Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ciudad Obregon and Panama City

For one person, living is cheaper in Ciudad Obregon: $1,183 a month against $1,857 in Panama City, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad Obregon
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Ciudad Obregon Living Index
90

Cost of Living Index in Panama City
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Panama City Living Index

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Ciudad Obregon

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,183

/mo nomad

Panama City

🇵🇦 Panama

$1,857

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ciudad Obregon and in Panama City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,183 in Ciudad Obregon versus $1,857 in Panama City.

Ciudad Obregon $1,183
Panama City $1,857

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Ciudad Obregon versus $2,815 in Panama City.

Ciudad Obregon $1,868
Panama City $2,815

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,553 in Ciudad Obregon versus $3,773 in Panama City.

Ciudad Obregon $2,553
Panama City $3,773

Living in Ciudad Obregon costs roughly 36% less than in Panama City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ciudad Obregon is 13% below, Panama City is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.31 MX$191

$11.68 PAB 11.68

-11.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.41 MX$895

$47.76 PAB 47.76

1.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.32 MX$154

$8.12 PAB 8.12

2.46%

Cappuccino

$3.94 MX$72.7

$4.23 PAB 4.23

-6.86%

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

$1.24 MX$22.87

$1.92 PAB 1.92

-35.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 MX$20.93

$1.58 PAB 1.58

-28.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 MX$47.31

$3.31 PAB 3.31

-22.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.33 MX$80.1

$3.98 PAB 3.98

8.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 MX$29.02

$1.92 PAB 1.92

-18.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.57 MX$47.49

$2.63 PAB 2.63

-2.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 MX$32.05

$3.39 PAB 3.39

-48.97%

Eggs

$2.39 MX$44.10

$2.67 PAB 2.67

-10.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.27 MX$153

$12.21 PAB 12.21

-32.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.07 MX$149

$6.91 PAB 6.91

16.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.24 MX$208

$10.58 PAB 10.58

6.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.65 MX$48.92

$4.16 PAB 4.16

-36.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 MX$27.48

$1.97 PAB 1.97

-24.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 MX$34.15

$4.06 PAB 4.06

-54.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.82

$4.18 PAB 4.18

-57.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$3.47 PAB 3.47

-42.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 MX$32.07

$4.26 PAB 4.26

-59.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 MX$27.18

$2.44 PAB 2.44

-39.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 MX$20.57

$1.69 PAB 1.69

-34.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$5.83 PAB 5.83

-27.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.44 MX$211

$11.43 PAB 11.43

0.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 MX$31.39

$1.38 PAB 1.38

23.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 MX$57.1

$2.76 PAB 2.76

11.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.48

$0.33 PAB 0.33

106.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.63 PAB 20.63

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 MX$46.69

$2.55 PAB 2.55

-0.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.67 MX$30.81

$1.78 PAB 1.78

-6.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.65 MX$178

$22.17 PAB 22.17

-56.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 MX$25.00

$1.24 PAB 1.24

8.87%

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

$25.9K MX$478.2K

$24.4K PAB 24.4K

6.01%

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

$25.4K MX$469.7K

$21.3K PAB 21.3K

19.38%

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

$65.9 MX$1,218

$131 PAB 131

-49.81%

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

$19.30 MX$357

$27.83 PAB 27.83

-30.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.95 MX$535

$49.32 PAB 49.32

-41.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.67 MX$622

$45.69 PAB 45.69

-26.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.00 MX$370

$34.10 PAB 34.10

-41.35%

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 MX$93.7

$8.47 PAB 8.47

-40.14%

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

$215 MX$3,980

$553 PAB 553

-61.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,644 MX$85.8K

$9,719 PAB 9,719

-52.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 MX$987

$66.4 PAB 66.4

-19.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.86 MX$755

$47.39 PAB 47.39

-13.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MX$1,862

$95.7 PAB 95.7

5.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.8 MX$1,659

$113 PAB 113

-20.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$684 MX$12.6K

$1,322 PAB 1,322

-48.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$436 MX$8,053

$874 PAB 874

-50.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,160 MX$21.4K

$2,153 PAB 2,153

-46.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$786 MX$14.5K

$1,580 PAB 1,580

-50.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,931 MX$35.7K

$3,097 PAB 3,097

-37.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,120 MX$20.7K

$1,698 PAB 1,698

-34.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,189 MX$22.0K

$914 PAB 914

30.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

6.39

76.84%

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

Last update for Ciudad Obregon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Panama City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ciudad Obregon

$436 36.9%

Panama City

$874 47.1% 101% $438

Groceries & Markets

Ciudad Obregon

$261 22.1%

Panama City

$327 17.6% 24.9% $65

Eating Out

Ciudad Obregon

$186 15.7%

Panama City

$207 11.2% 11.5% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Ciudad Obregon

$128 10.8%

Panama City

$145 7.8% 13.1% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ciudad Obregon

$114 9.7%

Panama City

$208 11.2% 82.6% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Ciudad Obregon

$44 3.7%

Panama City

$63 3.4% 43% $19

Getting Around

Ciudad Obregon

$14 * 1.2%

Panama City

$33 1.8% 147% $20

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 $684 in Ciudad Obregon and $1,322 in Panama City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ciudad Obregon pays 30% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48.00 in Ciudad Obregon vs $48.00 in Panama City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $261 vs $327 per month, with Ciudad Obregon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ciudad Obregon

🇵🇦 Panama City

🕒 Local time

14:10 2:10 PM

16:10 4:10 PM

2 h ahead of Ciudad Obregon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

329,404

1,086,990 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Panamanian Balboa PAB B/.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PAB = 1 USD

1 PAB = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PAB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Panamanian Balboa exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1 PAB (1 PAB = 1 USD). 1 EUR = 1.12 PAB (1 PAB = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ciudad Obregon Panama City 3,790 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Ciudad Obregon
Panama City

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 Obregon vs Panama City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ciudad Obregon wins on cost – living expenses run 57% lower than in Panama City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ciudad Obregon the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 30% higher in Ciudad Obregon, 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: $684 in Ciudad Obregon versus $1,322 in Panama City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $215 in Ciudad Obregon versus $553 in Panama City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ciudad Obregon – a meal for two runs $48.00 versus $48.00 in Panama City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,183 in Ciudad Obregon versus $1,857 in Panama City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ciudad Obregon but tight or insufficient in Panama City. The gap between the two cities makes Ciudad Obregon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ciudad Obregon delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,183 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ciudad Obregon hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ciudad Obregon and Panama City 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 Ciudad Obregon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 57% less than in Panama City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.