Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Piedras Negras

For one person, living is cheaper in Piedras Negras: $1,143 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Piedras Negras
Learn more

Piedras Negras Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Piedras Negras

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,143

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Piedras Negras

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,143 in Piedras Negras.

Mexico City $1,548
Piedras Negras $1,143

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,832 in Piedras Negras.

Mexico City $2,436
Piedras Negras $1,832

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,521 in Piedras Negras.

Mexico City $3,323
Piedras Negras $2,521

Living in Mexico City is roughly 35% more expensive than in Piedras Negras, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Piedras Negras is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$11.07 MX$204

-0.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$44.31 MX$819

9.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$8.74 MX$162

24.71%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.64 MX$67.3

1.10%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$1.40 MX$25.83

16.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$1.06 MX$19.54

17.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.41 MX$44.57

34.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$4.00 MX$73.9

38.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.59 MX$29.34

6.92%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.67 MX$49.36

13.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.67 MX$30.82

14.97%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.43 MX$44.94

12.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$8.38 MX$155

40.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$8.51 MX$157

11.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$11.31 MX$209

27.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.72 MX$50.2

11.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.54 MX$28.45

22.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$1.93 MX$35.67

3.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$1.80 MX$33.34

21.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.93 MX$35.59

-0.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.82 MX$33.71

2.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.43 MX$26.41

0.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.12 MX$20.73

13.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$4.28 MX$79.1

21.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$10.39 MX$192

55.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.76 MX$32.46

7.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$3.23 MX$59.7

30.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.64 MX$11.90

-46.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$2.54 MX$46.95

-21.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$2.01 MX$37.21

-74.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$10.83 MX$200

-50.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.29 MX$23.90

17.83%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$20.9K MX$386.5K

5.54%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$23.9K MX$442.6K

2.34%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$58.1 MX$1,073

5.17%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$23.02 MX$425

24.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$29.92 MX$553

15.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$33.75 MX$624

66.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$19.83 MX$366

25.47%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$5.33 MX$98.5

24.95%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$219 MX$4,051

94.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$4,618 MX$85.3K

151.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$54.9 MX$1,015

23.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$40.64 MX$751

27.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$99.3 MX$1,835

6.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$90.7 MX$1,675

24.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$599 MX$11.1K

71.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$391 MX$7,221

67.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,038 MX$19.2K

122.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$753 MX$13.9K

65.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$1,878 MX$34.7K

92.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,167 MX$21.6K

65.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$1,645 MX$30.4K

-41.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Piedras Negras: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Piedras Negras

$391 34.2% 40.3% $263

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Piedras Negras

$265 23.2% 16.8% $53

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Piedras Negras

$188 16.5% 7.6% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Piedras Negras

$128 11.2% 15.6% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Piedras Negras

$111 9.7% 10.6% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Piedras Negras

$44 3.9% 36.3% $25

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Piedras Negras

$15 * 1.3% 40.7% $10

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 $1,025 in Mexico City and $599 in Piedras Negras. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Piedras Negras pays 71% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $44.00 in Piedras Negras for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $265 per month, with Piedras Negras cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇽 Piedras Negras

🕒 Local time

03:33 3:33 AM

04:33 4:33 AM

1 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

173,959

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Piedras Negras 1,040 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Piedras Negras

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 Piedras Negras: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Piedras Negras differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $1,143 including rent). Piedras Negras is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 71% lower in Piedras Negras. 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $599 in Piedras Negras. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $219 in Piedras Negras. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Piedras Negras – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,143 in Piedras Negras versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Piedras Negras but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Piedras Negras 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 Piedras Negras gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.