Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexicali and Guatemala City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexicali: $925 a month against $1,347 in Guatemala City, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Mexicali
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Mexicali Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexicali

🇲🇽 Mexico

$925

/mo nomad

Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,347

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexicali and in Guatemala City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $925 in Mexicali versus $1,347 in Guatemala City.

Mexicali $925
Guatemala City $1,347

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,482 in Mexicali versus $2,028 in Guatemala City.

Mexicali $1,482
Guatemala City $2,028

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,039 in Mexicali versus $2,710 in Guatemala City.

Mexicali $2,039
Guatemala City $2,710

Living in Mexicali costs roughly 31% less than in Guatemala City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.12 MX$227

$7.76 Q 59.3

56.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.79 MX$632

$49.88 Q 381

-32.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.39 MX$120

$7.72 Q 59.0

-17.23%

Cappuccino

$3.28 MX$61.3

$3.31 Q 25.28

-0.91%

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

$1.38 MX$25.84

$1.17 Q 8.98

17.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 MX$19.71

$1.01 Q 7.75

3.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$3.18 Q 24.29

-0.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.02 MX$75.3

$4.71 Q 36.00

-14.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 MX$22.87

$2.08 Q 15.88

-41.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.27 MX$42.42

$3.11 Q 23.78

-27.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 MX$27.06

$2.12 Q 16.19

-31.60%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$51.0

$2.44 Q 18.68

11.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.45 MX$45.87

$6.19 Q 47.28

-60.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.90 MX$110

$9.64 Q 73.7

-38.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.60 MX$124

$13.48 Q 103

-51.04%

Apples (1kg)

$1.63 MX$30.45

$3.98 Q 30.43

-59.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 MX$24.55

$1.65 Q 12.58

-20.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 MX$24.88

$2.83 Q 21.66

-53.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.84

$1.63 Q 12.48

-5.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.67

$1.53 Q 11.70

-10.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 MX$26.00

$2.18 Q 16.63

-36.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 MX$24.97

$0.69 Q 5.26

94.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 MX$14.75

$1.17 Q 8.94

-32.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.04 MX$75.5

$4.01 Q 30.62

0.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.00 MX$150

$8.08 Q 61.7

-0.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 MX$37.14

$1.79 Q 13.71

11.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.87 MX$72.4

$2.68 Q 20.46

44.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 MX$19.00

$1.01 Q 7.69

0.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.65 MX$648

$11.11 Q 84.9

211.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.79 MX$52.2

$5.17 Q 39.48

-46.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.09 MX$39.12

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.59 MX$348

$10.66 Q 81.5

74.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 MX$24.67

$1.37 Q 10.47

-3.65%

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

$23.7K MX$443.0K

$27.1K Q 207.4K

-12.72%

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

$23.6K MX$442.0K

$24.9K Q 190.7K

-5.28%

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

$46.13 MX$863

$73.1 Q 559

-36.89%

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

$22.09 MX$413

$29.48 Q 225

-25.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.80 MX$539

$45.73 Q 349

-37.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.59 MX$722

$38.04 Q 291

1.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.06 MX$300

$12.79 Q 97.8

25.57%

Cinema Ticket

$4.07 MX$76.1

$6.57 Q 50.2

-38.05%

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

$200 MX$3,747

$338 Q 2,582

-40.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,490 MX$84.0K

$15.8K Q 120.8K

-71.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.04 MX$618

$49.96 Q 382

-33.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.17 MX$602

$47.37 Q 362

-32.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 MX$1,396

$119 Q 908

-37.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.32 MX$717

$111 Q 845

-65.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 MX$18.1K

$835 Q 6,383

16.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$267 MX$4,995

$538 Q 4,114

-50.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 MX$25.0K

$1,568 Q 12.0K

-14.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$537 MX$10.0K

$823 Q 6,292

-34.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,648 MX$49.5K

$2,041 Q 15.6K

29.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,439 MX$26.9K

$1,099 Q 8,398

30.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$845 MX$15.8K

$846 Q 6,463

-0.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.6

11.62

-0.17%

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

Last update for Mexicali: November 2, 2026

Last update for Guatemala City: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexicali

$267 28.9%

Guatemala City

$538 40% 102% $271

Groceries & Markets

Mexicali

$193 20.8%

Guatemala City

$283 21% 46.8% $90

Eating Out

Mexicali

$189 20.5%

Guatemala City

$159 11.8% 15.9% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexicali

$97 10.5%

Guatemala City

$148 11% 52.9% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Mexicali

$80 8.7%

Guatemala City

$147 10.9% 83.4% $67

Getting Around

Mexicali

$52 5.6%

Guatemala City

$20 * 1.5% 60.9% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Mexicali

$47 5.1%

Guatemala City

$51 3.8% 9.5% $4.4

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 $970 in Mexicali and $835 in Guatemala City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $34 in Mexicali vs $50 in Guatemala City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $193 vs $283 per month, with Mexicali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexicali

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🕒 Local time

11:56 11:56 AM

13:56 1:56 PM

2 h ahead of Mexicali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

854,186

2,450,212 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.54 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexicali Guatemala City 3,220 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexicali
Guatemala 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

Mexicali vs Guatemala City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexicali wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Guatemala City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Mexicali the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,387 in Mexicali and $2,021 in Guatemala 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $970 in Mexicali versus $835 in Guatemala City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexicali – a meal for two runs $34 versus $50 in Guatemala City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $925 per month in Mexicali versus $1,347 in Guatemala City – Mexicali is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $925 in Mexicali versus $1,347 in Guatemala City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Mexicali but tight or insufficient in Guatemala City. The gap between the two cities makes Mexicali the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.