Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and El Viejo

For one person, living is cheaper in El Viejo: $818 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 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
39

Cost of Living Index in El Viejo
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El Viejo Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

El Viejo

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$818

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in El Viejo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $818 in El Viejo.

Mexico City $1,608
El Viejo $818

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,280 in El Viejo.

Mexico City $2,549
El Viejo $1,280

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,741 in El Viejo.

Mexico City $3,490
El Viejo $1,741

Living in Mexico City is roughly 97% more expensive than in El Viejo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, El Viejo is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$10.08 NIO 369

5.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$35.12 NIO 1,286

37.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$7.57 NIO 277

36.72%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$2.58 NIO 94.3

43.02%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$0.91 NIO 33.29

83.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.69 NIO 25.33

84.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.48 NIO 54.1

115.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.26 NIO 82.9

134.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.26 NIO 46.10

36.51%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$2.33 NIO 85.5

30.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.87 NIO 68.4

3.74%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.39 NIO 87.6

20.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$11.51 NIO 422

-4.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$6.35 NIO 233

45.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.56 NIO 277

100.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$4.11 NIO 150

-25.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$0.62 NIO 22.84

212.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$1.75 NIO 64.2

16.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$2.50 NIO 91.5

-7.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$3.97 NIO 145

-48.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$2.17 NIO 79.6

-17.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$1.08 NIO 39.61

37.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$1.02 NIO 37.18

24.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$2.81 NIO 103

88.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$14.95 NIO 548

7.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.41 NIO 51.6

40.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$2.23 NIO 81.8

90.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$1.65 NIO 60.5

11.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.60 NIO 58.6

-66.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$6.74 NIO 247

-21.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.36 NIO 49.65

11.03%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$23.4K NIO 856.6K

-6.99%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$26.8K NIO 981.2K

-10.47%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$151 NIO 5,540

-58.37%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$19.54 NIO 716

40.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$31.99 NIO 1,172

11.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$8.93 NIO 327

-28.33%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$234 NIO 8,571

84.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$5,960 NIO 218.3K

91.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$59.0 NIO 2,162

15.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$65.7 NIO 2,407

-19.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$122 NIO 4,467

-11.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$142 NIO 5,212

-17.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

11.92

-4.78%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for El Viejo: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

El Viejo

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

El Viejo

$260 31.8% 18.7% $60

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

El Viejo

$153 18.7% 23.2% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

El Viejo

$175 21.4% 12.3% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

El Viejo

$203 24.8% 60.9% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

El Viejo

$18 * 2.2% 75.1% $54

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

El Viejo

$9.7 * 1.2% 62.1% $16

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $35 in El Viejo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $260 per month, with El Viejo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇳🇮 El Viejo

🕒 Local time

18:15 6:15 PM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

33,607

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, 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 = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 40.77 NIO (100 NIO = 2.45 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City El Viejo 1,480 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
El Viejo

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 El Viejo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Viejo is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,227 in El Viejo 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.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $234 in El Viejo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in El Viejo – a meal for two runs $35 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $818 in El Viejo versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in El Viejo but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes El Viejo 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.