Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lazaro Cardenas and Santiago

For one person, living costs are similar in Lazaro Cardenas and in Santiago: $1,141 and $1,183 a month, rent and utilities included.

55

Cost of Living Index in Lazaro Cardenas
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Lazaro Cardenas Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index

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Lazaro Cardenas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,141

/mo nomad

Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Santiago actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,141 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $1,183 in Santiago.

Lazaro Cardenas $1,141
Santiago $1,183

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,839 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $1,882 in Santiago.

Lazaro Cardenas $1,839
Santiago $1,882

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,537 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $2,581 in Santiago.

Lazaro Cardenas $2,537
Santiago $2,581

Living in Lazaro Cardenas costs roughly 4% less than in Santiago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lazaro Cardenas 16% lower, Santiago 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 MX$203

$10.15 CLP 10.1K

6.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.66 MX$817

$51.9 CLP 51.6K

-15.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 MX$163

$8.56 CLP 8,512

1.64%

Cappuccino

$3.61 MX$67.6

$3.15 CLP 3,134

14.60%

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

$1.42 MX$26.59

$1.71 CLP 1,703

-16.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.24

$1.28 CLP 1,269

-19.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 MX$46.92

$4.18 CLP 4,162

-39.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 MX$74.7

$4.46 CLP 4,437

-10.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$31.06

$1.29 CLP 1,282

28.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 MX$47.41

$1.76 CLP 1,755

43.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 MX$31.19

$1.66 CLP 1,647

0.60%

Eggs

$2.43 MX$45.51

$4.21 CLP 4,184

-42.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 MX$153

$11.08 CLP 11.0K

-26.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.49 MX$159

$6.75 CLP 6,711

25.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.33 MX$212

$10.76 CLP 10.7K

5.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 MX$49.98

$1.96 CLP 1,947

36.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.74

$1.54 CLP 1,534

3.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.65

$1.58 CLP 1,576

20.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 MX$34.27

$1.74 CLP 1,731

5.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.05

$1.09 CLP 1,087

77.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.61

$1.53 CLP 1,525

17.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.75

$1.18 CLP 1,176

25.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$20.23

$1.08 CLP 1,071

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$80.8

$5.18 CLP 5,155

-16.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.32 MX$193

$6.17 CLP 6,134

67.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 MX$32.88

$1.53 CLP 1,527

15.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 MX$59.8

$2.36 CLP 2,349

35.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MX$12.92

$0.84 CLP 832

-17.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.44 CLP 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 MX$47.26

$0.42 CLP 421

502.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 MX$35.92

$0.88 CLP 878

118.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.01 MX$206

$11.49 CLP 11.4K

-4.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.62

$1.49 CLP 1,478

-0.67%

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

$21.1K MX$395.7K

$17.2K CLP 17.2M

22.59%

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

$23.8K MX$445.7K

$25.6K CLP 25.5M

-7.00%

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

$58.7 MX$1,099

$149 CLP 147.8K

-60.48%

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

$22.31 MX$417

$12.11 CLP 12.0K

84.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.94 MX$560

$19.13 CLP 19.0K

56.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.30 MX$642

$33.30 CLP 33.1K

3.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.49 MX$384

$11.51 CLP 11.4K

78.02%

Cinema Ticket

$5.11 MX$95.7

$7.32 CLP 7,284

-30.19%

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

$221 MX$4,141

$436 CLP 433.7K

-49.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,553 MX$85.2K

$11.0K CLP 10.9M

-58.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 MX$1,035

$49.17 CLP 48.9K

12.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.96 MX$748

$29.11 CLP 29.0K

37.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 MX$1,867

$65.5 CLP 65.2K

52.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.1 MX$1,687

$80.1 CLP 79.7K

12.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 MX$11.3K

$554 CLP 551.6K

8.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$393 MX$7,352

$383 CLP 380.6K

2.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 MX$19.8K

$1,002 CLP 996.9K

5.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 MX$14.6K

$775 CLP 770.5K

0.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,921 MX$36.0K

$2,708 CLP 2.7M

-29.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,169 MX$21.9K

$2,613 CLP 2.6M

-55.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$552 MX$10.3K

$778 CLP 774.4K

-29.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.39

109.65%

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

Last update for Lazaro Cardenas: October 19, 2026

Last update for Santiago: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lazaro Cardenas

$393 34.4%

Santiago

$383 32.3% 2.6% $10

Groceries & Markets

Lazaro Cardenas

$263 23.1%

Santiago

$236 20% 10.3% $27

Eating Out

Lazaro Cardenas

$186 16.3%

Santiago

$186 15.8% 0.1% $0.1

Clothing & Footwear

Lazaro Cardenas

$128 11.3%

Santiago

$101 8.5% 21.5% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lazaro Cardenas

$111 9.7%

Santiago

$180 15.2% 62.1% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Lazaro Cardenas

$45 3.9%

Santiago

$48 4.1% 7.7% $3.4

Getting Around

Lazaro Cardenas

$15 * 1.3%

Santiago

$50 4.2% 234% $35

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 $554 in Santiago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santiago pays 41% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Lazaro Cardenas vs $52 in Santiago. Groceries flip the comparison at $263 vs $236, with Santiago cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Lazaro Cardenas

🇨🇱 Santiago

🕒 Local time

03:14 3:14 AM

06:14 6:14 AM

3 h ahead of Lazaro Cardenas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,637

6,139,087 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.05 USD

10,000 CLP = 8.96 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.72 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 995 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.01 USD). 1 EUR = 1,116 CLP (10,000 CLP = 8.96 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lazaro Cardenas Santiago 6,620 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lazaro Cardenas
Santiago

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

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

Lazaro Cardenas wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Santiago. 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 29% 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 $554 in Santiago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $221 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $436 in Santiago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Lazaro Cardenas – a meal for two runs $44 versus $52 in Santiago. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Santiago on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.