Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Passos

For one person, living is cheaper in Passos: $956 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Passos
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Passos Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Passos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $956 in Passos.

Mexico City $1,548
Passos $956

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,537 in Passos.

Mexico City $2,436
Passos $1,537

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,119 in Passos.

Mexico City $3,323
Passos $2,119

Living in Mexico City is roughly 62% more expensive than in Passos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Passos is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$10.06 R$51.0

9.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$35.57 R$180

36.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$8.86 R$44.91

23.02%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.28 R$11.54

61.40%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$1.34 R$6.80

21.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.95 R$4.80

31.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.44 R$12.39

33.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$4.05 R$20.51

36.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.06 R$5.40

60.38%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.05 R$10.40

47.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.37 R$6.95

40.15%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.61 R$13.22

4.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$10.74 R$54.4

9.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$4.97 R$25.18

91.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$10.75 R$54.5

34.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.34 R$11.87

29.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.66 R$8.42

13.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$1.53 R$7.76

30.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$1.37 R$6.94

59.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.30 R$6.60

47.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.24 R$6.29

50.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$0.99 R$5.01

45.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.85 R$4.31

49.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$2.43 R$12.34

114.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$8.08 R$40.96

100.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.56 R$7.89

21.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.51 R$12.74

68.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$1.00 R$5.05

-66.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$43.39 R$220

-54.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$1.17 R$5.93

70.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$0.72 R$3.66

-27.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$8.38 R$42.46

-36.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.28 R$6.48

18.75%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$24.0K R$121.6K

-7.97%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$32.0K R$162.0K

-23.32%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$67.4 R$342

-9.43%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$15.00 R$76.1

90.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$22.66 R$115

52.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$25.76 R$131

118.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$27.49 R$139

-9.49%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$8.17 R$41.40

-18.48%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$443 R$2,246

-3.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$10.8K R$54.8K

7.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$64.4 R$326

5.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$57.0 R$289

-8.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$88.5 R$449

19.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$79.4 R$402

41.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$354 R$1,797

189.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$242 R$1,225

170.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$687 R$3,485

235.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$475 R$2,410

161.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$1,693 R$8,582

113.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,181 R$5,984

63.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$419 R$2,122

130.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

10.81

4.53%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Passos: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Passos

$242 25.3% 63.1% $413

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Passos

$221 23.1% 30.7% $98

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Passos

$164 17.2% 19.6% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Passos

$130 13.6% 14.5% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Passos

$105 11% 15.3% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Passos

$42 4.4% 39.6% $28

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Passos

$52 5.5% 104% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $354 in Passos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 130% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $36.00 in Passos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $221 per month, with Passos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Passos

🕒 Local time

21:51 9:51 PM

00:51 12:51 AM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

111,939

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Mexico City Passos 7,250 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Passos

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 Passos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Passos differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $956 including rent). Passos is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 130% 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $354 in Passos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Passos runs roughly 121% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $443 in Passos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $956 in Passos versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Passos but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Passos 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.

Expats usually find Passos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.