Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Calama

For one person, living is cheaper in Calama: $587 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Calama
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Calama Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Calama

🇨🇱 Chile

$587

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $587 in Calama.

Mexico City $1,608
Calama $587

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,195 in Calama.

Mexico City $2,549
Calama $1,195

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,802 in Calama.

Mexico City $3,490
Calama $1,802

Living in Mexico City is roughly 174% more expensive than in Calama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Calama is 57% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$6.93 CLP 6,883

53.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$31.87 CLP 31.7K

51.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$1.99 CLP 1,976

85.43%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$0.87 CLP 867

91.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.87 CLP 859

45.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$2.98 CLP 2,962

7.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$4.91 CLP 4,875

8.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.12 CLP 1,114

53.57%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$0.80 CLP 792

280.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$2.68 CLP 2,662

-27.61%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$4.80 CLP 4,769

-39.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$8.98 CLP 8,922

22.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$6.13 CLP 6,091

50.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$7.42 CLP 7,375

103.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$1.19 CLP 1,179

156.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$1.03 CLP 1,020

88.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$1.49 CLP 1,477

36.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$1.08 CLP 1,075

113.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$0.90 CLP 890

126.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$0.98 CLP 969

83.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$5.19 CLP 5,152

2.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$4.15 CLP 4,120

287.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.04 CLP 1,030

90.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$1.20 CLP 1,191

254.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.95 CLP 944

-67.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$1.46 CLP 1,453

-63.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.42 CLP 1,415

6.34%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$40.80 CLP 40.5K

54.36%

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

$27.39 MX$514

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$13.16 CLP 13.1K

171.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$50.8 CLP 50.4K

16.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$19.97 CLP 19.8K

18.38%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$4.51 CLP 4,484

41.91%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$305 CLP 303.4K

41.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$34.75 CLP 34.5K

96.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$28.04 CLP 27.8K

89.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$44.75 CLP 44.5K

140.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$60.3 CLP 59.9K

94.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$322 CLP 320.0K

245.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$103 CLP 102.2K

590.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$795 CLP 790.1K

225.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$617 CLP 612.5K

128.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$1,406 CLP 1.4M

158.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,221 CLP 1.2M

74.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$1,094 CLP 1.1M

-13.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

127.00%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Calama: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Calama

$103 17.5% 85.5% $608

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Calama

$173 * 29.5% 45.9% $147

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Calama

$111 * 18.9% 44.1% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Calama

$76 12.9% 51.5% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Calama

$54 * 9.2% 57.2% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Calama

$60 10.2% 16.7% $12

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Calama

$11 * 1.9% 56.3% $14

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $322 in Calama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calama pays 16% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $32 in Calama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $173 per month, with Calama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇱 Calama

🕒 Local time

14:20 2:20 PM

17:20 5:20 PM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

157,575

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.07 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.02 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 993 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.01 USD). 1 EUR = 1,109 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.02 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Calama 5,700 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Calama

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 Calama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Calama wins on cost – living expenses run 63% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Calama the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 13% lower in Mexico City. 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $322 in Calama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 85% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $587 in Calama – Calama is about 63% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $587 in Calama versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $800 budget is realistic in Calama but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Calama 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.