Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Quilmes

For one person, living is cheaper in Quilmes: $965 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Quilmes
Learn more

Quilmes Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Quilmes

🇦🇷 Argentina

$965

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $965 in Quilmes.

Mexico City $1,674
Quilmes $965

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,625 in Quilmes.

Mexico City $2,606
Quilmes $1,625

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,285 in Quilmes.

Mexico City $3,537
Quilmes $2,285

Living in Mexico City is roughly 73% more expensive than in Quilmes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Quilmes is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$199

$5.65 ARS 8,758

87.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$978

$34.35 ARS 53.3K

51.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$202

$9.09 ARS 14.1K

18.04%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.4

$2.92 ARS 4,534

30.14%

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

$1.61 MX$30.35

$1.71 ARS 2,651

-5.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.81

$1.71 ARS 2,646

-29.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.8

$3.91 ARS 6,068

-18.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$2.27 ARS 3,519

139.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.02 ARS 1,585

68.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.8

$1.57 ARS 2,430

89.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.24

$1.66 ARS 2,581

16.27%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$52.2

$2.28 ARS 3,538

21.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$220

$13.23 ARS 20.5K

-11.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$178

$5.91 ARS 9,164

60.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$289

$9.85 ARS 15.3K

56.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.4

$2.01 ARS 3,111

54.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.90

$1.53 ARS 2,367

28.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.30

$1.05 ARS 1,633

88.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.95

$2.98 ARS 4,625

-21.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.08

$1.00 ARS 1,546

102.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.34

$0.63 ARS 983

188.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$29.06

$0.71 ARS 1,108

116.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.70

$0.73 ARS 1,137

79.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$101

$4.95 ARS 7,679

8.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$305

$4.15 ARS 6,439

290.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.87

$1.24 ARS 1,918

58.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.9

$1.95 ARS 3,030

123.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.74

$0.98 ARS 1,527

-69.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$36.08

$1.53 ARS 2,369

25.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.90

$1.03 ARS 1,592

-54.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$102

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.92

$1.10 ARS 1,701

34.55%

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

$21.4K MX$402.2K

$49.8K ARS 77.2M

-57.05%

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

$23.8K MX$447.1K

$38.9K ARS 60.2M

-38.85%

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

$62.0 MX$1,167

$59.9 ARS 92.8K

3.52%

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

$28.47 MX$536

$14.37 ARS 22.3K

98.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$642

$22.27 ARS 34.5K

53.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,099

$31.86 ARS 49.4K

83.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$461

$20.27 ARS 31.4K

20.87%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$124

$9.99 ARS 15.5K

-34.03%

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

$434 MX$8,172

$233 ARS 360.7K

86.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$264.1K

$4,175 ARS 6.5M

236.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,286

$95.3 ARS 147.8K

-28.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,031

$34.60 ARS 53.7K

58.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,086

$64.1 ARS 99.3K

73.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,183

$71.4 ARS 110.7K

62.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.2K

$516 ARS 800.0K

128.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.5K

$328 ARS 508.4K

135.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.4K

$1,078 ARS 1.7M

138.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.7K

$814 ARS 1.3M

74.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.5K

$2,356 ARS 3.7M

52.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.8K

$1,275 ARS 2.0M

61.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.9K

$1,115 ARS 1.7M

-10.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

100

-88.65%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Quilmes: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Quilmes

$328 34% 57.5% $443

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Quilmes

$213 22.1% 34.1% $110

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Quilmes

$145 15.1% 27.5% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Quilmes

$119 12.4% 24.2% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Quilmes

$97 10% 22.5% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Quilmes

$52 5.4% 27.6% $20

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Quilmes

$11 * 1.1% 57.6% $14

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 $1,179 in Mexico City and $516 in Quilmes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Quilmes pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $34 in Quilmes for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $213 per month, with Quilmes cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇦🇷 Quilmes

🕒 Local time

01:22 1:22 AM

04:22 4:22 AM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

230,810

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.45 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, 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 = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1,551 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,738 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.75 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Quilmes 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Quilmes

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 Quilmes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $965 in Quilmes, so Quilmes is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 10% lower in Mexico City. 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $516 in Quilmes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $233 in Quilmes. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Quilmes – a meal for two runs $34 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Quilmes 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.