Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Sal

For one person, living is cheaper in Sal: $851 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Sal
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Sal Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Sal

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$851

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $851 in Sal.

Mexico City $1,608
Sal $851

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,320 in Sal.

Mexico City $2,549
Sal $1,320

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,788 in Sal.

Mexico City $3,490
Sal $1,788

Living in Mexico City is roughly 89% more expensive than in Sal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Sal is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$5.65 CVE 558

87.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$45.61 CVE 4,510

6.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$11.41 CVE 1,129

-9.29%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$2.35 CVE 232

57.02%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$2.63 CVE 260

-36.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$1.11 CVE 110

14.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$4.48 CVE 443

-28.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$3.09 CVE 305

71.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.55 CVE 153

10.97%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$2.25 CVE 222

35.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.24 CVE 122

56.45%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.92 CVE 289

-1.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$9.34 CVE 924

17.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$7.56 CVE 748

22.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$16.03 CVE 1,585

-5.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.26 CVE 322

-6.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.50 CVE 247

-22.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$3.16 CVE 312

-35.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$3.89 CVE 385

-40.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.71 CVE 169

19.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.87 CVE 185

-3.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.50 CVE 149

-1.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$1.09 CVE 108

16.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$4.48 CVE 443

18.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$6.76 CVE 669

138.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$3.94 CVE 390

-49.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$1.84 CVE 182

130.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$1.03 CVE 102

-69.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$2.00 CVE 198

-8.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$3.03 CVE 300

-82.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$12.65 CVE 1,251

-58.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.33 CVE 132

13.53%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$61.7 CVE 6,103

2.02%

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

$27.39 MX$511

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$49.38 CVE 4,883

-27.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$28.40 CVE 2,808

107.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

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

$432 MX$8,045

$112 CVE 11.1K

284.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$30.61 CVE 3,027

122.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$143 CVE 14.1K

-17.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$254 CVE 25.1K

337.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$164 CVE 16.2K

332.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$299 CVE 29.6K

764.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$201 CVE 19.9K

599.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$665 CVE 65.7K

446.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$334 CVE 33.0K

538.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$249 CVE 24.7K

279.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

5.25

116.19%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sal: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Sal

$164 19.3% 76.9% $546

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Sal

$297 34.9% 7.1% $23

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Sal

$151 17.8% 23.9% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Sal

$78 * 9.2% 49.9% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Sal

$111 * 13.1% 11.8% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Sal

$28 * 3.3% 60.4% $43

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Sal

$21 * 2.5% 16.4% $4.2

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 $254 in Sal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $46 in Sal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $297 per month, with Sal cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇻 Sal

🕒 Local time

17:47 5:47 PM

22:47 10:47 PM

5 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,288

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 CVE = 10.11 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CVE, USD, EUR 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).

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 98.88 CVE (100 CVE = 1.01 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.08 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Sal 7,990 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Sal

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 Sal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $851 in Sal, so Sal is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 3.8 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 $254 in Sal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $112 in Sal. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sal – a meal for two runs $46 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $851 in Sal versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sal but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Sal 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 – Sal wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.