Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Fernando, Trinidad And Tobago

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $1,261 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 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
60

Cost of Living Index in San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

San Fernando

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,261

/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 $1,261 in San Fernando.

Mexico City $1,608
San Fernando $1,261

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,030 in San Fernando.

Mexico City $2,549
San Fernando $2,030

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,799 in San Fernando.

Mexico City $3,490
San Fernando $2,799

Living in Mexico City is roughly 27% more expensive than in San Fernando, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, San Fernando is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$10.49 TTD 70.8

1.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$58.5 TTD 395

-17.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$8.18 TTD 55.2

26.53%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$3.72 TTD 25.14

-0.81%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$1.01 TTD 6.80

65.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.73 TTD 4.93

73.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.80 TTD 12.14

77.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.59 TTD 17.46

105.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$2.07 TTD 13.97

-16.91%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$2.33 TTD 15.76

30.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$2.76 TTD 18.61

-29.71%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$3.81 TTD 25.73

-24.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$6.47 TTD 43.66

69.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$10.09 TTD 68.1

-8.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$8.81 TTD 59.5

71.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$5.37 TTD 36.26

-43.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$2.52 TTD 17.02

-23.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$3.72 TTD 25.13

-45.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$4.27 TTD 28.81

-45.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$0.77 TTD 5.22

164.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$0.77 TTD 5.21

133.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$1.48 TTD 10.02

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$1.15 TTD 7.73

10.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$5.56 TTD 37.56

-4.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$17.76 TTD 120

-9.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.48 TTD 9.98

33.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$2.97 TTD 20.08

43.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.46 TTD 3.11

-32.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$44.91 TTD 303

-56.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$0.91 TTD 6.11

102.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.84 TTD 5.65

-36.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$14.58 TTD 98.5

-63.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.16 TTD 7.84

30.17%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$36.3K TTD 245.4K

-40.15%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$40.8K TTD 275.6K

-41.24%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$44.29 TTD 299

42.20%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$42.32 TTD 286

-35.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$45.25 TTD 305

-21.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$52.1 TTD 352

13.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$22.39 TTD 151

5.58%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$8.59 TTD 58.0

-25.49%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$403 TTD 2,722

7.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$10.6K TTD 71.9K

7.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$53.7 TTD 363

26.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$36.48 TTD 246

45.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$86.6 TTD 584

24.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$87.6 TTD 592

33.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$518 TTD 3,496

114.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$398 TTD 2,686

78.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$915 TTD 6,180

182.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$724 TTD 4,887

94.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$1,940 TTD 13.1K

87.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,527 TTD 10.3K

39.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$1,023 TTD 6,908

-7.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

5.75

97.39%

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 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

San Fernando

$398 31.6% 44% $313

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

San Fernando

$317 25.2% 0.7% $2.3

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

San Fernando

$174 13.8% 12.2% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

San Fernando

$119 9.4% 23.7% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

San Fernando

$132 10.5% 4.6% $5.8

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

San Fernando

$69 5.5% 3.4% $2.5

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

San Fernando

$52 4.1% 104% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $518 in San Fernando. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Fernando pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $59 in San Fernando. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $317, with San Fernando cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇹 San Fernando

🕒 Local time

03:10 3:10 AM

05:10 5:10 AM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

55,419

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 TTD = 0.148 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.75 TTD (1 TTD = 0.148 USD). 1 EUR = 7.53 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San Fernando 4,160 km ≈ 6 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 $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,261 in San Fernando, so San Fernando is about 22% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Mexico City. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $518 in San Fernando. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $403 in San Fernando. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $59 in San Fernando. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,261 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.