Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Palmas

For one person, living is cheaper in Palmas: $830 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Palmas
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Palmas Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Palmas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$830

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $830 in Palmas.

Mexico City $1,674
Palmas $830

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,281 in Palmas.

Mexico City $2,606
Palmas $1,281

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,733 in Palmas.

Mexico City $3,537
Palmas $1,733

Living in Mexico City is roughly 102% more expensive than in Palmas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Palmas is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$199

$3.83 R$21.01

176.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$978

$21.86 R$120

137.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$202

$7.41 R$40.65

44.80%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.4

$1.73 R$9.48

119.65%

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

$1.61 MX$30.35

$1.63 R$8.96

-1.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.81

$0.81 R$4.45

49.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.8

$1.46 R$7.99

117.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$2.72 R$14.91

100.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.02 R$5.60

68.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.8

$1.34 R$7.36

121.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.24

$2.76 R$15.15

-30.07%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$52.2

$2.41 R$13.24

14.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$220

$6.62 R$36.36

76.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$178

$2.95 R$16.20

221.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$289

$5.75 R$31.58

167.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.4

$2.18 R$11.97

42.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.90

$1.56 R$8.57

25.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.30

$1.13 R$6.21

75.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.95

$1.08 R$5.93

116.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.08

$1.19 R$6.51

69.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.34

$1.04 R$5.72

75.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$29.06

$0.75 R$4.13

105.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.70

$0.71 R$3.90

84.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$101

$2.06 R$11.30

159.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$305

$6.42 R$35.25

152.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.87

$1.24 R$6.81

58.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.9

$2.01 R$11.02

116.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.74

$0.74 R$4.09

-59.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$367

$41.72 R$229

-53.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$36.08

$1.30 R$7.14

47.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.90

$0.70 R$3.83

-32.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$102

$6.26 R$34.35

-13.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.92

$1.11 R$6.08

33.33%

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

$21.4K MX$402.2K

$19.7K R$108.0K

8.61%

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

$23.8K MX$447.1K

$30.8K R$169.3K

-22.99%

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

$62.0 MX$1,167

$106 R$581

-41.42%

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

$28.47 MX$536

$10.92 R$59.9

160.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$642

$18.50 R$102

84.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,099

$21.99 R$121

165.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$461

$26.12 R$143

-6.20%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$124

$6.13 R$33.62

7.50%

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

$434 MX$8,172

$142 R$779

206.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$264.1K

$6,428 R$35.3K

118.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,286

$33.94 R$186

101.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,031

$49.29 R$271

11.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,086

$106 R$582

4.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,183

$66.9 R$367

73.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.2K

$309 R$1,696

281.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.5K

$233 R$1,276

231.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.4K

$611 R$3,354

320.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.7K

$461 R$2,532

207.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.5K

$1,616 R$8,869

121.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.8K

$1,140 R$6,257

81.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.18%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Palmas: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Palmas

$233 28% 69.8% $538

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Palmas

$167 20.1% 48.5% $157

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Palmas

$96 11.6% 52.1% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Palmas

$115 13.9% 26.8% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Palmas

$135 16.3% 8.6% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Palmas

$34 4.1% 52.1% $37

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Palmas

$49 6% 98% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $309 in Palmas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $22 in Palmas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $167 per month, with Palmas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Palmas

🕒 Local time

00:35 12:35 AM

03:35 3:35 AM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

302,692

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Palmas 6,470 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Palmas

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 Palmas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $830 in Palmas, so Palmas is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,244 in Palmas 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $309 in Palmas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 53% less than in Palmas. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $142 in Palmas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $830 in Palmas versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Palmas but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Palmas 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.