Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ciudad Juarez and Managua

For one person, living is cheaper in Managua: $1,042 a month against $1,150 in Ciudad Juarez, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ciudad Juarez outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

56

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad Juarez
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Ciudad Juarez Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Managua
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Managua Living Index

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Ciudad Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,150

/mo nomad

Managua

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ciudad Juarez and in Managua

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

A single person spends $1,150 per month in Ciudad Juarez vs $1,042 in Managua, rent included.

Ciudad Juarez $1,150
Managua $1,042

A couple spends around $1,862 per month in Ciudad Juarez vs $1,629 in Managua, rent included.

Ciudad Juarez $1,862
Managua $1,629

A family of three spends $2,574 per month in Ciudad Juarez vs $2,215 in Managua, rent included.

Ciudad Juarez $2,574
Managua $2,215

Ciudad Juarez costs about 10% more than Managua, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Ciudad Juarez and Managua are more affordable than the global median – Ciudad Juarez 15% lower, Managua 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.47 MX$175

$9.82 NIO 360

-3.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.42 MX$618

$35.64 NIO 1,305

-6.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.33 MX$191

$7.51 NIO 275

37.55%

Cappuccino

$2.80 MX$51.7

$2.58 NIO 94.4

8.53%

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

$1.10 MX$20.33

$0.91 NIO 33.38

20.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 MX$12.03

$0.74 NIO 27.07

-12.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 MX$38.32

$1.47 NIO 54.0

40.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$2.21 NIO 81.1

92.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 MX$32.21

$1.22 NIO 44.57

42.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.03

$2.39 NIO 87.5

-7.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 MX$28.82

$1.88 NIO 68.7

-17.02%

Eggs

$2.25 MX$41.50

$2.43 NIO 88.9

-7.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.83 MX$237

$11.40 NIO 418

12.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.68 MX$123

$6.41 NIO 235

4.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.07 MX$223

$7.74 NIO 283

55.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 MX$47.84

$4.08 NIO 149

-36.52%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.69

$0.59 NIO 21.50

245.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.55

$1.84 NIO 67.4

1.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.16

$2.47 NIO 90.5

-14.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 MX$30.35

$3.99 NIO 146

-58.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.77

$2.17 NIO 79.5

6.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 MX$29.19

$1.04 NIO 38.08

51.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 MX$20.61

$1.01 NIO 36.86

10.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.54 MX$83.8

$2.68 NIO 98.0

69.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.94 MX$202

$14.72 NIO 539

-25.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.40

$1.43 NIO 52.4

-11.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 MX$60.7

$2.27 NIO 83.1

44.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MX$11.74

$0.16 NIO 5.69

300.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.45 MX$507

$5.99 NIO 220

358.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.06 MX$75.0

$1.66 NIO 60.7

144.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.12 MX$20.67

$1.61 NIO 58.9

-30.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.34 MX$302

$6.88 NIO 252

137.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.18

$1.35 NIO 49.58

-2.96%

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

$20.8K MX$384.7K

$23.2K NIO 850.6K

-10.38%

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

$24.4K MX$451.2K

$26.2K NIO 960.2K

-6.87%

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

$85.7 MX$1,584

$150 NIO 5,499

-42.89%

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

$22.75 MX$420

$19.87 NIO 728

14.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.46 MX$526

$32.01 NIO 1,172

-11.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.45 MX$618

$35.39 NIO 1,296

-5.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.84 MX$274

$15.16 NIO 555

-2.11%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 MX$78.6

$9.06 NIO 332

-53.09%

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

$215 MX$3,969

$235 NIO 8,616

-8.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,861 MX$52.9K

$6,163 NIO 225.7K

-53.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.6 MX$1,101

$59.1 NIO 2,163

0.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.01 MX$610

$65.8 NIO 2,408

-49.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.4 MX$1,411

$123 NIO 4,494

-37.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.9 MX$1,514

$147 NIO 5,394

-44.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$609 MX$11.2K

$257 NIO 9,407

136.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,055

$182 NIO 6,678

109.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 MX$18.6K

$435 NIO 15.9K

131.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$859 MX$15.9K

$370 NIO 13.5K

132.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$957 MX$17.7K

$1,188 NIO 43.5K

-19.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$699 MX$12.9K

$681 NIO 24.9K

2.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$585 MX$10.8K

$430 NIO 15.7K

36.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.32

11.92

-5.03%

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

Last update for Ciudad Juarez: October 12, 2026

Last update for Managua: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ciudad Juarez

$382 33.2%

Managua

$182 17.5% 52.2% $199

Groceries & Markets

Ciudad Juarez

$270 23.5%

Managua

$260 25% 3.8% $10

Eating Out

Ciudad Juarez

$166 14.5%

Managua

$150 14.4% 9.5% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ciudad Juarez

$137 11.9%

Managua

$202 19.4% 47.5% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Ciudad Juarez

$113 9.8%

Managua

$178 17.1% 57.4% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Ciudad Juarez

$42 3.7%

Managua

$54 5.1% 27.5% $12

Getting Around

Ciudad Juarez

$40 3.5%

Managua

$16 1.6% 58.9% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $609 in Ciudad Juarez versus $257 in Managua. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 36% higher in Ciudad Juarez, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $33.00 in Ciudad Juarez versus $36.00 in Managua. Groceries tell a different story – $270 in Ciudad Juarez vs $260 in Managua – so Managua wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ciudad Juarez

🇳🇮 Managua

🕒 Local time

07:08 7:08 AM

Same time as Ciudad Juarez

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,501,551

1,039,290 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 41.17 NIO (100 NIO = 2.43 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ciudad Juarez Managua 3,000 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Ciudad Juarez
Managua

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

Ciudad Juarez vs Managua: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,150 in Ciudad Juarez, $1,042 in Managua – roughly 10% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,725 per month in Ciudad Juarez and $1,563 in Managua. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Managua, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $33.00 in Ciudad Juarez and $36.00 in Managua. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,150 in Ciudad Juarez and $1,042 in Managua. That's a gap of about 10%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Managua, where all-in costs run around $1,042, than in Ciudad Juarez at $1,150. In Managua it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ciudad Juarez it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Managua – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Managua. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ciudad Juarez makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.