Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Dourados

For one person, living is cheaper in Dourados: $829 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 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 Dourados
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Dourados Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Dourados

🇧🇷 Brazil

$829

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $829 in Dourados.

Mexico City $1,674
Dourados $829

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,320 in Dourados.

Mexico City $2,606
Dourados $1,320

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,812 in Dourados.

Mexico City $3,537
Dourados $1,812

Living in Mexico City is roughly 102% more expensive than in Dourados, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$5.65 R$30.74

87.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$965

$29.64 R$161

75.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$199

$7.12 R$38.73

50.70%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.5

$1.94 R$10.53

95.88%

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

$1.61 MX$29.95

$1.23 R$6.69

30.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.51

$0.70 R$3.80

72.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.0

$1.82 R$9.90

74.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$2.76 R$15.00

97.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.90

$0.99 R$5.36

73.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.1

$1.60 R$8.69

85.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.77

$1.15 R$6.26

67.83%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.5

$2.06 R$11.18

34.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$8.75 R$47.58

33.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$4.13 R$22.45

129.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$8.06 R$43.83

90.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.7

$2.14 R$11.64

44.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.41

$1.24 R$6.72

58.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.81

$1.12 R$6.06

76.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.37

$1.45 R$7.87

61.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.58

$1.18 R$6.42

71.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.88

$1.01 R$5.49

80.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.68

$0.75 R$4.10

105.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.37

$0.72 R$3.93

81.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.4

$2.26 R$12.29

136.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$7.52 R$40.89

115.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.38

$1.18 R$6.41

66.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.8

$1.99 R$10.81

118.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.66

$1.00 R$5.45

-70.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$362

$42.59 R$232

-54.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.61

$1.19 R$6.44

61.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.78

$0.79 R$4.28

-40.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$100

$7.43 R$40.38

-27.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.55

$1.23 R$6.66

20.33%

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

$21.4K MX$396.9K

$21.6K R$117.3K

-0.92%

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

$23.8K MX$441.2K

$31.0K R$168.6K

-23.42%

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

$62.0 MX$1,151

$71.5 R$389

-13.28%

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

$28.47 MX$529

$11.50 R$62.5

147.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$634

$19.92 R$108

71.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,084

$24.60 R$134

137.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$455

$26.18 R$142

-6.42%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$122

$6.87 R$37.35

-4.08%

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

$434 MX$8,064

$257 R$1,399

68.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$260.7K

$6,614 R$36.0K

112.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,269

$51.1 R$278

33.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,018

$45.81 R$249

19.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,059

$84.7 R$461

30.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,154

$67.7 R$368

71.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$335 R$1,823

251.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$229 R$1,247

236.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.7K

$639 R$3,472

302.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$453 R$2,462

213.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.6K

$1,568 R$8,525

128.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.3K

$1,133 R$6,158

82.23%

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 Dourados: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Dourados

$229 27.7% 70.2% $541

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Dourados

$182 21.9% 43.8% $142

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Dourados

$112 13.5% 44.1% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Dourados

$112 13.6% 28.7% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Dourados

$103 12.4% 17.4% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Dourados

$38 4.6% 46.4% $33

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Dourados

$52 6.2% 107% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $335 in Dourados. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $30 in Dourados for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $182 per month, with Dourados cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Dourados

🕒 Local time

09:48 9:48 AM

11:48 11:48 AM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

243,367

💱 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 Dourados 6,680 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Dourados

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 Dourados: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dourados wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Dourados the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,243 in Dourados 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 $335 in Dourados. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 78% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Dourados – 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.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Dourados 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.