Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Calapan City

For one person, living is cheaper in Calapan City: $719 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Calapan City
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Calapan City Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Calapan City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$719

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,674 per month in Mexico City vs $719 in Calapan City, rent included.

Mexico City $1,674
Calapan City $719

A couple spends around $2,606 per month in Mexico City vs $1,101 in Calapan City, rent included.

Mexico City $2,606
Calapan City $1,101

A family of three spends $3,537 per month in Mexico City vs $1,482 in Calapan City, rent included.

Mexico City $3,537
Calapan City $1,482

Mexico City costs about 133% more than Calapan City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mexico City sits 24% above the global median, while Calapan City is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$3.97 ₱252

166.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$16.44 ₱1,043

216.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$2.68 ₱170

300.37%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.14 ₱136

77.57%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$0.63 ₱40.17

155.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.31 ₱19.41

290.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$1.15 ₱73.0

176.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$2.05 ₱130

165.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.64 ₱104

4.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$1.10 ₱69.8

170.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$0.97 ₱61.7

98.97%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$1.86 ₱118

48.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$5.31 ₱337

119.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$4.17 ₱264

127.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$7.15 ₱454

114.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$2.39 ₱152

29.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.51 ₱95.5

29.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$2.40 ₱152

-17.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$1.12 ₱71.3

108.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$2.06 ₱131

-1.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$2.19 ₱139

-16.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.08 ₱68.6

42.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.57 ₱36.22

129.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$2.97 ₱189

80.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$7.34 ₱466

120.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$0.92 ₱58.6

113.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$1.93 ₱123

125.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.24 ₱15.24

25.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

$12.44 ₱790

56.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$0.75 ₱47.56

156.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.22 ₱13.96

113.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$1.91 ₱121

183.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.00 ₱63.6

48.00%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$21.0K ₱1.3M

1.87%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$18.9K ₱1.2M

25.50%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$121 ₱7,671

-48.73%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$15.33 ₱973

85.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$24.15 ₱1,532

41.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$31.77 ₱2,015

83.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$5.12 ₱325

378.52%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$5.07 ₱321

29.98%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$130 ₱8,260

233.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$8,012 ₱508.3K

75.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$32.54 ₱2,065

110.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$18.85 ₱1,196

190.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$69.7 ₱4,425

58.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$55.6 ₱3,529

108.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$252 ₱16.0K

367.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$165 ₱10.5K

366.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$487 ₱30.9K

428.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$352 ₱22.3K

303.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$2,633 ₱167.1K

36.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$1,093 ₱69.4K

88.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

$114 ₱7,241

778.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.92

64.02%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Calapan City: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Calapan City

$165 23% 78.6% $606

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Calapan City

$178 24.8% 45% $146

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Calapan City

$79 11% 60.6% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Calapan City

$80 11.1% 49.5% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Calapan City

$160 22.3% 28.7% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Calapan City

$42 5.8% 41.4% $30

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Calapan City

$15 2.1% 38.9% $9.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,179 in Mexico City versus $252 in Calapan City. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Mexico City are about 8.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $52 in Mexico City versus $16 in Calapan City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $324 vs $178 – making Calapan City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 Calapan City

🕒 Local time

13:09 1:09 PM

03:09 3:09 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

145,786

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

100 PHP = 1.58 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.83 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 63.44 PHP (100 PHP = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.03 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Calapan City 14,290 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Calapan 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

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

Yes – Mexico City is pricier by about 133%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,510 per month in Mexico City and $1,079 in Calapan City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Calapan City, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $252 there versus $1,179 in Mexico City.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $52 in Mexico City and $16 in Calapan City. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $719 in Calapan City. That makes Calapan City about 57% cheaper.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Calapan City, where all-in costs run around $719, than in Mexico City at $1,674. In Calapan City it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Calapan City – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Calapan City. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Mexico City makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.