Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta

For one person, living costs are similar in Mexico City and in Puerto Vallarta: $1,567 and $1,602 a month, rent and utilities included.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Vallarta
Learn more

Puerto Vallarta Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Puerto Vallarta

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,602

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Puerto Vallarta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,602 in Puerto Vallarta.

Mexico City $1,567
Puerto Vallarta $1,602

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $2,430 in Puerto Vallarta.

Mexico City $2,450
Puerto Vallarta $2,430

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $3,259 in Puerto Vallarta.

Mexico City $3,333
Puerto Vallarta $3,259

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 2% less than in Puerto Vallarta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 16% above, Puerto Vallarta 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$13.62 MX$252

-21.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$58.3 MX$1,076

-13.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$11.17 MX$206

-0.63%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$4.23 MX$78.2

-13.00%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$1.86 MX$34.43

-11.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$1.38 MX$25.59

-5.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$2.93 MX$54.1

13.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$4.24 MX$78.3

30.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.79 MX$33.17

-1.12%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$3.51 MX$64.9

-13.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$2.00 MX$36.97

0.50%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.20 MX$40.72

25.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$10.04 MX$185

18.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$10.99 MX$203

-15.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$16.33 MX$302

-8.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$2.93 MX$54.2

5.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.51 MX$27.99

29.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$1.94 MX$35.88

4.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$2.13 MX$39.43

3.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$2.40 MX$44.26

-15.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$3.17 MX$58.5

-42.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.39 MX$25.73

9.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$1.13 MX$20.97

13.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$4.30 MX$79.5

22.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$11.13 MX$206

44.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.87 MX$34.64

4.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$2.58 MX$47.63

64.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.62 MX$11.54

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$21.79 MX$403

-8.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$4.78 MX$88.4

-58.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$3.08 MX$56.9

-82.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$4.26 MX$78.8

31.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.55 MX$28.63

-1.94%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$21.5K MX$396.7K

-2.03%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$24.0K MX$443.2K

4.98%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$85.7 MX$1,583

-27.07%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$25.48 MX$471

12.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$31.81 MX$588

8.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$36.74 MX$679

55.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$14.96 MX$276

65.84%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$8.74 MX$161

-23.68%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$335 MX$6,187

28.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$6,188 MX$114.3K

89.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$54.6 MX$1,008

29.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$34.55 MX$638

50.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$102 MX$1,893

6.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$95.0 MX$1,755

18.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$1,311 MX$24.2K

-19.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$687 MX$12.7K

-3.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$2,068 MX$38.2K

13.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$1,105 MX$20.4K

10.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$5,117 MX$94.6K

-30.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$2,541 MX$47.0K

-22.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$910 MX$16.8K

7.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.7

-3.42%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Puerto Vallarta: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Puerto Vallarta

$687 42.9% 3.2% $22

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Puerto Vallarta

$316 19.7% 2.2% $7.1

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Puerto Vallarta

$229 14.3% 13% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Puerto Vallarta

$129 8.1% 16.7% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Puerto Vallarta

$143 8.9% 13.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Puerto Vallarta

$54 3.4% 23% $16

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Puerto Vallarta

$44 2.8% 72.4% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $1,311 in Puerto Vallarta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $58.0 in Puerto Vallarta. Groceries flip the comparison at $323 vs $316, with Puerto Vallarta cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇽 Puerto Vallarta

🕒 Local time

18:18 6:18 PM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

224,166

💱 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 Puerto Vallarta 650 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Puerto Vallarta

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 Puerto Vallarta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $1,602 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 7% 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $1,311 in Puerto Vallarta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 10% less than in Puerto Vallarta. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $335 in Puerto Vallarta. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,602 in Puerto Vallarta, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Puerto Vallarta. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Puerto Vallarta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.