Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Cabos and Guadalajara

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.

68

Cost of Living Index in Los Cabos
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Los Cabos Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Guadalajara
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Guadalajara Living Index

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Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,428

/mo nomad

Guadalajara

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,298

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Los Cabos 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 Los Cabos and in Guadalajara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

Los Cabos $1,428
Guadalajara $1,298

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

Los Cabos $2,242
Guadalajara $2,069

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

Los Cabos $3,056
Guadalajara $2,840

Living in Los Cabos is roughly 10% more expensive than in Guadalajara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.85 MX$411

$13.54 MX$255

61.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.11 MX$811

$43.13 MX$812

-0.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.70 MX$258

$9.13 MX$172

50.05%

Cappuccino

$4.97 MX$93.6

$3.60 MX$67.7

38.06%

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

$2.33 MX$43.89

$1.65 MX$31.11

41.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 MX$38.51

$1.08 MX$20.34

89.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.09 MX$95.9

$2.71 MX$51.0

87.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.91 MX$149

$4.74 MX$89.3

66.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 MX$29.60

$1.74 MX$32.74

-9.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 MX$54.0

$2.58 MX$48.57

11.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 MX$42.62

$1.57 MX$29.61

43.95%

Eggs

$2.40 MX$45.12

$2.48 MX$46.59

-3.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.15 MX$172

$8.61 MX$162

6.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.26 MX$174

$9.72 MX$183

-4.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.61 MX$331

$11.40 MX$214

54.47%

Apples (1kg)

$4.14 MX$78.0

$2.75 MX$51.7

50.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 MX$32.76

$1.56 MX$29.31

11.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.77 MX$52.1

$1.87 MX$35.23

48.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.41 MX$45.34

$1.82 MX$34.19

32.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.29 MX$43.19

$2.04 MX$38.35

12.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.53 MX$47.56

$1.77 MX$33.35

42.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 MX$23.47

$1.53 MX$28.73

-18.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.74

$1.07 MX$20.22

-21.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.34 MX$81.6

$4.87 MX$91.6

-10.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.33 MX$194

$10.38 MX$195

-0.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.91 MX$36.03

-17.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.14 MX$59.0

$3.33 MX$62.7

-5.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.32 MX$24.91

$0.62 MX$11.65

112.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.58 MX$575

$30.09 MX$566

1.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 MX$48.68

$2.20 MX$41.31

17.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 MX$36.70

$1.46 MX$27.48

33.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.58 MX$199

$8.25 MX$155

28.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 MX$25.48

$1.53 MX$28.74

-11.76%

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

$23.9K MX$449.9K

$20.6K MX$388.0K

15.94%

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

$23.7K MX$445.8K

$23.0K MX$433.4K

2.86%

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

$56.4 MX$1,060

$49.02 MX$923

14.95%

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

$26.64 MX$501

$23.01 MX$433

15.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.30 MX$457

$29.26 MX$551

-16.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.29 MX$608

$28.67 MX$540

12.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.82 MX$373

$10.62 MX$200

86.63%

Cinema Ticket

$4.40 MX$82.9

$5.96 MX$112

-26.17%

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

$211 MX$3,978

$239 MX$4,505

-11.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,437 MX$83.5K

$10.5K MX$197.0K

-57.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.7 MX$1,744

$55.7 MX$1,048

66.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.62 MX$764

$39.70 MX$747

2.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 MX$2,279

$101 MX$1,896

20.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.2 MX$1,641

$78.6 MX$1,479

10.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$585 MX$11.0K

$904 MX$17.0K

-35.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$438 MX$8,244

$505 MX$9,498

-13.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,020 MX$19.2K

$1,472 MX$27.7K

-30.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$768 MX$14.5K

$989 MX$18.6K

-22.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,923 MX$36.2K

$3,506 MX$66.0K

-45.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,127 MX$21.2K

$2,166 MX$40.8K

-47.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$813 MX$15.3K

$847 MX$15.9K

-3.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.31

11.53

-1.91%

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

Last update for Los Cabos: November 1, 2026

Last update for Guadalajara: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Los Cabos

$438 30.7%

Guadalajara

$505 38.9% 15.2% $67

Eating Out

Los Cabos

$334 23.4%

Guadalajara

$213 16.4% 36.4% $122

Groceries & Markets

Los Cabos

$306 21.4%

Guadalajara

$273 21.1% 10.6% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Los Cabos

$154 10.8%

Guadalajara

$124 9.5% 19.6% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Cabos

$107 7.5%

Guadalajara

$101 7.8% 5.6% $6

Getting Around

Los Cabos

$48 3.4%

Guadalajara

$42 3.2% 12.7% $6.1

Sport & Entertainment

Los Cabos

$41 2.9%

Guadalajara

$41 3.1% 1.2% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $585 in Los Cabos and $904 in Guadalajara. 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 Los Cabos vs $43 in Guadalajara. Groceries flip the comparison at $306 vs $273, with Guadalajara cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Guadalajara

🕒 Local time

01:18 1:18 AM

02:18 2:18 AM

1 h ahead of Los Cabos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

202,694

1,385,629

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

From you

Los Cabos
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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

Los Cabos vs Guadalajara: 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.

On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Los Cabos. 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: $585 in Los Cabos versus $904 in Guadalajara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,428 per month in Los Cabos versus $1,298 in Guadalajara – 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.