Last update: Nov 2026

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

Name: San Fernando
Address: San Fernando, PH

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $807 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

San Fernando

🇵🇭 Philippines

$807

/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: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $807 in San Fernando.

Mexico City $1,674
San Fernando $807

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,271 in San Fernando.

Mexico City $2,606
San Fernando $1,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,735 in San Fernando.

Mexico City $3,537
San Fernando $1,735

Living in Mexico City is roughly 107% 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 24% above, San Fernando is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$3.07 ₱194

244.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$23.84 ₱1,511

117.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$2.82 ₱179

280.50%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$1.71 ₱109

122.22%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$0.64 ₱40.29

151.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.38 ₱24.15

218.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$1.09 ₱69.1

191.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$1.95 ₱124

178.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.76 ₱111

-2.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$0.87 ₱54.8

241.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$0.96 ₱60.8

101.04%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$1.90 ₱120

45.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$4.60 ₱292

153.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$3.31 ₱209

186.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$7.04 ₱446

118.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$2.58 ₱164

20.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$2.06 ₱130

-4.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$2.75 ₱174

-28.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$0.92 ₱58.0

154.35%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.38 ₱87.7

46.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$1.32 ₱83.5

37.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$0.65 ₱40.95

136.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.35 ₱22.30

274.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$2.71 ₱172

97.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$6.96 ₱441

132.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$0.75 ₱47.57

161.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.95 ₱187

47.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.25 ₱15.74

20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

$13.59 ₱861

43.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$1.00 ₱63.5

92.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.20 ₱12.66

135.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$1.94 ₱123

178.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.27 ₱80.5

16.54%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$21.0K ₱1.3M

1.68%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

24.65%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$96.3 ₱6,100

-35.61%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$17.18 ₱1,088

65.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$30.29 ₱1,919

12.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$31.66 ₱2,006

84.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$15.57 ₱986

57.35%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$4.66 ₱295

41.42%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$267 ₱16.9K

62.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$13.5K ₱852.9K

4.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$49.06 ₱3,108

39.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$37.73 ₱2,390

45.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$71.4 ₱4,526

55.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$78.4 ₱4,965

48.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$402 ₱25.5K

193.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$266 ₱16.8K

190.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$724 ₱45.9K

254.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$560 ₱35.5K

153.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$4,249 ₱269.2K

-15.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$2,385 ₱151.1K

-13.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

62.14%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for San Fernando: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

San Fernando

$266 32.9% 65.6% $505

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

San Fernando

$167 20.7% 48.3% $156

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

San Fernando

$67 8.3% 66.6% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

San Fernando

$106 13.2% 32.4% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

San Fernando

$144 17.8% 15.4% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

San Fernando

$41 5.1% 42.7% $31

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

San Fernando

$17 2.1% 33.7% $8.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $402 in San Fernando. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $24 in San Fernando for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $167 per month, with San Fernando cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 San Fernando

🕒 Local time

18:49 6:49 PM

08:49 8:49 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

354,666

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 PHP = 1.58 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 63.36 PHP (100 PHP = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.33 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San Fernando 14,210 km ≈ 18 h 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 $1,674 in Mexico City and $807 in San Fernando, so San Fernando is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,211 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $402 in San Fernando. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in San Fernando runs roughly 30% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $267 in San Fernando. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $807 in San Fernando versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,200 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.

Expats usually find San Fernando gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.