Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Isabela and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Isabela: $1,258 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

61

Cost of Living Index in Isabela
Learn more

Isabela Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Isabela

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,258

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Isabela and in Mexico City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,258 in Isabela versus $1,674 in Mexico City.

Isabela $1,258
Mexico City $1,674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,974 in Isabela versus $2,606 in Mexico City.

Isabela $1,974
Mexico City $2,606

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,690 in Isabela versus $3,537 in Mexico City.

Isabela $2,690
Mexico City $3,537

Living in Isabela costs roughly 25% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Isabela is 7% below, Mexico City is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.01 $19.01

$10.59 MX$197

79.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.5 $81.5

$52.0 MX$967

56.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.95 $8.95

$10.73 MX$200

-16.59%

Cappuccino

$3.62 $3.62

$3.80 MX$70.6

-4.74%

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

$1.91 $1.91

$1.61 MX$30.01

18.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 $1.51

$1.21 MX$22.55

24.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.02 $3.02

$3.18 MX$59.1

-5.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.09 $5.09

$5.44 MX$101

-6.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.72 MX$31.96

14.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 $2.81

$2.97 MX$55.2

-5.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 $1.21

$1.93 MX$35.84

-37.31%

Eggs

$2.95 $2.95

$2.77 MX$51.6

6.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.82 $10.82

$11.67 MX$217

-7.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.46 $6.46

$9.48 MX$176

-31.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.50 $13.50

$15.37 MX$286

-12.17%

Apples (1kg)

$4.37 $4.37

$3.10 MX$57.8

40.97%

Banana (1kg)

$2.62 $2.62

$1.96 MX$36.49

33.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 $4.89

$1.98 MX$36.88

146.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.71 $4.71

$2.34 MX$43.46

101.28%

Potato (1kg)

$3.85 $3.85

$2.02 MX$37.66

90.59%

Onion (1kg)

$4.07 $4.07

$1.82 MX$33.95

123.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.52 $3.52

$1.54 MX$28.74

128.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 $1.64

$1.31 MX$24.42

25.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.76 $11.76

$5.35 MX$99.6

119.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.43 $15.43

$16.19 MX$301

-4.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.99 $2.99

$1.96 MX$36.46

52.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 $3.96

$4.35 MX$81.0

-8.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.46 $2.46

$1.92 MX$35.68

28.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 $1.54

$0.47 MX$8.80

227.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.55 $41.55

$5.41 MX$101

668.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.48 MX$27.61

-40.54%

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

$34.8K $34.8K

$21.4K MX$397.7K

62.71%

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

$28.1K $28.1K

$23.8K MX$442.1K

18.25%

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

$315 $315

$62.0 MX$1,154

407.86%

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

$68.8 $68.8

$28.47 MX$530

141.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.2 $70.2

$34.11 MX$635

105.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

Cinema Ticket

$10.38 $10.38

$6.59 MX$123

57.51%

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

$837 $837

$434 MX$8,081

92.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K $12.7K

$14.0K MX$261.2K

-9.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.7 $56.7

$68.4 MX$1,272

-17.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.7 $61.7

$54.8 MX$1,020

12.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 $110

$111 MX$2,063

-1.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 $115

$116 MX$2,158

-1.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

11.35

-42.29%

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

Last update for Isabela: November 3, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Isabela

$454 36.1%

Mexico City

$125 7.4% 72.6% $329

Groceries & Markets

Isabela

$358 28.4%

Mexico City

$324 19.3% 9.5% $34

Eating Out

Isabela

$261 20.8%

Mexico City

$201 12% 23.3% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Isabela

$154 12.3%

Mexico City

$158 9.4% 2.1% $3.3

Sport & Entertainment

Isabela

$21 * 1.7%

Mexico City

$72 4.3% 245% $51

Getting Around

Isabela

$10 * 0.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.5% 146% $15

Accommodation & Living

Isabela

- * 0%

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $81 in Isabela vs $52 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $358 vs $324 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Isabela

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

20:42 8:42 PM

18:42 6:42 PM

2 h behind Isabela

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,000

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.888 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Isabela Mexico City 3,370 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Isabela
Mexico 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

Isabela vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Isabela wins on cost – living expenses run 25% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Isabela the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,887 in Isabela and $2,510 in Mexico City to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $837 in Isabela versus $434 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $52 versus $81 in Isabela. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

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.