Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San German

For one person, living is cheaper in San German: $1,332 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in San German
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San German Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

San German

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,332

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,332 in San German.

Mexico City $1,674
San German $1,332

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $2,099 in San German.

Mexico City $2,606
San German $2,099

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,865 in San German.

Mexico City $3,537
San German $2,865

Living in Mexico City is roughly 26% more expensive than in San German, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$19.74 $19.74

-46.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$82.9 $82.9

-37.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$9.34 $9.34

14.88%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$3.59 $3.59

5.85%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.84 $1.84

-12.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$1.48 $1.48

-18.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$3.08 $3.08

3.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$4.91 $4.91

10.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$2.23 $2.23

-22.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$3.54 $3.54

-16.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$2.36 $2.36

-18.22%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$7.79 $7.79

-64.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$12.58 $12.58

-7.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$9.45 $9.45

0.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$13.36 $13.36

15.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$4.91 $4.91

-36.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$2.67 $2.67

-26.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$4.73 $4.73

-58.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$4.95 $4.95

-52.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$3.68 $3.68

-45.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$3.93 $3.93

-53.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$3.50 $3.50

-56.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$1.58 $1.58

-17.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$12.06 $12.06

-55.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$15.76 $15.76

2.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$2.98 $2.98

-34.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$4.12 $4.12

5.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$2.51 $2.51

-23.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$1.54 $1.54

-69.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$42.58 $42.58

-87.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.20 $1.20

23.33%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$34.5K $34.5K

-38.06%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$27.5K $27.5K

-13.63%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$326 $326

-80.99%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$70.1 $70.1

-59.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$69.7 $69.7

-51.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$10.66 $10.66

-38.18%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$809 $809

-46.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$12.1K $12.1K

15.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$55.1 $55.1

23.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$62.1 $62.1

-11.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$108 $108

2.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$115 $115

1.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

$2,744 $2,744

-63.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.55

73.28%

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 German: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

San German

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

San German

$414 31.1% 28% $91

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

San German

$268 20.1% 33.4% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

San German

$153 11.5% 2.9% $4.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

San German

$466 35% 274% $341

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

San German

$21 * 1.6% 70.2% $50

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

San German

$10 * 0.8% 59.1% $15

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

Cost Breakdown

San German pays about 2.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $83 in San German for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $414 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇷 San German

🕒 Local time

18:25 6:25 PM

20:25 8:25 PM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

35,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 USD = 0.888 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San German 3,380 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San German

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 German: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,332 in San German, so San German is about 20% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 63% 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.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $809 in San German. 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 $52 versus $83 in San German. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though San German gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.