Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Castries

For one person, living is cheaper in Castries: $1,438 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Castries
Learn more

Castries Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Castries

🇱🇨 Saint Lucia

$1,438

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,548 per month in Mexico City vs $1,438 in Castries, rent included.

Mexico City $1,548
Castries $1,438

A couple spends around $2,436 per month in Mexico City vs $2,357 in Castries, rent included.

Mexico City $2,436
Castries $2,357

A family of three spends $3,323 per month in Mexico City vs $3,276 in Castries, rent included.

Mexico City $3,323
Castries $3,276

Mexico City costs about 8% more than Castries, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Mexico City and Castries sit above the global median – Mexico City by 14%, Castries by 6%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$9.45 EC$25.52

16.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$73.8 EC$199

-34.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$8.56 EC$23.12

27.34%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.81 EC$10.29

-3.41%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$1.98 EC$5.34

-17.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.98 EC$2.65

27.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.81 EC$7.58

15.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$3.24 EC$8.75

70.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$2.03 EC$5.48

-16.26%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.81 EC$4.88

66.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.65 EC$4.46

16.36%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$4.74 EC$12.81

-42.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$11.00 EC$29.69

7.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$9.06 EC$24.46

5.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$14.50 EC$39.15

-0.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$8.79 EC$23.73

-65.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.61 EC$4.34

17.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$8.28 EC$22.36

-75.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$14.53 EC$39.22

-84.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$3.45 EC$9.31

-44.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.99 EC$5.37

-6.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$2.28 EC$6.16

-36.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.28 EC$3.47

-0.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$9.17 EC$24.77

-43.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$10.99 EC$29.66

47.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$2.21 EC$5.97

-14.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$5.40 EC$14.57

-21.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$1.08 EC$2.93

-68.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$9.47 EC$25.57

-78.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.56 EC$4.21

-2.56%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$26.0K EC$70.1K

-14.99%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$37.1K EC$100.2K

-33.97%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$121 EC$327

-49.56%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$87.8 EC$237

-67.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$49.26 EC$133

-30.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$41.19 EC$111

36.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$5.67 EC$15.30

17.46%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$214 EC$579

99.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$82.1 EC$222

-17.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$50.8 EC$137

2.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$109 EC$294

-2.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$112 EC$301

0.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$449 EC$1,212

128.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$347 EC$937

88.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,222 EC$3,300

88.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$707 EC$1,910

75.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$102 EC$274

3457.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$64.5 EC$174

2901.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$1,093 EC$2,952

-11.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

7.75

45.81%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Castries: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Castries

$347 24.2% 46.9% $307

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Castries

$428 29.7% 34.5% $110

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Castries

$179 12.5% 12% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Castries

$159 11.1% 4.4% $6.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Castries

$258 18% 108% $134

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Castries

$53 3.7% 24.6% $17

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Castries

$14 * 1% 46.1% $12

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,025 in Mexico City versus $449 in Castries. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 13% higher in Castries, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $49.00 in Mexico City versus $74.0 in Castries. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $318 vs $428 – making Mexico City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇱🇨 Castries

🕒 Local time

23:07 11:07 PM

01:07 1:07 AM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

22,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

East Caribbean Dollar XCD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 XCD = 0.37 USD

1 XCD = 0.329 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XCD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

East Caribbean Dollar exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 2.7 XCD (1 XCD = 0.37 USD). 1 EUR = 3.04 XCD (1 XCD = 0.329 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Castries 4,100 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Castries

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 Castries: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City costs about 8% more than Castries, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,322 per month in Mexico City and $2,157 in Castries. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Castries, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,548 in Mexico City and $1,438 in Castries. That's a gap of about 8%.

Kindergarten costs $427 per month in Mexico City and $214 in Castries. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Castries, where all-in costs run around $1,438, than in Mexico City at $1,548. In Castries it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Castries costs $1,438 versus $1,548 in Mexico City. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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