Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Zacatecas

For one person, living is cheaper in Zacatecas: $738 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Zacatecas
Learn more

Zacatecas Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Zacatecas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$738

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $738 in Zacatecas.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Zacatecas $738

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,170 in Zacatecas.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Zacatecas $1,170

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,602 in Zacatecas.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Zacatecas $1,602

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 124% more expensive than in Zacatecas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Zacatecas is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$6.12 MX$113

211.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$31.70 MX$586

107.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$7.50 MX$139

76.00%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$2.96 MX$54.7

30.07%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.21 MX$22.31

64.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.72 MX$13.31

122.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$1.86 MX$34.45

111.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$4.08 MX$75.4

12.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.37 MX$25.41

9.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$2.21 MX$40.91

14.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.54 MX$28.52

4.55%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.29 MX$42.31

24.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$7.32 MX$135

40.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$6.12 MX$113

63.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$9.25 MX$171

43.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$1.75 MX$32.31

64.57%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.66 MX$30.63

32.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$2.02 MX$37.30

-30.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.46 MX$27.05

35.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$2.00 MX$36.98

-39.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$1.76 MX$32.50

-28.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.52 MX$28.04

12.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.84 MX$15.60

104.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$4.29 MX$79.4

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$10.67 MX$197

-46.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.67 MX$30.90

29.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$3.38 MX$62.5

-18.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.53 MX$9.88

41.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

$16.52 MX$305

65.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$2.21 MX$40.77

-28.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$1.08 MX$19.91

-4.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$12.28 MX$227

-35.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.45 MX$26.79

-2.07%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$21.1K MX$390.6K

32.24%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$24.5K MX$452.6K

42.79%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$23.16 MX$428

742.83%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$8.38 MX$155

200.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$25.17 MX$465

25.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$25.02 MX$462

103.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$8.17 MX$151

104.77%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$4.39 MX$81.1

135.54%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$256 MX$4,736

80.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$3,234 MX$59.8K

171.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$45.26 MX$836

164.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$40.19 MX$743

137.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$91.6 MX$1,692

24.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$43.08 MX$796

223.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$242 MX$4,467

212.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$162 MX$2,994

220.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$383 MX$7,074

315.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$249 MX$4,606

380.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$571 MX$10.5K

232.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$407 MX$7,527

130.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

10.8

430.09%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Zacatecas: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Zacatecas

$162 22% 68.8% $358

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Zacatecas

$228 30.9% 19.6% $55

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Zacatecas

$132 17.9% 53.1% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Zacatecas

$57 7.7% 77.5% $195

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Zacatecas

$99 13.4% 53% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Zacatecas

$34 4.6% 52.8% $38

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Zacatecas

$26 3.6% 29% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $242 in Zacatecas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 130% 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: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $32.00 in Zacatecas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $228 per month, with Zacatecas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇽 Zacatecas

🕒 Local time

04:25 4:25 AM

01:25 1:25 AM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

138,444

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 →

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Buenos Aires Zacatecas 7,900 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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 Zacatecas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Zacatecas differ by about 124% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $738 including rent). Zacatecas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 130% 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: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $242 in Zacatecas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $256 in Zacatecas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $738 in Zacatecas versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Zacatecas but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Zacatecas 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 Zacatecas 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 Zacatecas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 124% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.