Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Toluca

For one person, living is cheaper in Toluca: $1,098 a month against $1,646 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Toluca
Learn more

Toluca Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,646

/mo nomad

Toluca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,098

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,646 in Buenos Aires versus $1,098 in Toluca.

Buenos Aires $1,646
Toluca $1,098

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,680 in Buenos Aires versus $1,844 in Toluca.

Buenos Aires $2,680
Toluca $1,844

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,714 in Buenos Aires versus $2,589 in Toluca.

Buenos Aires $3,714
Toluca $2,589

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 50% more expensive than in Toluca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 21% above, Toluca is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.81 ARS 27.0K

$11.03 MX$204

61.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.2 ARS 98.9K

$42.85 MX$792

52.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.12 ARS 19.9K

$9.09 MX$168

44.33%

Cappuccino

$3.86 ARS 5,863

$3.14 MX$58.0

22.93%

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

$2.06 ARS 3,133

$1.26 MX$23.24

63.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ARS 2,542

$0.76 MX$13.97

121.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.10 ARS 6,218

$2.14 MX$39.49

91.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.73 ARS 7,181

$3.29 MX$60.8

43.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ARS 2,285

$1.77 MX$32.71

-14.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 ARS 3,950

$3.12 MX$57.7

-16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 ARS 2,380

$2.18 MX$40.28

-27.98%

Eggs

$2.73 ARS 4,144

$3.05 MX$56.3

-10.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.86 ARS 16.5K

$7.94 MX$147

36.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.07 ARS 15.3K

$8.36 MX$155

20.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.22 ARS 20.1K

$8.91 MX$165

48.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 ARS 4,255

$4.08 MX$75.3

-31.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 ARS 3,170

$2.11 MX$39.00

-0.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,194

$2.22 MX$41.07

-34.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 ARS 3,040

$2.28 MX$42.16

-12.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,826

$2.82 MX$52.2

-57.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,821

$2.30 MX$42.58

-47.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 ARS 2,569

$1.64 MX$30.26

3.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 ARS 2,711

$1.03 MX$19.07

73.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 ARS 6,074

$4.87 MX$90.0

-17.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 ARS 8,388

$12.25 MX$226

-54.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.12 ARS 3,219

$1.99 MX$36.76

6.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ARS 4,212

$3.65 MX$67.5

-23.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ARS 1,049

$0.75 MX$13.92

-8.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.90 ARS 42.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.63 ARS 2,471

$3.20 MX$59.0

-49.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,478

$2.01 MX$37.22

-51.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.89 ARS 12.0K

$10.17 MX$188

-22.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,156

$1.44 MX$26.66

-1.39%

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

$23.3K ARS 35.4M

$24.6K MX$454.6K

-5.13%

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

$31.9K ARS 48.5M

$23.5K MX$433.9K

36.02%

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

$199 ARS 302.7K

$58.1 MX$1,074

243.23%

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

$23.36 ARS 35.4K

$25.04 MX$463

-6.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.44 ARS 47.7K

$31.71 MX$586

-0.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.81 ARS 75.6K

$48.08 MX$889

3.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.63 ARS 25.2K

$22.66 MX$419

-26.61%

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 ARS 16.4K

$6.95 MX$128

55.40%

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

$462 ARS 701.7K

$224 MX$4,131

106.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,790 ARS 13.3M

$5,244 MX$96.9K

67.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.6K

$66.7 MX$1,233

79.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$94.6 ARS 143.6K

$53.7 MX$992

76.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 176.4K

$104 MX$1,920

11.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 ARS 208.6K

$104 MX$1,923

32.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$750 ARS 1.1M

$705 MX$13.0K

6.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$514 ARS 780.5K

$289 MX$5,345

77.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,567 ARS 2.4M

$972 MX$18.0K

61.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,196 ARS 1.8M

$703 MX$13.0K

70.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,632 ARS 4.0M

$1,296 MX$24.0K

103.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,874 ARS 2.8M

$915 MX$16.9K

104.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$924 ARS 1.4M

$1,273 MX$23.5K

-27.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

11.07

417.16%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 19, 2026

Last update for Toluca: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$514 31.3%

Toluca

$289 26.3% 43.8% $225

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$285 17.3%

Toluca

$289 26.4% 1.6% $4.7

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$273 16.6%

Toluca

$178 16.3% 34.7% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$254 15.5%

Toluca

$115 10.5% 54.8% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.8%

Toluca

$148 13.5% 29.8% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Toluca

$62 5.7% 13.2% $9.4

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.3%

Toluca

$16 * 1.5% 56.2% $21

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 $750 in Buenos Aires and $705 in Toluca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toluca pays 38% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $65.0 in Buenos Aires vs $43.00 in Toluca. Groceries flip the comparison at $285 vs $289, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇽 Toluca

🕒 Local time

23:26 11:26 PM

20:26 8:26 PM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

223,876

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Toluca 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Toluca

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 Toluca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Toluca differ by about 50% in total monthly costs ($1,646 vs $1,098 including rent). Toluca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 38% lower in Toluca. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $750 in Buenos Aires versus $705 in Toluca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $462 in Buenos Aires versus $224 in Toluca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Toluca – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $65.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,098 in Toluca versus $1,646 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Toluca but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Toluca 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 Toluca 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 Toluca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.