Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guadalajara and Los Cabos

For one person, living is cheaper in Guadalajara: $1,298 a month against $1,428 in Los Cabos, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. The total is higher in Los Cabos despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Guadalajara
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Guadalajara Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Los Cabos
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Los Cabos Living Index

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Guadalajara

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,298

/mo nomad

Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,428

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Guadalajara and in Los Cabos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,298 in Guadalajara versus $1,428 in Los Cabos.

Guadalajara $1,298
Los Cabos $1,428

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,069 in Guadalajara versus $2,242 in Los Cabos.

Guadalajara $2,069
Los Cabos $2,242

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,840 in Guadalajara versus $3,056 in Los Cabos.

Guadalajara $2,840
Los Cabos $3,056

Living in Guadalajara costs roughly 9% less than in Los Cabos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Guadalajara is 4% below, Los Cabos is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.54 MX$255

$21.85 MX$411

-38.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.13 MX$812

$43.11 MX$811

0.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.13 MX$172

$13.70 MX$258

-33.36%

Cappuccino

$3.60 MX$67.7

$4.97 MX$93.6

-27.57%

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

$1.65 MX$31.11

$2.33 MX$43.89

-29.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$20.34

$2.05 MX$38.51

-47.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.71 MX$51.0

$5.09 MX$95.9

-46.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.74 MX$89.3

$7.91 MX$149

-40.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 MX$32.74

$1.57 MX$29.60

10.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 MX$48.57

$2.87 MX$54.0

-10.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.61

$2.26 MX$42.62

-30.53%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$46.59

$2.40 MX$45.12

3.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$162

$9.15 MX$172

-5.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.72 MX$183

$9.26 MX$174

4.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.40 MX$214

$17.61 MX$331

-35.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$4.14 MX$78.0

-33.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 MX$29.31

$1.74 MX$32.76

-10.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$35.23

$2.77 MX$52.1

-32.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.19

$2.41 MX$45.34

-24.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.35

$2.29 MX$43.19

-10.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 MX$33.35

$2.53 MX$47.56

-30.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 MX$28.73

$1.25 MX$23.47

22.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$20.22

$0.84 MX$15.74

27.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.87 MX$91.6

$4.34 MX$81.6

12.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.38 MX$195

$10.33 MX$194

0.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 MX$36.03

$1.58 MX$29.76

20.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 MX$62.7

$3.14 MX$59.0

6.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 MX$11.65

$1.32 MX$24.91

-53.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.09 MX$566

$30.58 MX$575

-1.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.20 MX$41.31

$2.59 MX$48.68

-15.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.46 MX$27.48

$1.95 MX$36.70

-25.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.25 MX$155

$10.58 MX$199

-22.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.74

$1.35 MX$25.48

13.33%

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

$20.6K MX$388.0K

$23.9K MX$449.9K

-13.75%

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

$23.0K MX$433.4K

$23.7K MX$445.8K

-2.78%

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

$49.02 MX$923

$56.4 MX$1,060

-13.01%

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

$23.01 MX$433

$26.64 MX$501

-13.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.26 MX$551

$24.30 MX$457

20.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.67 MX$540

$32.29 MX$608

-11.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.62 MX$200

$19.82 MX$373

-46.42%

Cinema Ticket

$5.96 MX$112

$4.40 MX$82.9

35.45%

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

$239 MX$4,505

$211 MX$3,978

13.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K MX$197.0K

$4,437 MX$83.5K

135.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.7 MX$1,048

$92.7 MX$1,744

-39.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.70 MX$747

$40.62 MX$764

-2.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MX$1,896

$121 MX$2,279

-16.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.6 MX$1,479

$87.2 MX$1,641

-9.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$904 MX$17.0K

$585 MX$11.0K

54.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 MX$9,498

$438 MX$8,244

15.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,472 MX$27.7K

$1,020 MX$19.2K

44.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$989 MX$18.6K

$768 MX$14.5K

28.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,506 MX$66.0K

$1,923 MX$36.2K

82.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,166 MX$40.8K

$1,127 MX$21.2K

92.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$847 MX$15.9K

$813 MX$15.3K

4.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.53

11.31

1.95%

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

Last update for Guadalajara: November 2, 2026

Last update for Los Cabos: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guadalajara

$505 38.9%

Los Cabos

$438 30.7% 13.2% $67

Groceries & Markets

Guadalajara

$273 21.1%

Los Cabos

$306 21.4% 11.9% $32

Eating Out

Guadalajara

$213 16.4%

Los Cabos

$334 23.4% 57.1% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Guadalajara

$124 9.5%

Los Cabos

$154 10.8% 24.3% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guadalajara

$101 7.8%

Los Cabos

$107 7.5% 5.9% $6

Getting Around

Guadalajara

$42 3.2%

Los Cabos

$48 3.4% 14.6% $6.1

Sport & Entertainment

Guadalajara

$41 3.1%

Los Cabos

$41 2.9% 1.2% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $904 in Guadalajara and $585 in Los Cabos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guadalajara pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Guadalajara vs $43 in Los Cabos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $306 per month, with Guadalajara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Guadalajara

🇲🇽 Los Cabos

🕒 Local time

02:17 2:17 AM

01:17 1:17 AM

1 h behind Guadalajara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,385,629

202,694

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Guadalajara Los Cabos 720 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Guadalajara
Los Cabos

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

Guadalajara vs Los Cabos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guadalajara wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Los Cabos. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Guadalajara the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 4% higher in Guadalajara, 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: $904 in Guadalajara versus $585 in Los Cabos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,298 per month in Guadalajara versus $1,428 in Los Cabos – Guadalajara is about 9% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Los Cabos. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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