Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Salto, Brazil

For one person, living is cheaper in Salto: $764 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Mexico City, Mexico
Salto, Brazil
Mexico City
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,674
/mo nomad
Salto
🇧🇷 Brazil
$764
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $764 in Salto.

  • Mexico City $1,674
  • Salto $764

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,189 in Salto.

  • Mexico City $2,606
  • Salto $1,189

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,615 in Salto.

  • Mexico City $3,537
  • Salto $1,615

Living in Mexico City is roughly 119% more expensive than in Salto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Salto is 43% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Mexico City
Salto
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.59 MX$199
$6.35 R$34.82
66.77%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$52.0 MX$978
$26.03 R$143
99.62%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.73 MX$202
$6.17 R$33.88
73.91%
Cappuccino
$3.80 MX$71.4
$1.78 R$9.77
113.48%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.61 MX$30.35
$0.99 R$5.45
62.63%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.21 MX$22.81
$0.73 R$3.98
65.75%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.18 MX$59.8
$2.46 R$13.52
29.27%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.44 MX$102
$2.69 R$14.77
102.23%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Mexico City
Salto
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.72 MX$32.32
$0.94 R$5.17
82.98%
White Bread (500g)
$2.97 MX$55.8
$1.59 R$8.73
86.79%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.93 MX$36.24
$1.09 R$6.00
77.06%
Eggs
$2.77 MX$52.2
$2.56 R$14.02
8.20%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.67 MX$220
$8.11 R$44.53
43.90%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.48 MX$178
$3.52 R$19.31
169.32%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$15.37 MX$289
$9.11 R$49.97
68.72%
Apples (1kg)
$3.10 MX$58.4
$2.63 R$14.46
17.87%
Banana (1kg)
$1.96 MX$36.90
$1.75 R$9.59
12.00%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.98 MX$37.30
$1.64 R$8.99
20.73%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.34 MX$43.95
$1.67 R$9.15
40.12%
Potato (1kg)
$2.02 MX$38.08
$1.26 R$6.89
60.32%
Onion (1kg)
$1.82 MX$34.34
$1.31 R$7.21
38.93%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.54 MX$29.06
$0.87 R$4.78
77.01%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.31 MX$24.70
$0.48 R$2.61
172.92%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.35 MX$101
$2.43 R$13.32
120.16%
Wine (Bottle)
$16.19 MX$305
$8.45 R$46.35
91.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.96 MX$36.87
$1.57 R$8.64
24.84%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.35 MX$81.9
$4.04 R$22.19
7.67%
🚌 Getting Around
Mexico City
Salto
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.30 MX$5.74
$0.80 R$4.37
-62.50%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$19.49 MX$367
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.92 MX$36.08
$1.06 R$5.79
81.13%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.47 MX$8.90
$1.21 R$6.66
-61.16%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.41 MX$102
$6.56 R$35.99
-17.53%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.48 MX$27.92
$1.06 R$5.79
39.62%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.4K MX$402.2K
$21.7K R$119.1K
-1.52%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.8K MX$447.1K
$31.9K R$174.9K
-25.45%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mexico City
Salto
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$62.0 MX$1,167
$37.16 R$204
66.82%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$28.47 MX$536
$9.46 R$51.9
200.95%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$34.11 MX$642
$17.66 R$96.9
93.15%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Mexico City
Salto
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$58.4 MX$1,099
$24.27 R$133
140.59%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$24.50 MX$461
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$6.59 MX$124
$2.79 R$15.29
136.20%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Mexico City
Salto
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$434 MX$8,172
$239 R$1,311
81.79%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$14.0K MX$264.1K
$7,151 R$39.2K
96.26%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Mexico City
Salto
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$68.4 MX$1,286
$51.7 R$284
32.28%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$54.8 MX$1,031
$54.8 R$301
0.02%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$111 MX$2,086
$89.7 R$492
23.61%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$116 MX$2,183
$77.5 R$425
49.63%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Mexico City
Salto
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,179 MX$22.2K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$771 MX$14.5K
$225 R$1,235
242.53%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,570 MX$48.4K
$551 R$3,027
366.07%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,420 MX$26.7K
$374 R$2,051
279.81%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,586 MX$67.5K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,064 MX$38.8K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Mexico City
Salto
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,003 MX$18.9K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.35
11.12
2.07%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Salto: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Mexico City
$771
Salto
$225 70.8% $546
Groceries & Markets
Mexico City
$324
Salto
$196 39.4% $127
Eating Out
Mexico City
$201
Salto
$115 42.5% $85
Clothing & Footwear
Mexico City
$158
Salto
$123 21.8% $34
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mexico City
$125
Salto
$64 48.4% $60
Sport & Entertainment
Mexico City
$72
Salto
$30 58.3% $42
Getting Around
Mexico City
$25
Salto
$10 * 58.7% $15

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $26 in Salto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $196 per month, with Salto cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Mexico City
🇧🇷 Salto
🕒 Local time
04:03 4:03 AM
07:03 7:03 AM
3 h ahead of Mexico City
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
9,209,944 Capital
134,319
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

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).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.15 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Mexico City Salto 7,350 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Mexico City
  • Salto

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 Salto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Mexico City and in Salto?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $764 in Salto, so Salto is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
What salary covers living expenses in Mexico City compared to Salto?
You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,146 in Salto to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Mexico City and Salto?
Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $239 in Salto. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in Salto – a meal for two runs $26 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Which city is more doable on $1,200 per month?
At $764 in Salto versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Salto but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Salto the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Mexico City and Salto?
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.

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