

$168 19.6%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 297% $497

Clothing & Footwear

Barbacena

$105 12.3%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 47.4% $50

Eating Out

Barbacena

$102 11.9%

Mexico City

$203 13% 98.4% $101

Getting Around

Barbacena

$54 6.4%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 52.6% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Barbacena

$42 5%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 66.2% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $234 in Barbacena and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $21.00 in Barbacena vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $323 per month, with Barbacena cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Barbacena

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

08:09 8:09 AM

05:09 5:09 AM

3 h behind Barbacena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

125,317

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

100 MXN = 5.44 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 5.03 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 18.37 MXN (100 MXN = 5.44 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barbacena Mexico City 7,530 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Barbacena
Mexico City

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

Barbacena vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barbacena and Mexico City differ by about 83% in total monthly costs ($857 vs $1,567 including rent). Barbacena is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,286 in Barbacena and $2,351 in Mexico City to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $234 in Barbacena versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $857 per month in Barbacena versus $1,567 in Mexico City – a 83% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Barbacena runs roughly 127% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $857 in Barbacena versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Barbacena but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Barbacena 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.

Expats usually find Barbacena gentler on the wallet – expenses run 83% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.