Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Dumaguete

For one person, living is cheaper in Dumaguete: $790 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Dumaguete
Learn more

Dumaguete Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Dumaguete

🇵🇭 Philippines

$790

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $790 in Dumaguete.

Mexico City $1,608
Dumaguete $790

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,195 in Dumaguete.

Mexico City $2,549
Dumaguete $1,195

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,600 in Dumaguete.

Mexico City $3,490
Dumaguete $1,600

Living in Mexico City is roughly 104% more expensive than in Dumaguete, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Dumaguete is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$3.82 ₱242

178.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$15.47 ₱982

212.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.23 ₱268

144.68%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$2.22 ₱141

66.22%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$0.72 ₱45.42

131.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.43 ₱27.00

195.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$1.37 ₱86.9

132.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$1.83 ₱116

190.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.66 ₱105

3.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$1.31 ₱83.3

132.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$0.92 ₱58.6

110.87%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$1.79 ₱113

61.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$8.57 ₱544

28.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$4.40 ₱279

110.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$6.86 ₱436

120.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$1.54 ₱97.6

98.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.27 ₱80.8

52.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$3.44 ₱218

-40.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$1.28 ₱81.0

80.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$2.52 ₱160

-19.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$1.58 ₱100

13.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$0.81 ₱51.7

82.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.57 ₱36.14

122.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$2.32 ₱148

128.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$8.45 ₱537

90.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$1.14 ₱72.3

73.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$1.27 ₱80.7

234.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$0.30 ₱18.99

3.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$11.33 ₱720

74.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$0.69 ₱43.72

166.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$0.15 ₱9.38

253.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$2.13 ₱135

148.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$1.09 ₱69.3

38.53%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$20.2K ₱1.3M

7.54%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

26.02%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$66.5 ₱4,220

-5.22%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$9.65 ₱613

183.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$26.12 ₱1,659

36.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$31.13 ₱1,977

89.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

$3.83 ₱243

517.23%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$7.19 ₱457

-10.99%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$56.4 ₱3,585

664.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$1,650 ₱104.8K

592.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$93.0 ₱5,908

-26.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$31.24 ₱1,984

70.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$100 ₱6,372

7.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$111 ₱7,020

6.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$233 ₱14.8K

377.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$202 ₱12.9K

251.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$416 ₱26.4K

521.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$344 ₱21.9K

308.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$3,045 ₱193.4K

19.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$674 ₱42.8K

216.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$278 ₱17.6K

240.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

62.14%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Dumaguete: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Dumaguete

$202 25.6% 71.5% $508

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Dumaguete

$190 24.1% 40.5% $129

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Dumaguete

$85 10.8% 57.3% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Dumaguete

$151 19.1% 3.3% $5.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Dumaguete

$102 12.9% 18.9% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Dumaguete

$46 5.8% 36.5% $26

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Dumaguete

$14 1.8% 45.2% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $233 in Dumaguete. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $15 in Dumaguete for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $190 per month, with Dumaguete cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 Dumaguete

🕒 Local time

13:12 1:12 PM

03:12 3:12 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

134,103

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.51 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 70.87 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Dumaguete 14,370 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Dumaguete

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 Dumaguete: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $790 in Dumaguete, so Dumaguete is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 3.4 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 $233 in Dumaguete. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $790 in Dumaguete – Dumaguete is about 51% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Dumaguete runs roughly 43% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $790 in Dumaguete versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Dumaguete but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Dumaguete the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dumaguete is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Mexico City, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Dumaguete gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.