Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Pasay

For one person, living is cheaper in Pasay: $898 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Pasay
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Pasay Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Pasay

🇵🇭 Philippines

$898

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $898 in Pasay.

Mexico City $1,608
Pasay $898

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,224 in Pasay.

Mexico City $2,549
Pasay $1,224

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,551 in Pasay.

Mexico City $3,490
Pasay $1,551

Living in Mexico City is roughly 79% more expensive than in Pasay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Pasay is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$4.39 ₱280

141.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$18.79 ₱1,197

157.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$2.79 ₱178

270.97%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.12 ₱135

74.06%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$0.59 ₱37.35

183.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.33 ₱21.23

284.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$1.15 ₱73.4

177.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$1.54 ₱98.0

244.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.63 ₱104

5.52%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.16 ₱74.0

162.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.02 ₱65.1

90.20%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$1.83 ₱116

57.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$4.97 ₱316

120.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$4.23 ₱270

118.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$6.83 ₱435

121.52%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$2.19 ₱140

39.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.56 ₱99.5

24.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$2.34 ₱149

-13.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$1.11 ₱70.5

108.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$2.33 ₱148

-12.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$3.27 ₱208

-44.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.23 ₱78.1

20.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.85 ₱54.2

49.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$2.96 ₱188

79.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$7.56 ₱482

112.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$0.88 ₱56.1

125.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$1.73 ₱110

145.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.20 ₱12.46

55.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$0.80 ₱51.2

130.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$0.21 ₱13.36

152.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$1.89 ₱120

180.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.23 ₱78.4

22.76%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$20.6K ₱1.3M

5.56%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$19.2K ₱1.2M

24.67%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$139 ₱8,862

-54.74%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$14.40 ₱917

90.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$24.03 ₱1,530

48.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$47.26 ₱3,010

24.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$4.99 ₱318

28.26%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$70.6 ₱4,497

511.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$2,430 ₱154.8K

370.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$34.90 ₱2,223

95.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$19.11 ₱1,217

178.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$70.2 ₱4,473

53.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$62.5 ₱3,983

87.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$427 ₱27.2K

160.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$312 ₱19.9K

127.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$828 ₱52.7K

212.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$366 ₱23.3K

284.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$1,864 ₱118.8K

94.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$567 ₱36.1K

276.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$512 ₱32.6K

84.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

62.14%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Pasay: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Pasay

$312 34.8% 56% $398

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Pasay

$183 20.4% 42.8% $137

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Pasay

$81 9.1% 59% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Pasay

$84 9.4% 46.1% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Pasay

$178 19.8% 40.9% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Pasay

$57 6.4% 20.2% $14

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Pasay

$2.6 * 0.3% 89.7% $23

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $427 in Pasay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 85% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $19 in Pasay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $183 per month, with Pasay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 Pasay

🕒 Local time

00:09 12:09 AM

14:09 2:09 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

416,522

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.69 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.12 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Pasay 14,220 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Pasay

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 Pasay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $898 in Pasay, so Pasay is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 85% higher in Mexico City, 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 $427 in Pasay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $71 in Pasay. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Pasay – a meal for two runs $19 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $898 in Pasay versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Pasay but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Pasay 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 – Pasay wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.