Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cartagena, Spain and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Cartagena: $1,425 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Cartagena
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Cartagena Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Cartagena

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,425

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cartagena 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 Cartagena and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,425 in Cartagena versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Cartagena $1,425
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,101 in Cartagena versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Cartagena $2,101
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,778 in Cartagena versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Cartagena $2,778
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Cartagena costs roughly 11% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cartagena 5% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.84 €12.40

$10.62 MX$199

30.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.2 €50.3

$48.35 MX$908

16.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.95 €7.12

$10.35 MX$194

-23.19%

Cappuccino

$2.47 €2.21

$3.69 MX$69.3

-33.06%

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

$2.56 €2.30

$1.67 MX$31.29

53.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.27 MX$23.76

43.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.06

$3.19 MX$59.9

7.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.86 €3.46

$5.31 MX$99.6

-27.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.72 MX$32.38

-29.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 €1.06

$3.04 MX$57.1

-60.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.63 €2.35

$1.94 MX$36.44

35.57%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.54

$2.89 MX$54.2

37.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.82 €11.48

$10.97 MX$206

16.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.71 €6.01

$9.25 MX$174

-27.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.75 €16.79

$15.13 MX$284

23.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.37 €2.12

$3.05 MX$57.2

-22.30%

Banana (1kg)

$2.45 €2.19

$1.94 MX$36.45

26.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 €1.42

$2.03 MX$38.02

-22.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 €2.87

$2.31 MX$43.46

38.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.04 MX$38.21

-37.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 €1.13

$1.80 MX$33.79

-30.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.48 MX$27.77

3.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 €0.62

$1.27 MX$23.80

-45.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.71 €5.11

$5.30 MX$99.6

7.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.30 €5.64

$16.10 MX$302

-60.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 €1.08

$1.98 MX$37.23

-38.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 €1.05

$4.25 MX$79.8

-72.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.31 MX$5.73

377.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.08 €9.93

$19.73 MX$371

-43.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.65 €5.06

$1.84 MX$34.50

207.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.23 €2.00

$0.53 MX$10.02

320.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.72 €24.83

$5.30 MX$99.4

423.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 €1.59

$1.51 MX$28.36

17.22%

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

$34.6K €30.9K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

58.85%

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

$29.9K €26.7K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

24.47%

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

$211 €189

$63.0 MX$1,182

235.15%

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

$19.43 €17.40

$27.39 MX$514

-29.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.27 €26.21

$35.67 MX$670

-17.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.23 €36.92

$58.9 MX$1,107

-30.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.81 €11.47

$23.64 MX$444

-45.81%

Cinema Ticket

$7.72 €6.91

$6.40 MX$120

20.62%

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

$406 €364

$432 MX$8,103

-5.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,651 €2,374

$11.4K MX$214.5K

-76.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.46 €41.61

$68.2 MX$1,281

-31.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.88 €31.24

$53.1 MX$997

-34.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.6 €54.2

$108 MX$2,023

-43.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 €90.5

$117 MX$2,202

-13.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 €534

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-46.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$490 €439

$710 MX$13.3K

-31.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$872 €781

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-66.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 €644

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-48.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,737 €1,556

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-52.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,427 €1,278

$2,135 MX$40.1K

-33.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,704 €1,526

$946 MX$17.8K

80.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

11.35

-64.23%

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

Last update for Cartagena: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cartagena

$490 34.4%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 45.1% $221

Groceries & Markets

Cartagena

$269 18.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 18.7% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartagena

$260 18.2%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 51.5% $134

Eating Out

Cartagena

$207 14.5%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 3.8% $7.9

Clothing & Footwear

Cartagena

$109 7.7%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 42.6% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Cartagena

$57 4%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 26.6% $15

Getting Around

Cartagena

$34 2.4%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 24.6% $8.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $596 in Cartagena and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartagena pays 80% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $56 in Cartagena vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $320, with Cartagena cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Cartagena

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

14:39 2:39 PM

07:39 7:39 AM

7 h behind Cartagena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

218,050

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Cartagena Mexico City 9,390 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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Cartagena
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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

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

Cartagena wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cartagena the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 80% higher in Cartagena, 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: $596 in Cartagena versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $56 in Cartagena. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,425 per month in Cartagena versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Cartagena is about 11% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Cartagena is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.