Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Aruba

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,561 a month against $2,376 in Aruba, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Aruba outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

77

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
141

Cost of Living Index in Aruba
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Aruba Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,561

/mo nomad

Aruba

🇦🇼 Aruba

$2,376

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Aruba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,561 in Mexico City versus $2,376 in Aruba.

Mexico City $1,561
Aruba $2,376

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,440 in Mexico City versus $4,248 in Aruba.

Mexico City $2,440
Aruba $4,248

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,319 in Mexico City versus $6,119 in Aruba.

Mexico City $3,319
Aruba $6,119

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 34% less than in Aruba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 16% above, Aruba 77% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.12 MX$204

$14.50 AWG 25.95

-23.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.99 MX$900

$90.9 AWG 163

-46.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.23 MX$206

$10.62 AWG 19.01

5.74%

Cappuccino

$3.76 MX$69.0

$5.19 AWG 9.29

-27.55%

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

$1.65 MX$30.34

$2.35 AWG 4.21

-29.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.48

$2.30 AWG 4.11

-44.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 MX$59.8

$5.24 AWG 9.38

-37.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.66 MX$104

$6.84 AWG 12.25

-17.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 MX$33.23

$1.67 AWG 2.98

8.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 MX$54.0

$2.88 AWG 5.15

2.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 MX$37.62

$3.04 AWG 5.44

-32.57%

Eggs

$2.93 MX$53.7

$3.80 AWG 6.81

-22.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.95 MX$219

$13.97 AWG 25.00

-14.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.51 MX$175

$4.22 AWG 7.55

125.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.84 MX$273

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 MX$57.7

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 MX$36.99

$1.96 AWG 3.51

2.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 MX$38.10

Tomato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$40.72

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$37.82

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.46

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.18

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 MX$24.70

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.41 MX$99.3

Wine (Bottle)

$16.86 MX$310

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.43

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.32 MX$79.4

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.33

$2.49 AWG 4.45

-86.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.23 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.10 MX$38.47

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.74

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$99.3

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$27.91

$2.38 AWG 4.26

-36.13%

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

$21.7K MX$399.0K

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

$24.8K MX$455.6K

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

$63.0 MX$1,156

$233 AWG 418

-73.01%

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

$28.88 MX$530

$133 AWG 239

-78.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.93 MX$623

$86.6 AWG 155

-60.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.8 MX$1,024

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.90 MX$457

Cinema Ticket

$6.77 MX$124

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

$428 MX$7,854

$302 AWG 541

41.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K MX$218.0K

$17.9K AWG 32.0K

-33.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.0 MX$1,286

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.7 MX$986

$64.9 AWG 116

-17.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,016

$118 AWG 212

-7.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,115

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,062 MX$19.5K

$652 AWG 1,167

63.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 MX$12.3K

$1,419 AWG 2,540

-52.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,379 MX$43.7K

$3,256 AWG 5,828

-26.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,260 MX$23.1K

$4,034 AWG 7,222

-68.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,716 MX$68.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,976 MX$36.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$997 MX$18.3K

$1,886 AWG 3,377

-47.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 6, 2026

Last update for Aruba: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$671 42.4%

Aruba

$1.4K 59.6% 112% $748

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$327 20.7%

Aruba

$148 * 6.2% 54.9% $179

Eating Out

Mexico City

$207 13.1%

Aruba

$269 11.3% 29.7% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$157 9.9%

Aruba

$82 * 3.5% 47.5% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Aruba

$453 19% 261% $328

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$69 4.4%

Aruba

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Aruba

$10 * 0.4% 62.2% $16

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 $1,062 in Mexico City and $652 in Aruba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aruba pays 89% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $91.0 in Aruba. Groceries flip the comparison at $327 vs $148, with Aruba cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇦🇼 Aruba

🕒 Local time

06:26 6:26 AM

08:26 8:26 AM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

15,236

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Aruban Florin AWG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1 AWG = 0.559 USD

1 AWG = 0.499 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AWG, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Aruban Florin exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 AWG (1 AWG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 AWG (1 AWG = 0.499 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Aruba 3,200 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Aruba

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

Mexico City vs Aruba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Aruba differ by about 52% in total monthly costs ($1,561 vs $2,376 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 89% lower in Aruba. 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: $1,062 in Mexico City versus $652 in Aruba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Aruba pay roughly 122% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,561 per month in Mexico City versus $2,376 in Aruba – a 52% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,561 in Mexico City versus $2,376 in Aruba, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Aruba. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Aruba are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Aruba. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.