Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Cusco

For one person, living is cheaper in Cusco: $690 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Cusco
Learn more

Cusco Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Cusco

🇵🇪 Peru

$690

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $690 in Cusco.

Mexico City $1,608
Cusco $690

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,105 in Cusco.

Mexico City $2,549
Cusco $1,105

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,519 in Cusco.

Mexico City $3,490
Cusco $1,519

Living in Mexico City is roughly 133% more expensive than in Cusco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Cusco is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$2.01 PEN 6.95

428.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$20.14 PEN 69.5

140.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$6.38 PEN 22.01

62.23%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$2.17 PEN 7.48

70.05%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$0.74 PEN 2.54

125.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.33 PEN 1.12

284.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.79 PEN 6.18

78.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.29 PEN 14.81

23.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.29 PEN 4.46

33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$2.33 PEN 8.03

30.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.28 PEN 4.40

51.56%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$3.51 PEN 12.11

-17.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$4.91 PEN 16.94

123.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$4.39 PEN 15.14

110.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.41 PEN 25.58

104.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.67 PEN 9.23

14.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$0.77 PEN 2.66

151.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$1.47 PEN 5.07

38.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$0.91 PEN 3.13

153.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$1.00 PEN 3.44

104.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$1.06 PEN 3.66

69.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$0.53 PEN 1.83

179.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$0.74 PEN 2.56

71.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$5.68 PEN 19.59

183.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.86 PEN 6.44

6.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$4.17 PEN 14.39

1.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.28 PEN 0.95

10.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$1.76 PEN 6.06

4.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.92 PEN 6.62

-72.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$2.88 PEN 9.93

84.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.56 PEN 5.38

-3.21%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$28.5K PEN 98.2K

-15.70%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$29.26 PEN 101

115.24%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$14.44 PEN 49.85

89.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$43.40 PEN 150

-17.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$29.55 PEN 102

99.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$4.43 PEN 15.30

44.47%

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

$432 MX$8,041

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$37.57 PEN 130

81.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$33.55 PEN 116

58.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$53.9 PEN 186

99.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$73.3 PEN 253

60.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$218 PEN 754

409.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$192 PEN 664

269.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$535 PEN 1,846

383.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$426 PEN 1,469

230.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$3,237 PEN 11.2K

12.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,882 PEN 6,496

13.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$430 PEN 1,484

120.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cusco: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Cusco

$192 27.9% 72.9% $518

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Cusco

$188 27.2% 41.2% $132

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Cusco

$83 12% 58.2% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Cusco

$89 12.9% 42.8% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Cusco

$87 12.6% 30.9% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Cusco

$38 5.6% 46.5% $33

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Cusco

$12 * 1.8% 51.1% $13

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $218 in Cusco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.2 times 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: $48 in Mexico City vs $20 in Cusco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $188 per month, with Cusco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇪 Cusco

🕒 Local time

02:17 2:17 AM

03:17 3:17 AM

1 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

428,450

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.85 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Cusco 4,720 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Cusco

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 Cusco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cusco is about 57% 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 2.2 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $218 in Cusco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 70% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cusco – a meal for two runs $20 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $690 in Cusco versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cusco but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Cusco 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 – Cusco wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.