Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lazaro Cardenas and Guadalajara

For one person, living is cheaper in Lazaro Cardenas: $1,141 a month against $1,273 in Guadalajara, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Lazaro Cardenas
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Lazaro Cardenas Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Guadalajara
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Guadalajara Living Index

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Lazaro Cardenas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,141

/mo nomad

Guadalajara

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,273

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lazaro Cardenas and in Guadalajara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,141 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $1,273 in Guadalajara.

Lazaro Cardenas $1,141
Guadalajara $1,273

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,839 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $2,041 in Guadalajara.

Lazaro Cardenas $1,839
Guadalajara $2,041

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,537 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $2,810 in Guadalajara.

Lazaro Cardenas $2,537
Guadalajara $2,810

Living in Lazaro Cardenas costs roughly 10% less than in Guadalajara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lazaro Cardenas 16% lower, Guadalajara 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 MX$203

$13.72 MX$257

-21.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.66 MX$817

$43.18 MX$808

1.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 MX$163

$9.32 MX$174

-6.65%

Cappuccino

$3.61 MX$67.6

$3.76 MX$70.4

-3.99%

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

$1.42 MX$26.59

$1.66 MX$31.01

-14.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.24

$1.19 MX$22.36

-13.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 MX$46.92

$2.67 MX$49.94

-5.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 MX$74.7

$4.80 MX$89.9

-16.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$31.06

$1.75 MX$32.74

-5.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 MX$47.41

$2.54 MX$47.60

-0.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 MX$31.19

$1.55 MX$29.05

7.74%

Eggs

$2.43 MX$45.51

$2.42 MX$45.29

0.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 MX$153

$8.76 MX$164

-6.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.49 MX$159

$9.30 MX$174

-8.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.33 MX$212

$11.53 MX$216

-1.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 MX$49.98

$2.71 MX$50.8

-1.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.74

$1.62 MX$30.29

-1.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.65

$1.89 MX$35.43

0.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 MX$34.27

$1.79 MX$33.56

2.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.05

$2.06 MX$38.57

-6.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.61

$1.82 MX$34.05

-1.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.75

$1.51 MX$28.20

-1.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$20.23

$1.05 MX$19.65

2.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$80.8

$4.80 MX$89.8

-10.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.32 MX$193

$10.43 MX$195

-1.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 MX$32.88

$1.92 MX$35.97

-8.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 MX$59.8

$3.29 MX$61.5

-2.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MX$12.92

$0.63 MX$11.76

9.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.97 MX$561

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 MX$47.26

$2.22 MX$41.59

13.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 MX$35.92

$1.45 MX$27.05

32.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.01 MX$206

$9.54 MX$179

15.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.62

$1.53 MX$28.73

-3.27%

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

$21.1K MX$395.7K

$21.4K MX$399.9K

-1.04%

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

$23.8K MX$445.7K

$23.9K MX$446.5K

-0.18%

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

$58.7 MX$1,099

$49.71 MX$930

18.13%

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

$22.31 MX$417

$23.09 MX$432

-3.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.94 MX$560

$29.23 MX$547

2.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.30 MX$642

$29.01 MX$543

18.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.49 MX$384

$10.94 MX$205

87.29%

Cinema Ticket

$5.11 MX$95.7

$6.15 MX$115

-16.91%

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

$221 MX$4,141

$237 MX$4,437

-6.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,553 MX$85.2K

$10.6K MX$198.3K

-57.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 MX$1,035

$56.6 MX$1,059

-2.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.96 MX$748

$40.02 MX$749

-0.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 MX$1,867

$105 MX$1,968

-5.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.1 MX$1,687

$80.0 MX$1,498

12.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 MX$11.3K

$811 MX$15.2K

-25.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$393 MX$7,352

$472 MX$8,838

-16.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 MX$19.8K

$1,505 MX$28.2K

-29.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 MX$14.6K

$943 MX$17.7K

-17.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,921 MX$36.0K

$3,221 MX$60.3K

-40.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,169 MX$21.9K

$1,720 MX$32.2K

-32.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$552 MX$10.3K

$767 MX$14.3K

-28.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.53

-1.99%

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

Last update for Lazaro Cardenas: October 19, 2026

Last update for Guadalajara: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lazaro Cardenas

$393 34.4%

Guadalajara

$472 37.1% 20.2% $79

Groceries & Markets

Lazaro Cardenas

$263 23.1%

Guadalajara

$272 21.3% 3.2% $8.4

Eating Out

Lazaro Cardenas

$186 16.3%

Guadalajara

$217 17.1% 16.5% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Lazaro Cardenas

$128 11.3%

Guadalajara

$127 10% 1.2% $1.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lazaro Cardenas

$111 9.7%

Guadalajara

$102 8% 8.1% $8.9

Sport & Entertainment

Lazaro Cardenas

$45 3.9%

Guadalajara

$41 3.2% 7.2% $3.2

Getting Around

Lazaro Cardenas

$15 * 1.3%

Guadalajara

$42 3.3% 182% $27

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 $602 in Lazaro Cardenas and $811 in Guadalajara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guadalajara pays 39% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Lazaro Cardenas vs $43 in Guadalajara. Groceries flip the comparison at $263 vs $272, with Lazaro Cardenas cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Lazaro Cardenas

🇲🇽 Guadalajara

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

Same time as Lazaro Cardenas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,637

1,385,629

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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

Lazaro Cardenas vs Guadalajara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lazaro Cardenas wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in Guadalajara. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Lazaro Cardenas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 28% lower in Lazaro Cardenas. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $602 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $811 in Guadalajara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,141 per month in Lazaro Cardenas versus $1,273 in Guadalajara – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Guadalajara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Lazaro Cardenas 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.

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