Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Saint-Etienne

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint-Etienne: $1,436 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Saint-Etienne
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Saint-Etienne Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Saint-Etienne

🇫🇷 France

$1,436

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Saint-Etienne

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 Saint-Etienne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,436 in Saint-Etienne.

Mexico City $1,608
Saint-Etienne $1,436

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,264 in Saint-Etienne.

Mexico City $2,549
Saint-Etienne $2,264

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $3,092 in Saint-Etienne.

Mexico City $3,490
Saint-Etienne $3,092

Living in Mexico City is roughly 12% more expensive than in Saint-Etienne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Saint-Etienne 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$16.56 €14.88

-35.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$56.7 €50.9

-14.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$13.54 €12.16

-23.56%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$2.07 €1.86

78.26%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$3.42 €3.07

-51.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$1.70 €1.53

-25.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$5.07 €4.55

-37.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$5.75 €5.16

-7.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.29 €1.15

33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.10 €0.99

176.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.09 €1.88

-7.18%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$3.05 €2.74

-5.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$17.01 €15.28

-35.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$11.17 €10.03

-17.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$16.35 €14.68

-7.46%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.27 €2.94

-6.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.54 €2.28

-23.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$2.45 €2.20

-17.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$2.71 €2.43

-14.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.57 €1.41

29.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.73 €1.55

4.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.10 €0.99

34.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$2.30 €2.07

-44.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$12.15 €10.91

-56.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$10.14 €9.11

58.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$3.32 €2.99

-40.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$3.26 €2.93

30.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$1.81 €1.62

-82.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$39.87 €35.82

-50.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$2.83 €2.54

-34.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$2.11 €1.89

-28.44%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$20.1K €18.0K

8.32%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$32.0K €28.7K

-24.99%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$164 €148

-61.67%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$29.01 €26.06

-5.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$19.04 €17.11

87.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$29.86 €26.82

97.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$6.61 €5.94

257.64%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$9.89 €8.88

-35.29%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$996 €894

-56.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$15.8K €14.2K

-27.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$72.1 €64.8

-5.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$30.47 €27.37

74.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$103 €92.3

4.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$151 €135

-22.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$515 €463

116.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$370 €332

92.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$873 €785

196.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$716 €643

96.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$1,677 €1,506

116.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,619 €1,454

31.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$2,255 €2,026

-58.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.67

209.26%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Saint-Etienne: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Saint-Etienne

$370 25.8% 47.9% $340

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Saint-Etienne

$339 23.6% 6% $19

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Saint-Etienne

$255 17.8% 28.5% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Saint-Etienne

$160 11.2% 2.8% $4.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Saint-Etienne

$212 14.8% 68.5% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Saint-Etienne

$50 3.5% 30.8% $22

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Saint-Etienne

$50 * 3.5% 96.1% $24

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $515 in Saint-Etienne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint-Etienne pays about 2.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $57 in Saint-Etienne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $339 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇫🇷 Saint-Etienne

🕒 Local time

14:49 2:49 PM

21:49 9:49 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

172,718

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Saint-Etienne 9,480 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Saint-Etienne

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 Saint-Etienne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,436 in Saint-Etienne, so Saint-Etienne is about 11% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 58% 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $515 in Saint-Etienne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 51% less than in Saint-Etienne. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $996 in Saint-Etienne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.