Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Fernando, Mexico

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $1,140 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
58

Cost of Living Index in San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

San Fernando

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,140

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,140 in San Fernando.

Mexico City $1,608
San Fernando $1,140

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,826 in San Fernando.

Mexico City $2,549
San Fernando $1,826

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,511 in San Fernando.

Mexico City $3,490
San Fernando $2,511

Living in Mexico City is roughly 41% more expensive than in San Fernando, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, San Fernando is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$9.16 MX$172

15.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$37.49 MX$703

28.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$8.41 MX$158

23.07%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$3.99 MX$74.7

-7.52%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$1.32 MX$24.71

26.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$1.00 MX$18.75

27.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$2.24 MX$42.02

42.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$3.74 MX$70.1

41.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.73 MX$32.36

-0.58%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$2.23 MX$41.78

36.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.90 MX$35.52

2.11%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$2.56 MX$47.91

12.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$6.94 MX$130

58.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$7.85 MX$147

17.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$11.96 MX$224

26.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$3.01 MX$56.4

1.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.72 MX$32.16

12.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$2.11 MX$39.49

-3.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$1.54 MX$28.77

50.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$2.18 MX$40.87

-6.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$1.83 MX$34.28

-1.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$1.52 MX$28.52

-2.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$1.08 MX$20.19

17.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$4.21 MX$78.8

25.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$9.40 MX$176

71.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$1.88 MX$35.28

5.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$3.27 MX$61.3

29.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$0.72 MX$13.56

-56.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$30.05 MX$563

-34.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$2.53 MX$47.37

-27.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$1.71 MX$32.07

-69.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$12.21 MX$229

-56.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$1.41 MX$26.37

7.09%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$22.8K MX$426.9K

-4.51%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$21.8K MX$409.3K

9.83%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$61.8 MX$1,157

1.99%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$25.25 MX$473

8.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$26.39 MX$495

35.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$30.84 MX$578

91.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

$20.41 MX$383

15.83%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.02 MX$94.1

27.49%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$218 MX$4,086

97.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$4,259 MX$79.8K

168.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$53.2 MX$998

28.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$40.76 MX$764

30.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$103 MX$1,921

5.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$96.1 MX$1,801

22.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$668 MX$12.5K

66.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$377 MX$7,064

88.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$995 MX$18.6K

160.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$755 MX$14.2K

86.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$2,008 MX$37.6K

80.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$1,178 MX$22.1K

81.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

11.31

0.35%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for San Fernando: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

San Fernando

$377 33.1% 46.9% $334

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

San Fernando

$259 22.7% 19% $61

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

San Fernando

$174 15.3% 12.2% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

San Fernando

$132 11.6% 15.5% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

San Fernando

$113 10% 10% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

San Fernando

$41 3.6% 43% $31

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

San Fernando

$44 3.9% 72.9% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $668 in San Fernando. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $37 in San Fernando for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $259 per month, with San Fernando cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇽 San Fernando

🕒 Local time

17:39 5:39 PM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

11,867

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San Fernando 690 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San Fernando

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 Fernando: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,140 in San Fernando, so San Fernando is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,710 in San Fernando 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $668 in San Fernando. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 34% less than in San Fernando. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $218 in San Fernando. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,140 in San Fernando versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Fernando but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes San Fernando 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.