Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Quezon City

For one person, living is cheaper in Quezon City: $923 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Quezon City
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Quezon City Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Quezon City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$923

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $923 in Quezon City.

Mexico City $1,608
Quezon City $923

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,469 in Quezon City.

Mexico City $2,549
Quezon City $1,469

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,016 in Quezon City.

Mexico City $3,490
Quezon City $2,016

Living in Mexico City is roughly 74% more expensive than in Quezon City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Quezon City is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$4.29 ₱274

147.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$19.04 ₱1,218

153.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$2.70 ₱173

283.33%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$2.62 ₱167

40.84%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$0.67 ₱43.09

149.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.26 ₱16.54

388.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.42 ₱91.1

124.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.80 ₱179

89.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.67 ₱107

2.99%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$1.10 ₱70.2

176.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$0.85 ₱54.2

128.24%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.76 ₱113

64.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$6.60 ₱422

66.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$4.10 ₱262

125.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.05 ₱451

114.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.96 ₱254

-22.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.41 ₱90.4

37.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$3.49 ₱223

-41.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$1.14 ₱73.1

102.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$2.26 ₱145

-9.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$3.29 ₱211

-45.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$1.36 ₱87.0

8.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$0.95 ₱60.6

33.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$2.75 ₱176

92.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$7.24 ₱463

122.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.27 ₱81.0

55.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$1.72 ₱110

147.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.26 ₱16.54

19.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$19.11 ₱1,223

3.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$0.80 ₱51.3

130.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.23 ₱14.75

130.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$2.56 ₱164

107.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.17 ₱75.2

29.06%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$21.2K ₱1.4M

2.76%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$18.6K ₱1.2M

28.82%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$161 ₱10.3K

-60.86%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$14.15 ₱905

93.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$24.29 ₱1,554

46.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$37.60 ₱2,406

56.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$3.33 ₱213

609.91%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$7.09 ₱454

-9.73%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$71.8 ₱4,595

501.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$2,476 ₱158.4K

361.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$34.53 ₱2,210

97.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$21.92 ₱1,403

142.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$78.5 ₱5,022

37.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$75.5 ₱4,833

55.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$476 ₱30.5K

133.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$263 ₱16.8K

170.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$984 ₱63.0K

163.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$691 ₱44.2K

103.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$2,779 ₱177.9K

30.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,839 ₱117.7K

16.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$428 ₱27.4K

120.93%

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 Quezon City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Quezon City

$263 28.5% 63% $448

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Quezon City

$202 21.9% 36.8% $118

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Quezon City

$90 9.8% 54.6% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Quezon City

$95 10.3% 39.2% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Quezon City

$199 21.6% 58.1% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Quezon City

$52 5.6% 27.8% $20

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Quezon City

$22 2.4% 13.2% $3.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $476 in Quezon City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $19 in Quezon City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $202 per month, with Quezon City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 Quezon City

🕒 Local time

19:27 7:27 PM

09:27 9:27 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

2,936,116

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 PHP = 1.56 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 63.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.56 USD). 1 EUR = 71.24 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Quezon City 14,210 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Quezon City

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 Quezon City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $923 in Quezon City, so Quezon City is about 43% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 2.2 times higher, 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 $476 in Quezon City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Quezon City runs roughly 3% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $72 in Quezon City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Quezon City 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.

Expats usually find Quezon City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.