Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Paulo Afonso

For one person, living is cheaper in Paulo Afonso: $823 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 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 Paulo Afonso
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Paulo Afonso Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Paulo Afonso

🇧🇷 Brazil

$823

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Paulo Afonso

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $823 in Paulo Afonso.

Mexico City $1,674
Paulo Afonso $823

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,313 in Paulo Afonso.

Mexico City $2,606
Paulo Afonso $1,313

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,804 in Paulo Afonso.

Mexico City $3,537
Paulo Afonso $1,804

Living in Mexico City is roughly 103% more expensive than in Paulo Afonso, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$199

$5.61 R$30.77

88.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$978

$30.09 R$165

72.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$202

$7.32 R$40.18

46.58%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.4

$1.84 R$10.08

106.52%

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

$1.61 MX$30.35

$1.19 R$6.52

35.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.81

$0.71 R$3.87

70.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.8

$1.89 R$10.39

68.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$2.77 R$15.19

96.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$0.94 R$5.14

82.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.8

$1.59 R$8.75

86.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.24

$1.16 R$6.38

66.38%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$52.2

$2.06 R$11.32

34.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$220

$8.75 R$48.03

33.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$178

$3.95 R$21.70

140.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$289

$7.76 R$42.60

98.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.4

$2.05 R$11.26

51.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.90

$1.19 R$6.53

64.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.30

$1.13 R$6.20

75.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.95

$1.46 R$8.02

60.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.08

$1.12 R$6.14

80.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.34

$1.00 R$5.47

82.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$29.06

$0.73 R$3.98

110.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.70

$0.78 R$4.26

67.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$101

$2.27 R$12.47

135.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$305

$7.31 R$40.09

121.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.87

$1.17 R$6.43

67.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.9

$1.99 R$10.90

118.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.74

$0.98 R$5.36

-69.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$367

$41.38 R$227

-52.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$36.08

$1.24 R$6.80

54.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.90

$0.78 R$4.31

-39.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$102

$7.58 R$41.58

-28.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.92

$1.16 R$6.38

27.59%

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

$21.4K MX$402.2K

$22.2K R$121.9K

-3.75%

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

$23.8K MX$447.1K

$31.7K R$173.8K

-24.96%

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

$62.0 MX$1,167

$72.3 R$397

-14.28%

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

$28.47 MX$536

$11.46 R$62.9

148.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$642

$19.41 R$107

75.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,099

$24.60 R$135

137.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$461

$25.69 R$141

-4.63%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$124

$6.59 R$36.19

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

$434 MX$8,172

$263 R$1,442

65.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$264.1K

$6,731 R$36.9K

108.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,286

$51.1 R$281

33.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,031

$45.74 R$251

19.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,086

$84.7 R$465

30.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,183

$66.1 R$363

75.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.2K

$338 R$1,853

249.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.5K

$230 R$1,262

235.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.4K

$629 R$3,452

308.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.7K

$457 R$2,510

210.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.5K

$1,562 R$8,571

129.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.8K

$1,155 R$6,340

78.69%

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 Paulo Afonso: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Paulo Afonso

$230 27.9% 70.2% $541

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Paulo Afonso

$179 21.7% 44.8% $145

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Paulo Afonso

$111 13.5% 44.4% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Paulo Afonso

$111 13.5% 29.2% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Paulo Afonso

$103 12.5% 17.2% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Paulo Afonso

$38 4.6% 47.2% $34

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Paulo Afonso

$50 6.1% 102% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $338 in Paulo Afonso. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $30 in Paulo Afonso for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $179 per month, with Paulo Afonso cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Paulo Afonso

🕒 Local time

00:16 12:16 AM

03:16 3:16 AM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

112,870

💱 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 Paulo Afonso 7,400 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Paulo Afonso

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 Paulo Afonso: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $823 in Paulo Afonso, so Paulo Afonso is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,234 in Paulo Afonso 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 $338 in Paulo Afonso. 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 Paulo Afonso. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $263 in Paulo Afonso. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Paulo Afonso 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.