Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Tampico

For one person, living is cheaper in Tampico: $1,347 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 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
65

Cost of Living Index in Tampico
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Tampico Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Tampico

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,347

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Tampico actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,347 in Tampico.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Tampico $1,347

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $2,120 in Tampico.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Tampico $2,120

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $2,894 in Tampico.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Tampico $2,894

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 25% more expensive than in Tampico, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buenos Aires 26% above, Tampico 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$8.12 MX$149

130.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$55.1 MX$1,012

17.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$9.60 MX$176

34.17%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$3.11 MX$57.0

27.97%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.22 MX$22.33

68.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.80 MX$14.64

93.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$4.48 MX$82.2

-14.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$4.77 MX$87.5

-3.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$1.44 MX$26.45

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$4.20 MX$77.1

-41.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$1.36 MX$25.06

19.85%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$4.20 MX$77.1

-31.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$4.84 MX$89.0

120.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$10.29 MX$189

-2.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$13.41 MX$246

2.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$3.50 MX$64.2

-21.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$1.18 MX$21.66

84.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$2.07 MX$38.05

-29.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$2.28 MX$41.78

-12.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$2.19 MX$40.13

-43.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$2.79 MX$51.2

-54.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$2.09 MX$38.29

-18.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$0.95 MX$17.45

82.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$4.79 MX$88.0

-12.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$1.56 MX$28.71

33.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$0.78 MX$14.38

-3.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$27.28 MX$501

-0.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$2.84 MX$52.1

-42.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$2.71 MX$49.82

-63.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$5.24 MX$96.2

47.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.42 MX$26.05

-4.23%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$33.1K MX$608.2K

-15.45%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$23.7K MX$436.0K

45.40%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$106 MX$1,940

104.00%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$28.01 MX$514

-8.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$24.40 MX$448

28.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$43.32 MX$795

15.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$16.83 MX$309

1.37%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$5.58 MX$102

86.92%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$282 MX$5,179

65.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$8,172 MX$150.0K

10.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$74.7 MX$1,371

63.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$66.9 MX$1,228

45.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$164 MX$3,016

-28.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$253 MX$4,642

-44.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$531 MX$9,755

43.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$385 MX$7,066

31.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$946 MX$17.4K

69.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$678 MX$12.5K

74.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$571 MX$10.5K

67.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Tampico: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Tampico

$385 28.8% 23.8% $120

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Tampico

$269 * 20.1% 5.4% $15

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Tampico

$171 12.8% 38.7% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Tampico

$158 11.8% 42% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Tampico

$251 18.8% 17.3% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Tampico

$54 4.1% 22.9% $16

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Tampico

$47 3.5% 27.8% $10

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 $763 in Buenos Aires and $531 in Tampico. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 67% 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 $55.0 in Tampico for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $269 per month, with Tampico cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇽 Tampico

🕒 Local time

04:19 4:19 AM

01:19 1:19 AM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

297,562

💱 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 Tampico 7,570 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Tampico

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 Tampico: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Tampico differ by about 25% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $1,347 including rent). Tampico is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 67% 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 $531 in Tampico. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $466 in Buenos Aires versus $282 in Tampico. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,347 in Tampico versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tampico but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Tampico 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 Tampico 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 Tampico gentler on the wallet – expenses run 25% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.