Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Juan de Pasto

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan de Pasto: $1,463 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in San Juan de Pasto
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San Juan de Pasto Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,463

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in San Juan de Pasto

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 Juan de Pasto actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto.

Mexico City $1,674
San Juan de Pasto $1,463

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $2,144 in San Juan de Pasto.

Mexico City $2,606
San Juan de Pasto $2,144

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,825 in San Juan de Pasto.

Mexico City $3,537
San Juan de Pasto $2,825

Living in Mexico City is roughly 14% more expensive than in San Juan de Pasto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 24% above, San Juan de Pasto 8% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$8.83 COP 28.6K

19.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$966

$47.05 COP 152.4K

10.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$10.50 COP 34.0K

2.19%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.89 COP 9,377

31.49%

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

$1.61 MX$29.99

$1.42 COP 4,610

13.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.54

$1.21 COP 3,911

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$3.44 COP 11.1K

-7.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$3.64 COP 11.8K

49.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.94

$1.61 COP 5,218

6.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$2.39 COP 7,737

24.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.82

$2.06 COP 6,675

-6.31%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$3.46 COP 11.2K

-19.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$7.16 COP 23.2K

62.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$10.11 COP 32.8K

-6.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$11.84 COP 38.4K

29.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.7

$3.75 COP 12.1K

-17.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.37 COP 4,438

43.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.86

$1.71 COP 5,551

15.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.43

$1.86 COP 6,029

25.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.63

$1.79 COP 5,812

12.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.93

$1.72 COP 5,584

5.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.72

$1.03 COP 3,331

49.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.40

$1.32 COP 4,267

-0.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.5

$4.72 COP 15.3K

13.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$12.60 COP 40.8K

28.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.43

$1.27 COP 4,126

54.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.9

$2.61 COP 8,448

66.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$1.11 COP 3,597

-72.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

$66.9 COP 216.7K

-70.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.66

$1.63 COP 5,284

17.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.79

$2.09 COP 6,773

-77.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$7.85 COP 25.4K

-31.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.59

$1.29 COP 4,172

14.73%

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

$21.4K MX$397.5K

$39.0K COP 126.5M

-45.26%

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

$23.8K MX$441.8K

$33.3K COP 107.9M

-28.67%

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

$62.0 MX$1,153

$129 COP 416.9K

-51.84%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$13.90 COP 45.0K

104.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$634

$30.01 COP 97.2K

13.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,086

$33.00 COP 106.9K

76.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$7.84 COP 25.4K

-15.94%

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

$434 MX$8,076

$581 COP 1.9M

-25.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.0K

$13.9K COP 44.9M

1.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,271

$93.9 COP 304.2K

-27.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,019

$49.34 COP 159.8K

11.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,062

$122 COP 395.6K

-9.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,157

$94.9 COP 307.4K

22.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$780 COP 2.5M

51.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$546 COP 1.8M

41.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$1,459 COP 4.7M

76.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$796 COP 2.6M

78.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$2,112 COP 6.8M

69.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$1,582 COP 5.1M

30.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

-5.42%

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 Juan de Pasto: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

San Juan de Pasto

$546 37.3% 29.2% $225

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

San Juan de Pasto

$278 19% 14% $45

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

San Juan de Pasto

$172 11.8% 14.3% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

San Juan de Pasto

$162 11.1% 2.9% $4.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

San Juan de Pasto

$173 11.8% 38.6% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

San Juan de Pasto

$49 3.3% 32% $23

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

San Juan de Pasto

$83 5.7% 234% $58

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $780 in San Juan de Pasto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $47 in San Juan de Pasto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $278 per month, with San Juan de Pasto cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇴 San Juan de Pasto

🕒 Local time

18:51 6:51 PM

19:51 7:51 PM

1 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

392,930

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.09 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 18.6 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 3,239 COP (10,000 COP = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 3,620 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San Juan de Pasto 3,120 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San Juan de Pasto

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 Juan de Pasto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto, so San Juan de Pasto is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $2,194 in San Juan de Pasto 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 $780 in San Juan de Pasto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 71% less than in San Juan de Pasto. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $581 in San Juan de Pasto. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. San Juan de Pasto is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.