Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chihuahua and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Chihuahua: $1,235 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Chihuahua
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Chihuahua Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Chihuahua

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,235

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,235 in Chihuahua versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Chihuahua $1,235
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,838 in Chihuahua versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Chihuahua $1,838
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,441 in Chihuahua versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Chihuahua $2,441
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Chihuahua costs roughly 27% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chihuahua is 8% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.89 MX$200

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-41.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.13 MX$608

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-48.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.03 MX$202

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-14.36%

Cappuccino

$2.43 MX$44.60

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-38.94%

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

$1.23 MX$22.55

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-40.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 MX$13.90

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-50.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.42 MX$44.37

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-36.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 MX$75.6

$4.60 ARS 6,970

-10.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 MX$30.23

$1.44 ARS 2,181

14.58%

White Bread (500g)

$3.27 MX$60.0

$2.46 ARS 3,738

32.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 MX$39.08

$1.63 ARS 2,467

30.67%

Eggs

$2.58 MX$47.33

$2.89 ARS 4,385

-10.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.32 MX$171

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-12.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 MX$128

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-30.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.49 MX$229

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-9.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.53 MX$46.42

$2.75 ARS 4,166

-8.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 MX$29.85

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-25.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.05 MX$37.63

$1.45 ARS 2,205

41.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.3

$1.99 ARS 3,013

45.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.42 MX$44.47

$1.24 ARS 1,885

95.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 MX$48.64

$1.27 ARS 1,921

108.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 MX$24.85

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-20.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 MX$21.33

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-32.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.51 MX$82.8

$4.18 ARS 6,337

7.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.53 MX$193

$5.80 ARS 8,790

81.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 MX$27.09

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-29.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 MX$53.3

$2.77 ARS 4,198

4.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.48

$0.75 ARS 1,132

-24.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.79 MX$620

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

24.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.72 MX$50.0

$1.62 ARS 2,451

67.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 MX$14.42

$0.98 ARS 1,481

-19.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.03 MX$184

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

29.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$27.69

$1.36 ARS 2,058

11.03%

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

$21.3K MX$391.7K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-23.84%

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

$24.2K MX$444.2K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-29.93%

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

$83.2 MX$1,527

$216 ARS 326.9K

-61.42%

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

$21.01 MX$386

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-17.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.02 MX$441

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

-23.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.14 MX$517

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-43.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

Cinema Ticket

$4.89 MX$89.7

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-53.12%

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

$269 MX$4,939

$466 ARS 706.7K

-42.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,353 MX$61.6K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-62.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.73 MX$895

$122 ARS 185.2K

-60.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.25 MX$464

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-74.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 MX$1,893

$117 ARS 177.4K

-11.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.3 MX$1,657

$140 ARS 211.9K

-35.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$605 MX$11.1K

$763 ARS 1.2M

-20.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$463 MX$8,506

$505 ARS 766.1K

-8.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,119 MX$20.6K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-29.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$718 MX$13.2K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-39.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,385 MX$62.1K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

26.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,112 MX$20.4K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-40.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$863 MX$15.8K

$954 ARS 1.4M

-9.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.84

57.25

-81.07%

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

Last update for Chihuahua: October 6, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chihuahua

$463 37.1%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 9% $42

Groceries & Markets

Chihuahua

$280 22.4%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 1.6% $4.4

Eating Out

Chihuahua

$178 14.2%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 57.1% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chihuahua

$128 10.3%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 113% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Chihuahua

$120 9.6%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 78.1% $94

Getting Around

Chihuahua

$43 3.4%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 14.3% $6.1

Sport & Entertainment

Chihuahua

$38 3%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 86.4% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $605 in Chihuahua and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 11% 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: $33.00 in Chihuahua vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $280 vs $284 per month, with Chihuahua cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Chihuahua

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

06:27 6:27 AM

09:27 9:27 AM

3 h ahead of Chihuahua

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

925,762

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,699 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chihuahua Buenos Aires 8,630 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chihuahua
Buenos Aires

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

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

Chihuahua and Buenos Aires differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($1,235 vs $1,685 including rent). Chihuahua is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 11% lower in Buenos Aires. 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: $605 in Chihuahua versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $269 in Chihuahua versus $466 in Buenos Aires. 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 $1,235 in Chihuahua versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chihuahua but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Chihuahua 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, Chihuahua and Buenos Aires 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 Chihuahua gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.