Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Felipe

For one person, living is cheaper in San Felipe: $1,106 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in San Felipe
Learn more

San Felipe Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

San Felipe

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,106

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in San Felipe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,106 in San Felipe.

Mexico City $1,548
San Felipe $1,106

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,777 in San Felipe.

Mexico City $2,436
San Felipe $1,777

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,448 in San Felipe.

Mexico City $3,323
San Felipe $2,448

Living in Mexico City is roughly 40% more expensive than in San Felipe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, San Felipe is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$7.35 MX$136

49.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$43.63 MX$806

11.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$8.27 MX$153

31.80%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.49 MX$64.4

5.44%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$1.35 MX$24.91

20.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$1.05 MX$19.41

19.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.45 MX$45.34

32.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$4.10 MX$75.8

34.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.64 MX$30.38

3.66%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.54 MX$46.89

18.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.72 MX$31.80

11.63%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.53 MX$46.82

7.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$8.42 MX$156

39.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$8.46 MX$156

12.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$11.72 MX$217

22.95%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.67 MX$49.26

13.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.53 MX$28.23

23.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$1.89 MX$35.02

5.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$1.83 MX$33.76

19.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.99 MX$36.84

-3.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.87 MX$34.64

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.43 MX$26.39

0.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.08 MX$20.02

17.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$4.50 MX$83.1

16.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$10.26 MX$190

57.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.75 MX$32.42

8.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$3.07 MX$56.8

37.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.63 MX$11.65

-46.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$2.63 MX$48.65

-23.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$1.93 MX$35.73

-73.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$11.06 MX$204

-51.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.45 MX$26.73

4.83%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$21.4K MX$395.3K

3.20%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$24.5K MX$452.2K

0.15%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$57.9 MX$1,070

5.47%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$23.12 MX$427

23.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$29.50 MX$545

16.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$33.66 MX$622

67.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$20.47 MX$378

21.54%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$5.36 MX$99.0

24.25%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$219 MX$4,051

94.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$4,580 MX$84.6K

154.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$54.2 MX$1,002

25.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$40.18 MX$742

29.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$99.7 MX$1,842

6.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$90.0 MX$1,662

25.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$617 MX$11.4K

65.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$389 MX$7,184

68.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,059 MX$19.6K

117.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$757 MX$14.0K

64.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$1,934 MX$35.7K

86.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,147 MX$21.2K

68.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for San Felipe: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

San Felipe

$389 35.1% 40.6% $265

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

San Felipe

$265 23.9% 16.8% $53

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

San Felipe

$156 14.1% 23.7% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

San Felipe

$128 11.6% 16% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

San Felipe

$111 10% 11% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

San Felipe

$44 4% 36.3% $25

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

San Felipe

$15 * 1.3% 42.2% $11

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 $1,025 in Mexico City and $617 in San Felipe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $44.00 in San Felipe for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $265 per month, with San Felipe cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇽 San Felipe

🕒 Local time

07:17 7:17 AM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

28,452

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Mexico City San Felipe 310 km

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Mexico City
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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 San Felipe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and San Felipe differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $1,106 including rent). San Felipe is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,322 in Mexico City and $1,660 in San Felipe 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $617 in San Felipe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $219 in San Felipe. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Felipe – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,106 in San Felipe versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Felipe but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes San Felipe 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 San Felipe 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 San Felipe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.