Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Castanhal

For one person, living is cheaper in Castanhal: $824 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Castanhal
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Castanhal Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Castanhal

🇧🇷 Brazil

$824

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $824 in Castanhal.

Mexico City $1,674
Castanhal $824

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,314 in Castanhal.

Mexico City $2,606
Castanhal $1,314

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,805 in Castanhal.

Mexico City $3,537
Castanhal $1,805

Living in Mexico City is roughly 103% more expensive than in Castanhal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Castanhal is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$5.50 R$29.90

92.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$965

$29.53 R$161

75.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$199

$7.32 R$39.80

46.58%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.5

$1.91 R$10.37

98.95%

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

$1.61 MX$29.95

$1.24 R$6.75

29.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.51

$0.76 R$4.13

59.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.0

$1.87 R$10.17

70.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$2.71 R$14.76

100.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.90

$0.93 R$5.05

84.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.1

$1.54 R$8.36

92.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.77

$1.15 R$6.24

67.83%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.5

$1.99 R$10.82

39.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$8.54 R$46.44

36.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$4.06 R$22.06

133.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$8.17 R$44.42

88.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.7

$2.06 R$11.19

50.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.41

$1.19 R$6.49

64.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.81

$1.08 R$5.85

83.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.37

$1.50 R$8.15

56.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.58

$1.13 R$6.16

78.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.88

$1.00 R$5.41

82.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.68

$0.72 R$3.89

113.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.37

$0.77 R$4.17

70.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.4

$2.30 R$12.51

132.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$7.54 R$40.98

114.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.38

$1.23 R$6.67

59.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.8

$1.97 R$10.74

120.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.66

$0.93 R$5.05

-67.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$362

$41.67 R$227

-53.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.61

$1.23 R$6.68

56.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.78

$0.86 R$4.66

-45.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$100

$7.47 R$40.64

-27.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.55

$1.16 R$6.32

27.59%

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

$21.4K MX$396.9K

$21.7K R$117.9K

-1.42%

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

$23.8K MX$441.2K

$31.1K R$169.0K

-23.59%

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

$62.0 MX$1,151

$71.0 R$386

-12.67%

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

$28.47 MX$529

$11.48 R$62.4

148.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$634

$19.99 R$109

70.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,084

$24.27 R$132

140.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$455

$26.15 R$142

-6.31%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$122

$6.73 R$36.60

-2.08%

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

$434 MX$8,064

$256 R$1,393

69.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$260.7K

$6,804 R$37.0K

106.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,269

$52.8 R$287

29.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,018

$46.31 R$252

18.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,059

$83.8 R$456

32.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,154

$67.4 R$366

72.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$340 R$1,846

247.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$229 R$1,245

236.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.7K

$634 R$3,445

305.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$456 R$2,481

211.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.6K

$1,567 R$8,517

128.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.3K

$1,165 R$6,334

77.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.18%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Castanhal: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Castanhal

$229 27.8% 70.3% $542

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Castanhal

$180 21.8% 44.5% $144

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Castanhal

$112 13.6% 44.3% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Castanhal

$113 13.7% 28.5% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Castanhal

$102 12.4% 17.8% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Castanhal

$38 4.6% 47.3% $34

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Castanhal

$51 6.2% 104% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $340 in Castanhal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $30 in Castanhal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $180 per month, with Castanhal cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Castanhal

🕒 Local time

05:34 5:34 AM

08:34 8:34 AM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

192,256

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.09 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Castanhal 6,040 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Castanhal

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 Castanhal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Castanhal wins on cost – living expenses run 51% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Castanhal the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,236 in Castanhal to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $340 in Castanhal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Castanhal – a meal for two runs $30 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,674 per month in Mexico City versus $824 in Castanhal – Castanhal is about 51% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Castanhal is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.