Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Cabos and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Los Cabos: $1,433 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

69

Cost of Living Index in Los Cabos
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Los Cabos Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,433

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,433 in Los Cabos versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Los Cabos $1,433
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,236 in Los Cabos versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Los Cabos $2,236
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,039 in Los Cabos versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Los Cabos $3,039
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Los Cabos costs roughly 11% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Los Cabos 5% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.25 MX$417

$10.62 MX$199

109.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.10 MX$808

$48.35 MX$906

-10.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.63 MX$255

$10.35 MX$194

31.69%

Cappuccino

$5.17 MX$97.0

$3.69 MX$69.2

40.11%

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

$2.35 MX$44.11

$1.67 MX$31.23

40.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.09

$1.27 MX$23.71

55.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.07 MX$95.1

$3.19 MX$59.8

58.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.23 MX$154

$5.31 MX$99.5

54.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$29.14

$1.72 MX$32.32

-9.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.4

$3.04 MX$57.0

-8.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.27 MX$42.53

$1.94 MX$36.38

17.01%

Eggs

$2.37 MX$44.46

$2.89 MX$54.1

-17.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.29 MX$174

$10.97 MX$206

-15.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.62 MX$180

$9.25 MX$173

4.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.21 MX$322

$15.13 MX$283

13.75%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 MX$74.9

$3.05 MX$57.1

31.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 MX$31.61

$1.94 MX$36.38

-12.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 MX$54.0

$2.03 MX$37.95

41.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.40 MX$44.91

$2.31 MX$43.38

3.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.30 MX$43.03

$2.04 MX$38.14

12.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 MX$47.67

$1.80 MX$33.73

41.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 MX$24.03

$1.48 MX$27.72

-13.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 MX$14.77

$1.27 MX$23.75

-37.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 MX$83.1

$5.30 MX$99.4

-16.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.36 MX$194

$16.10 MX$302

-35.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 MX$28.54

$1.98 MX$37.16

-23.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 MX$57.8

$4.25 MX$79.7

-27.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$0.31 MX$5.72

341.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.56 MX$554

$19.73 MX$370

49.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.48 MX$46.55

$1.84 MX$34.44

34.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.97 MX$36.91

$0.53 MX$10.00

271.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.11 MX$189

$5.30 MX$99.2

90.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 MX$25.19

$1.51 MX$28.31

-11.26%

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

$23.4K MX$438.7K

$21.8K MX$407.7K

7.60%

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

$23.3K MX$437.0K

$24.0K MX$449.5K

-2.77%

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

$56.6 MX$1,060

$63.0 MX$1,180

-10.21%

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

$27.37 MX$513

$27.39 MX$513

-0.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.83 MX$447

$35.67 MX$668

-33.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.66 MX$612

$58.9 MX$1,105

-44.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.67 MX$369

$23.64 MX$443

-16.79%

Cinema Ticket

$4.21 MX$78.8

$6.40 MX$120

-34.22%

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

$214 MX$4,003

$432 MX$8,088

-50.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,525 MX$84.8K

$11.4K MX$214.1K

-60.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.5 MX$1,715

$68.2 MX$1,278

34.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.53 MX$741

$53.1 MX$996

-25.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 MX$2,311

$108 MX$2,020

14.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.9 MX$1,665

$117 MX$2,198

-24.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$597 MX$11.2K

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-46.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$438 MX$8,206

$710 MX$13.3K

-38.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 MX$18.8K

$2,588 MX$48.5K

-61.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$741 MX$13.9K

$1,406 MX$26.3K

-47.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,854 MX$34.7K

$3,631 MX$68.0K

-48.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,114 MX$20.9K

$2,135 MX$40.0K

-47.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$794 MX$14.9K

$946 MX$17.7K

-16.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.31

11.35

-0.35%

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

Last update for Los Cabos: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Los Cabos

$438 30.6%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 62.3% $273

Eating Out

Los Cabos

$340 23.7%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 41.6% $141

Groceries & Markets

Los Cabos

$304 21.2%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 5% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Los Cabos

$154 10.8%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 0.9% $1.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Cabos

$108 7.5%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 17% $18

Getting Around

Los Cabos

$47 3.3%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 46.3% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Los Cabos

$41 2.9%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 74.6% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $597 in Los Cabos and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 19% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Los Cabos vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $320 per month, with Los Cabos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

18:38 6:38 PM

19:38 7:38 PM

1 h ahead of Los Cabos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

202,694

9,209,944 Capital

💱 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

On the map

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Between locations

Los Cabos Mexico City 1,180 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Los Cabos
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

Los Cabos vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Los Cabos is about 11% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 16% 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: $597 in Los Cabos versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Los Cabos – a meal for two runs $43 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,433 per month in Los Cabos versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Los Cabos is about 11% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

For families, Los Cabos is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Mexico City, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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