Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Caraguatatuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Caraguatatuba: $775 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Caraguatatuba
Learn more

Caraguatatuba Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Caraguatatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $775 in Caraguatatuba.

Mexico City $1,674
Caraguatatuba $775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,257 in Caraguatatuba.

Mexico City $2,606
Caraguatatuba $1,257

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,738 in Caraguatatuba.

Mexico City $3,537
Caraguatatuba $1,738

Living in Mexico City is roughly 116% more expensive than in Caraguatatuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Caraguatatuba is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$7.01 R$38.52

51.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$966

$26.33 R$145

97.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$8.43 R$46.30

27.28%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.22 R$12.19

71.17%

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

$1.61 MX$29.99

$1.14 R$6.27

41.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.54

$0.86 R$4.73

40.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$2.29 R$12.58

38.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$2.93 R$16.09

85.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.94

$1.00 R$5.49

72.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$1.45 R$7.97

104.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.82

$1.23 R$6.75

56.91%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$1.84 R$10.12

50.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$5.49 R$30.18

112.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$3.08 R$16.95

207.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$7.64 R$41.97

101.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.7

$1.93 R$10.62

60.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.60 R$8.77

22.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.86

$1.42 R$7.79

39.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.43

$1.30 R$7.16

80.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.63

$1.17 R$6.45

72.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.93

$0.76 R$4.20

139.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.72

$0.67 R$3.66

129.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.40

$0.71 R$3.88

84.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.5

$1.92 R$10.54

178.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$6.40 R$35.19

152.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.43

$1.46 R$8.05

34.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.9

$2.40 R$13.22

81.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.95 R$5.22

-68.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

$21.32 R$117

-8.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.66

$1.05 R$5.77

82.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.79

$0.66 R$3.64

-28.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$3.28 R$18.05

64.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.59

$1.18 R$6.47

25.42%

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

$21.4K MX$397.5K

$14.5K R$79.7K

47.37%

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

$23.8K MX$441.8K

$27.7K R$152.5K

-14.37%

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

$62.0 MX$1,153

$61.9 R$340

0.18%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$12.13 R$66.7

134.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$634

$21.37 R$117

59.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,086

$19.88 R$109

193.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$15.15 R$83.3

61.72%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$7.31 R$40.17

-9.85%

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

$434 MX$8,076

$207 R$1,137

109.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.0K

$3,930 R$21.6K

257.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,271

$52.8 R$290

29.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,019

$52.9 R$291

3.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,062

$73.1 R$402

51.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,157

$54.1 R$297

114.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$391 R$2,146

201.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$214 R$1,174

260.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$792 R$4,355

224.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$482 R$2,646

194.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$1,571 R$8,636

128.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$1,149 R$6,314

79.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.6K

$313 R$1,721

220.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

8.15

39.26%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Caraguatatuba: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Caraguatatuba

$214 27.6% 72.3% $557

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Caraguatatuba

$164 21.2% 49.3% $159

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Caraguatatuba

$133 17.2% 33.6% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Caraguatatuba

$105 13.5% 33.4% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Caraguatatuba

$95 12.3% 23.4% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Caraguatatuba

$35 4.5% 51.8% $37

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Caraguatatuba

$29 3.8% 18% $4.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $391 in Caraguatatuba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $26 in Caraguatatuba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $164 per month, with Caraguatatuba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Caraguatatuba

🕒 Local time

18:12 6:12 PM

21:12 9:12 PM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

134,873

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 18.6 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Caraguatatuba 7,540 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Caraguatatuba

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 Caraguatatuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Caraguatatuba is about 54% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 3.2 times higher, 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $391 in Caraguatatuba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 97% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Caraguatatuba – a meal for two runs $26 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $775 in Caraguatatuba versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Caraguatatuba but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Caraguatatuba 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.

It comes down to priorities – Caraguatatuba wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.