Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Cali

For one person, living is cheaper in Cali: $1,060 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Cali
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Cali Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Cali

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,060

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,060 in Cali.

Mexico City $1,567
Cali $1,060

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,626 in Cali.

Mexico City $2,450
Cali $1,626

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,192 in Cali.

Mexico City $3,333
Cali $2,192

Living in Mexico City is roughly 48% more expensive than in Cali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Cali is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$7.32 COP 23.2K

46.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$37.35 COP 118.4K

34.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$8.32 COP 26.4K

33.41%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$1.52 COP 4,832

142.11%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$1.23 COP 3,885

34.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.86 COP 2,728

51.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$3.11 COP 9,872

6.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$3.80 COP 12.1K

45.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.54 COP 4,891

14.94%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.96 COP 6,203

55.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$1.48 COP 4,701

35.81%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.91 COP 9,242

-4.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$6.31 COP 20.0K

88.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$6.85 COP 21.7K

36.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$10.22 COP 32.4K

46.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$3.45 COP 10.9K

-10.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.40 COP 4,433

39.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$1.79 COP 5,668

13.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$1.65 COP 5,223

33.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.43 COP 4,539

41.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.55 COP 4,917

17.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.14 COP 3,613

33.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.94 COP 2,983

36.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$3.79 COP 12.0K

39.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$12.94 COP 41.0K

24.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.43 COP 4,539

36.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$2.55 COP 8,079

66.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$1.07 COP 3,387

-71.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$30.29 COP 96.0K

-34.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$0.78 COP 2,488

156.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.34 COP 4,245

13.43%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$35.4K COP 112.1M

-28.80%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$110 COP 347.5K

-42.98%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$12.96 COP 41.1K

121.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$30.06 COP 95.3K

14.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$28.81 COP 91.3K

98.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$8.40 COP 26.6K

-20.60%

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

$431 MX$7,964

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$78.4 COP 248.5K

-9.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$53.2 COP 168.8K

-2.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$126 COP 398.3K

-13.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$111 COP 351.4K

1.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$655 COP 2.1M

60.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$288 COP 914.6K

130.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$1,558 COP 4.9M

50.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$498 COP 1.6M

146.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$585 COP 1.9M

66.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.58

-2.42%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cali: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Cali

$288 27.2% 56.6% $377

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Cali

$239 22.5% 26% $84

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Cali

$133 12.6% 34.3% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Cali

$166 15.6% 7.1% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Cali

$153 14.4% 21.4% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Cali

$46 4.3% 35.2% $25

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Cali

$35 * 3.3% 37.1% $9.6

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 $1,051 in Mexico City and $655 in Cali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 66% 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: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $37.00 in Cali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $239 per month, with Cali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇴 Cali

🕒 Local time

13:36 1:36 PM

14:36 2:36 PM

1 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

2,568,609

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Cali 3,030 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Cali

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 Cali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cali is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 48% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 66% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $655 in Cali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cali – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Cali runs roughly 53% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,060 in Cali versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cali but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Cali the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cali 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.

Expats usually find Cali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.