Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Manzanillo

For one person, living is cheaper in Manzanillo: $1,200 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Manzanillo
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Manzanillo Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Manzanillo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,200

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,200 in Manzanillo.

Mexico City $1,674
Manzanillo $1,200

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $2,100 in Manzanillo.

Mexico City $2,606
Manzanillo $2,100

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $3,000 in Manzanillo.

Mexico City $3,537
Manzanillo $3,000

Living in Mexico City is roughly 40% more expensive than in Manzanillo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Manzanillo is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$10.88 MX$202

-2.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$32.44 MX$604

60.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$10.92 MX$203

-1.74%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.7

$3.71 MX$69.1

2.43%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.14 MX$21.14

41.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$1.12 MX$20.81

8.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$2.11 MX$39.23

50.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$4.31 MX$80.2

26.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.51 MX$28.04

13.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$2.53 MX$47.10

17.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$1.16 MX$21.54

66.38%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$2.07 MX$38.50

33.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$8.01 MX$149

45.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$5.42 MX$101

74.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$9.44 MX$176

62.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$2.87 MX$53.4

8.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.38 MX$25.67

42.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$1.73 MX$32.21

14.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$1.46 MX$27.23

60.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$2.31 MX$42.95

-12.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$1.65 MX$30.77

10.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.83 MX$34.15

-15.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$1.16 MX$21.53

12.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$5.31 MX$98.9

0.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$6.36 MX$118

154.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.80 MX$33.46

8.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.44 MX$45.32

78.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.75 MX$13.94

-60.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$2.39 MX$44.54

-19.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$2.48 MX$46.14

-81.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$8.20 MX$153

-34.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.41 MX$26.16

4.96%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$23.9K MX$445.2K

-10.66%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$23.3K MX$434.3K

1.78%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$64.1 MX$1,193

-3.29%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$19.79 MX$368

43.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$28.60 MX$532

19.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$65.8 MX$1,224

-11.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$31.67 MX$589

-22.64%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$4.34 MX$80.8

51.84%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$162 MX$3,022

167.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$8,458 MX$157.4K

65.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$42.68 MX$794

60.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$24.94 MX$464

119.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$73.9 MX$1,376

49.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,159

$114 MX$2,112

2.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$660 MX$12.3K

78.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$460 MX$8,560

67.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$1,531 MX$28.5K

67.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$1,322 MX$24.6K

7.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

$402 MX$7,485

149.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

11.3

0.44%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Manzanillo: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Manzanillo

$460 38.3% 40.3% $311

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Manzanillo

$228 19% 29.7% $96

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Manzanillo

$193 16.1% 4% $8

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Manzanillo

$115 9.6% 27.1% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Manzanillo

$112 9.4% 9.7% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Manzanillo

$74 6.2% 4.1% $2.9

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Manzanillo

$18 * 1.5% 28.8% $7.2

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 $1,179 in Mexico City and $660 in Manzanillo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $32 in Manzanillo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $228 per month, with Manzanillo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇽 Manzanillo

🕒 Local time

20:03 8:03 PM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

159,853

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Manzanillo 550 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Manzanillo

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 Manzanillo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,200 in Manzanillo, so Manzanillo is about 28% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 2.5 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $660 in Manzanillo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,674 per month in Mexico City versus $1,200 in Manzanillo – Manzanillo is about 28% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Manzanillo gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Manzanillo 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.

It comes down to priorities – Manzanillo wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.