Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Pago Pago

For one person, living is cheaper in Pago Pago: $1,479 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Pago Pago
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Pago Pago Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Pago Pago

🇦🇸 American Samoa

$1,479

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,479 in Pago Pago.

Mexico City $1,674
Pago Pago $1,479

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $2,291 in Pago Pago.

Mexico City $2,606
Pago Pago $2,291

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $3,102 in Pago Pago.

Mexico City $3,537
Pago Pago $3,102

Living in Mexico City is roughly 13% more expensive than in Pago Pago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 24% above, Pago Pago 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$198

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$972

$36.28 $36.28

43.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$201

$10.05 $10.05

6.77%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.0

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

$1.61 MX$30.16

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.67

$0.98 $0.98

23.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$3.97 $3.97

37.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$2.62 $2.62

-34.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.5

$2.92 $2.92

1.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.02

$4.41 $4.41

-56.24%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.9

$4.61 $4.61

-39.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$218

$10.08 $10.08

15.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$177

$10.08 $10.08

-5.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$288

$11.57 $11.57

32.84%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.1

$6.03 $6.03

-48.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.67

$1.03 $1.03

90.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.07

$3.06 $3.06

-35.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.68

$3.97 $3.97

-41.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.85

$4.09 $4.09

-50.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.13

$3.95 $3.95

-53.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.89

$1.99 $1.99

-22.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.54

$2.03 $2.03

-35.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$100

$11.37 $11.37

-52.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$303

$14.86 $14.86

8.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.64

$0.99 $0.99

97.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.4

$2.93 $2.93

48.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.70

$2.02 $2.02

-85.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$365

$126 $126

-84.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.86

$4.95 $4.95

-61.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.84

$1.95 $1.95

-75.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$29.48 $29.48

-81.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.75

$1.36 $1.36

8.82%

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

$21.4K MX$399.7K

$30.2K $30.2K

-29.18%

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

$23.8K MX$444.3K

$19.7K $19.7K

20.87%

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

$62.0 MX$1,160

$411 $411

-84.91%

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

$28.47 MX$533

$29.94 $29.94

-4.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$638

$73.9 $73.9

-53.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,092

$50.9 $50.9

14.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$458

$10.12 $10.12

142.09%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$8.75 $8.75

-24.69%

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

$434 MX$8,122

$994 $994

-56.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$262.5K

$10.1K $10.1K

38.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,278

$69.9 $69.9

-2.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,025

$50.2 $50.2

9.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,073

$79.9 $79.9

38.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,169

$99.1 $99.1

17.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.1K

$326 $326

262.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.4K

$202 $202

280.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.1K

$901 $901

185.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.6K

$706 $706

100.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.1K

$17.5K $17.5K

-79.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.6K

$10.7K $10.7K

-80.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.8K

$1,194 $1,194

-16.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

278.33%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Pago Pago: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Pago Pago

$202 13.7% 73.7% $568

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Pago Pago

$368 24.9% 13.8% $45

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Pago Pago

$42 * 2.8% 79.1% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Pago Pago

$135 9.1% 14.6% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Pago Pago

$515 34.8% 313% $390

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Pago Pago

$68 4.6% 4.3% $3.1

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Pago Pago

$149 10.1% 496% $124

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 $326 in Pago Pago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pago Pago pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $36 in Pago Pago. Groceries flip the comparison at $324 vs $368, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇦🇸 Pago Pago

🕒 Local time

20:17 8:17 PM

15:17 3:17 PM

5 h behind Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

11,500 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 USD = 0.895 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.895 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Pago Pago 8,680 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Pago Pago

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 Pago Pago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,479 in Pago Pago, so Pago Pago is about 12% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 16% lower in Mexico City. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $326 in Pago Pago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 85% less than in Pago Pago. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $994 in Pago Pago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Pago Pago 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.