Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Saltillo

For one person, living is cheaper in Saltillo: $1,331 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Saltillo
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Saltillo Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Saltillo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Saltillo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,331 in Saltillo.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Saltillo $1,331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $2,128 in Saltillo.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Saltillo $2,128

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $2,924 in Saltillo.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Saltillo $2,924

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 27% more expensive than in Saltillo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 26% above, Saltillo is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$11.07 MX$203

69.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$50.2 MX$922

28.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$6.67 MX$123

93.10%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$3.61 MX$66.3

10.25%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.32 MX$24.32

55.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$1.03 MX$18.92

50.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$2.22 MX$40.84

72.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$3.94 MX$72.3

16.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$1.52 MX$27.84

-5.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$3.59 MX$65.9

-31.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$1.90 MX$34.95

-14.21%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$2.37 MX$43.43

21.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$10.86 MX$199

-1.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$8.43 MX$155

18.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$10.17 MX$187

35.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$2.80 MX$51.4

-1.79%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$1.23 MX$22.57

77.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$1.76 MX$32.32

-17.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$2.07 MX$37.93

-3.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$2.15 MX$39.48

-42.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$2.60 MX$47.77

-51.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$1.25 MX$22.96

36.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$1.13 MX$20.70

53.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$4.30 MX$79.0

-2.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$10.30 MX$189

-43.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$2.39 MX$43.84

-12.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$1.46 MX$26.84

89.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$0.87 MX$15.89

-13.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$16.66 MX$306

62.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$2.61 MX$47.87

-37.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$2.02 MX$37.12

-51.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.51 MX$27.70

-9.93%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$19.0K MX$349.3K

47.22%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$24.0K MX$440.6K

43.88%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$49.27 MX$905

337.53%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$34.53 MX$634

-25.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$30.93 MX$568

1.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$57.5 MX$1,056

-13.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$14.01 MX$257

21.77%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$5.91 MX$108

76.48%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$248 MX$4,551

88.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$2,653 MX$48.7K

241.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$58.3 MX$1,069

109.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$58.2 MX$1,068

67.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$87.9 MX$1,613

33.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$128 MX$2,343

9.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$579 MX$10.6K

31.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$509 MX$9,339

-0.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$952 MX$17.5K

67.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$959 MX$17.6K

23.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$558 MX$10.3K

379.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$883 MX$16.2K

110.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$813 MX$14.9K

17.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

10.53

443.68%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Saltillo: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Saltillo

$509 38.2% 0.7% $3.5

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Saltillo

$278 20.8% 2.2% $6.3

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Saltillo

$180 13.5% 35.4% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Saltillo

$115 8.6% 57.9% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Saltillo

$149 11.2% 30.3% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Saltillo

$69 5.2% 1.9% $1.4

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Saltillo

$33 2.5% 10.3% $3.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Buenos Aires and $579 in Saltillo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 17% 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: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $50.0 in Saltillo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $278 per month, with Saltillo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇽 Saltillo

🕒 Local time

00:23 12:23 AM

21:23 9:23 PM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

864,431

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 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).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Saltillo 8,040 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Saltillo

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

Buenos Aires vs Saltillo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Saltillo differ by about 27% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $1,331 including rent). Saltillo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Buenos Aires, 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: $763 in Buenos Aires versus $579 in Saltillo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $466 in Buenos Aires versus $248 in Saltillo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,331 in Saltillo versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Saltillo but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Saltillo 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, Buenos Aires and Saltillo 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 Saltillo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.