Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Rio Branco

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio Branco: $847 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Rio Branco
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Rio Branco Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Rio Branco

🇧🇷 Brazil

$847

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Rio Branco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $847 in Rio Branco.

Mexico City $1,608
Rio Branco $847

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,331 in Rio Branco.

Mexico City $2,549
Rio Branco $1,331

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,815 in Rio Branco.

Mexico City $3,490
Rio Branco $1,815

Living in Mexico City is roughly 90% more expensive than in Rio Branco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Rio Branco is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$6.68 R$35.74

58.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$24.63 R$132

96.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$7.16 R$38.28

44.55%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$2.82 R$15.10

30.85%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$1.28 R$6.86

30.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.72 R$3.82

76.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.90 R$10.18

67.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.75 R$14.70

93.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$0.99 R$5.27

73.74%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$1.54 R$8.24

97.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.16 R$6.19

67.24%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.99 R$10.63

45.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$8.67 R$46.33

26.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$4.08 R$21.81

126.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.89 R$42.16

91.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.06 R$11.01

48.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.23 R$6.58

57.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$1.09 R$5.84

86.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$1.46 R$7.78

58.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$1.13 R$6.05

80.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$1.01 R$5.39

78.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$0.77 R$4.11

92.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$0.76 R$4.06

67.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$2.28 R$12.20

132.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$7.30 R$39.02

120.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.04 R$5.54

90.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$1.92 R$10.25

121.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.63 R$3.36

-50.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$42.25 R$226

-53.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$1.24 R$6.62

48.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.85 R$4.53

-37.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$7.55 R$40.34

-29.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.28 R$6.85

17.97%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$22.0K R$117.7K

-1.23%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$31.5K R$168.4K

-23.84%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$72.1 R$385

-12.62%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$11.32 R$60.5

141.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$19.70 R$105

81.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$24.58 R$131

139.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$25.43 R$136

-7.04%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$6.60 R$35.29

-3.03%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$264 R$1,410

63.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$6,146 R$32.9K

85.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$51.0 R$273

33.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$46.00 R$246

15.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$85.0 R$454

26.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$66.8 R$357

75.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$343 R$1,831

225.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$233 R$1,248

204.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$623 R$3,332

315.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$453 R$2,420

210.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$1,562 R$8,349

132.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,550 R$8,287

37.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$238 R$1,271

298.02%

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: October 25, 2026

Last update for Rio Branco: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Rio Branco

$233 27.6% 67.1% $477

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Rio Branco

$178 21.1% 44.1% $141

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Rio Branco

$132 15.6% 33.6% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Rio Branco

$112 13.2% 28.2% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Rio Branco

$103 12.2% 18.2% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Rio Branco

$38 4.5% 47.3% $34

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Rio Branco

$50 5.9% 97.3% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $343 in Rio Branco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $25 in Rio Branco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $178 per month, with Rio Branco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Rio Branco

🕒 Local time

19:03 7:03 PM

20:03 8:03 PM

1 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

364,756

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Rio Branco 4,740 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Rio Branco

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 Rio Branco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $847 in Rio Branco, so Rio Branco is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 4 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 $343 in Rio Branco. 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 Rio Branco. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $264 in Rio Branco. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $847 in Rio Branco versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Rio Branco but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Rio Branco 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.

It comes down to priorities – Rio Branco wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.