Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guatemala City and Ensenada

For one person, living is cheaper in Ensenada: $1,059 a month against $1,347 in Guatemala City, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Ensenada
Learn more

Ensenada Living Index

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Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,347

/mo nomad

Ensenada

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,059

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Guatemala City and in Ensenada

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,347 in Guatemala City versus $1,059 in Ensenada.

Guatemala City $1,347
Ensenada $1,059

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,028 in Guatemala City versus $1,687 in Ensenada.

Guatemala City $2,028
Ensenada $1,687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,710 in Guatemala City versus $2,315 in Ensenada.

Guatemala City $2,710
Ensenada $2,315

Living in Guatemala City is roughly 27% more expensive than in Ensenada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.76 Q 59.3

$11.64 MX$218

-33.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.88 Q 381

$33.76 MX$632

47.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.72 Q 59.0

$7.18 MX$134

7.52%

Cappuccino

$3.31 Q 25.28

$2.95 MX$55.2

12.20%

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

$1.17 Q 8.98

$1.17 MX$21.93

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 Q 7.75

$0.68 MX$12.71

48.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 Q 24.29

$2.62 MX$48.95

21.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.71 Q 36.00

$4.06 MX$75.9

16.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 Q 15.88

$1.74 MX$32.47

19.54%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 Q 23.78

$2.57 MX$48.15

21.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 Q 16.19

$1.67 MX$31.27

26.95%

Eggs

$2.44 Q 18.68

$2.56 MX$47.88

-4.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.19 Q 47.28

$8.14 MX$152

-23.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.64 Q 73.7

$6.67 MX$125

44.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.48 Q 103

$10.16 MX$190

32.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 Q 30.43

$2.06 MX$38.51

93.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 Q 12.58

$1.57 MX$29.31

5.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 Q 21.66

$1.75 MX$32.75

61.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 Q 12.48

$1.48 MX$27.77

10.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 Q 11.70

$1.26 MX$23.50

21.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 Q 16.63

$1.65 MX$30.78

32.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 Q 5.26

$1.39 MX$26.00

-50.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 Q 8.94

$1.07 MX$19.97

9.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.01 Q 30.62

$4.01 MX$75.1

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 Q 61.7

$13.21 MX$247

-38.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 Q 13.71

$1.77 MX$33.04

1.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 Q 20.46

$2.51 MX$47.03

6.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 Q 7.69

$0.79 MX$14.75

27.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.11 Q 84.9

$41.91 MX$784

-73.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.17 Q 39.48

$2.78 MX$52.0

85.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.94 MX$36.21

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.66 Q 81.5

$18.75 MX$351

-43.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 Q 10.47

$1.32 MX$24.61

3.79%

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

$27.1K Q 207.4K

$24.0K MX$449.2K

12.98%

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

$24.9K Q 190.7K

$22.8K MX$427.0K

9.30%

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

$73.1 Q 559

$47.11 MX$881

55.15%

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

$29.48 Q 225

$31.50 MX$589

-6.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.73 Q 349

$25.23 MX$472

81.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.04 Q 291

$27.07 MX$506

40.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.79 Q 97.8

$10.72 MX$201

19.31%

Cinema Ticket

$6.57 Q 50.2

$4.45 MX$83.2

47.64%

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

$338 Q 2,582

$190 MX$3,546

78.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K Q 120.8K

$4,882 MX$91.3K

223.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.96 Q 382

$53.5 MX$1,000

-6.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.37 Q 362

$42.25 MX$790

12.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 Q 908

$99.9 MX$1,869

18.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Q 845

$57.8 MX$1,081

91.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$835 Q 6,383

$507 MX$9,476

64.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$538 Q 4,114

$321 MX$6,001

67.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,568 Q 12.0K

$996 MX$18.6K

57.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$823 Q 6,292

$632 MX$11.8K

30.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,041 Q 15.6K

$1,323 MX$24.7K

54.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,099 Q 8,398

$660 MX$12.3K

66.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$846 Q 6,463

$748 MX$14.0K

13.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

11.3

2.83%

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

Last update for Guatemala City: November 3, 2026

Last update for Ensenada: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guatemala City

$538 40%

Ensenada

$321 30.3% 40.4% $218

Groceries & Markets

Guatemala City

$283 21%

Ensenada

$248 23.4% 12.3% $35

Eating Out

Guatemala City

$159 11.8%

Ensenada

$179 16.9% 12.4% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guatemala City

$148 11%

Ensenada

$104 9.8% 30% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Guatemala City

$147 10.9%

Ensenada

$114 10.8% 22.4% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Guatemala City

$51 3.8%

Ensenada

$36 3.4% 29.7% $15

Getting Around

Guatemala City

$20 * 1.5%

Ensenada

$58 5.4% 183% $37

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 $835 in Guatemala City and $507 in Ensenada. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guatemala City pays 13% 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: $50 in Guatemala City vs $34 in Ensenada for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $248 per month, with Ensenada cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🇲🇽 Ensenada

🕒 Local time

07:40 7:40 AM

05:40 5:40 AM

2 h behind Guatemala City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,450,212 Capital

330,652

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.58 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Guatemala City Ensenada 3,270 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Guatemala City
Ensenada

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

Guatemala City vs Ensenada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,347 in Guatemala City and $1,059 in Ensenada, so Ensenada is about 21% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 13% higher in Guatemala City, 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: $835 in Guatemala City versus $507 in Ensenada. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,347 per month in Guatemala City versus $1,059 in Ensenada – Ensenada is about 21% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Guatemala City runs roughly 73% less than in Ensenada. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ensenada gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Ensenada wins on affordability, Guatemala City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.