Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Roquetas de Mar

For one person, living is cheaper in Roquetas de Mar: $1,444 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Roquetas de Mar
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Roquetas de Mar Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Roquetas de Mar

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,444

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Roquetas de Mar

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 Roquetas de Mar actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,444 in Roquetas de Mar.

Mexico City $1,567
Roquetas de Mar $1,444

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $2,082 in Roquetas de Mar.

Mexico City $2,450
Roquetas de Mar $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,720 in Roquetas de Mar.

Mexico City $3,333
Roquetas de Mar $2,720

Living in Mexico City is roughly 9% more expensive than in Roquetas de Mar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 16% above, Roquetas de Mar 7% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$16.63 €14.80

-35.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$55.5 €49.40

-9.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$10.65 €9.47

4.23%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.06 €1.83

78.64%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$2.77 €2.47

-40.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$1.69 €1.51

-23.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$4.24 €3.77

-21.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$4.36 €3.88

27.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.27 €1.13

39.37%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.65 €1.46

84.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$1.83 €1.62

9.84%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$3.47 €3.09

-20.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$15.93 €14.17

-25.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$9.02 €8.02

3.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$13.13 €11.68

14.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$2.63 €2.34

17.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.88 €1.68

3.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$1.51 €1.34

34.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$2.29 €2.04

-3.49%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.86 €1.66

8.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.89 €1.68

-3.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.36 €1.21

11.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.71 €0.63

80.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$6.08 €5.41

-13.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$5.44 €4.84

196.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.14 €1.02

71.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$1.69 €1.50

151.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.97 €0.86

-68.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$33.43 €29.73

-40.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$7.89 €7.02

-74.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$2.24 €1.99

-76.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$17.83 €15.86

-68.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.82 €1.62

-16.48%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$35.2K €31.4K

-40.33%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$29.0K €25.8K

-13.15%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$135 €121

-53.87%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$16.03 €14.26

79.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$27.01 €24.03

27.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$35.59 €31.66

60.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$8.22 €7.31

-18.86%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$383 €341

12.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$10.7K €9,514

9.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$72.6 €64.5

-2.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$35.56 €31.63

45.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$96.7 €86.0

12.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$119 €105

-5.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$568 €505

85.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$506 €450

31.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$769 €684

205.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$590 €525

107.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$2,029 €1,805

75.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$1,643 €1,461

20.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$1,266 €1,127

-23.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

3.18

255.35%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Roquetas de Mar: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Roquetas de Mar

$506 35.1% 23.9% $159

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Roquetas de Mar

$268 18.6% 17% $55

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Roquetas de Mar

$238 16.5% 17% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Roquetas de Mar

$146 10.1% 5.9% $9.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Roquetas de Mar

$179 12.4% 42% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Roquetas de Mar

$52 3.6% 26.1% $18

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Roquetas de Mar

$56 3.9% 119% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $568 in Roquetas de Mar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Roquetas de Mar pays 30% 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 $56.0 in Roquetas de Mar. Groceries flip the comparison at $323 vs $268, with Roquetas de Mar cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇪🇸 Roquetas de Mar

🕒 Local time

09:56 9:56 AM

17:56 5:56 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

106,510

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Roquetas de Mar 9,280 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Roquetas de Mar

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 Roquetas de Mar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Roquetas de Mar differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $1,444 including rent). Roquetas de Mar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 30% lower in Roquetas de Mar. 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $568 in Roquetas de Mar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Roquetas de Mar runs roughly 68% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $383 in Roquetas de Mar. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,444 in Roquetas de Mar versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Roquetas de Mar but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Roquetas de Mar 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 Roquetas de Mar 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 Roquetas de Mar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.