Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Maracaibo

For one person, living is cheaper in Maracaibo: $784 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 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 Maracaibo
Learn more

Maracaibo Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Maracaibo

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$784

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $784 in Maracaibo.

Mexico City $1,608
Maracaibo $784

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,297 in Maracaibo.

Mexico City $2,549
Maracaibo $1,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,811 in Maracaibo.

Mexico City $3,490
Maracaibo $1,811

Living in Mexico City is roughly 105% more expensive than in Maracaibo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$10.33 VES 9,159

2.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$39.75 VES 35.2K

21.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$8.77 VES 7,774

18.02%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$2.75 VES 2,441

34.18%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$1.15 VES 1,020

45.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$1.31 VES 1,159

-3.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$2.21 VES 1,963

44.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$3.08 VES 2,728

72.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.97 VES 1,744

-12.69%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$2.11 VES 1,874

44.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.07 VES 953

81.31%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$3.78 VES 3,350

-23.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$6.55 VES 5,808

67.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$6.38 VES 5,660

44.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.37 VES 6,532

105.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$4.82 VES 4,277

-36.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.36 VES 1,202

42.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$1.56 VES 1,385

30.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$1.36 VES 1,205

69.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$1.23 VES 1,095

65.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$1.74 VES 1,543

3.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$1.02 VES 903

45.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$1.98 VES 1,757

-35.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$2.93 VES 2,597

80.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$9.08 VES 8,054

77.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.09 VES 967

81.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$2.62 VES 2,325

62.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.47 VES 416

-34.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$42.53 VES 37.7K

-53.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$4.08 VES 3,621

-54.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.95 VES 1,729

-72.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$17.66 VES 15.7K

-69.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$0.74 VES 657

104.05%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$15.2K VES 13.4M

43.55%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$27.6K VES 24.5M

-13.06%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$62.5 VES 55.4K

0.83%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$7.45 VES 6,604

267.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$25.27 VES 22.4K

41.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$33.17 VES 29.4K

77.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$28.71 VES 25.5K

-17.66%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$4.89 VES 4,332

30.88%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$148 VES 131.0K

192.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$7,133 VES 6.3M

60.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$27.31 VES 24.2K

149.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$32.34 VES 28.7K

64.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$61.9 VES 54.9K

74.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$56.7 VES 50.2K

107.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$159 VES 141.2K

599.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$95.2 VES 84.4K

646.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$301 VES 266.8K

760.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$196 VES 174.0K

616.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$765 VES 678.3K

374.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$508 VES 450.0K

320.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$215 VES 190.8K

339.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

-43.25%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Maracaibo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Maracaibo

$95 12.1% 86.6% $615

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Maracaibo

$243 31% 23.9% $76

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Maracaibo

$169 21.6% 14.9% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Maracaibo

$80 10.2% 48.6% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Maracaibo

$95 12.1% 24.5% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Maracaibo

$43 5.5% 40.1% $29

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Maracaibo

$58 7.4% 129% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $159 in Maracaibo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 4.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $40 in Maracaibo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $243 per month, with Maracaibo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇻🇪 Maracaibo

🕒 Local time

02:59 2:59 AM

04:59 4:59 AM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

2,000,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 VES = 1.13 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, 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).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 887 VES (1,000 VES = 1.13 USD). 1 EUR = 989 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Maracaibo 3,100 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Maracaibo

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 Maracaibo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Maracaibo is about 51% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 4.4 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 $159 in Maracaibo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $148 in Maracaibo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $784 in Maracaibo versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Maracaibo but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Maracaibo 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 – Maracaibo wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.