Last update: Oct 2026

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

Name: San Juan
Address: San Juan, PH

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $727 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

San Juan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$727

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $727 in San Juan.

Mexico City $1,608
San Juan $727

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,099 in San Juan.

Mexico City $2,549
San Juan $1,099

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,471 in San Juan.

Mexico City $3,490
San Juan $1,471

Living in Mexico City is roughly 121% more expensive than in San Juan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, San Juan is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$4.00 ₱255

165.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$16.19 ₱1,031

198.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$2.80 ₱178

269.64%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.61 ₱166

41.38%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$0.61 ₱38.76

173.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.33 ₱21.30

284.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$1.01 ₱64.2

215.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$1.54 ₱98.2

244.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.67 ₱106

2.99%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.13 ₱72.3

169.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$0.91 ₱58.1

113.19%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$1.77 ₱113

63.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$4.98 ₱317

120.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$3.31 ₱211

179.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$6.98 ₱445

116.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$2.20 ₱140

38.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.40 ₱88.9

38.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$2.27 ₱145

-10.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$1.00 ₱63.9

131.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$1.73 ₱110

17.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.69 ₱108

6.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$0.60 ₱38.16

146.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.89 ₱56.4

42.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$2.70 ₱172

96.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$7.51 ₱479

114.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$0.93 ₱59.5

112.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$1.74 ₱111

144.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.25 ₱15.91

24.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$11.48 ₱731

71.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$0.75 ₱47.54

145.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$0.21 ₱13.36

152.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$1.87 ₱119

183.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.17 ₱74.5

29.06%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$21.0K ₱1.3M

3.51%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$19.2K ₱1.2M

25.24%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$136 ₱8,678

-53.78%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$14.17 ₱902

93.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$23.95 ₱1,525

48.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$27.03 ₱1,722

118.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$5.16 ₱329

358.14%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.01 ₱319

27.74%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$70.3 ₱4,480

513.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$2,442 ₱155.5K

367.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$28.72 ₱1,829

137.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$19.22 ₱1,224

176.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$71.0 ₱4,520

51.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$55.3 ₱3,521

112.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$269 ₱17.1K

314.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$170 ₱10.8K

317.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$493 ₱31.4K

425.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$357 ₱22.7K

293.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$2,304 ₱146.8K

57.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,186 ₱75.5K

80.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$235 ₱15.0K

302.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.75

68.15%

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 Juan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

San Juan

$170 23.4% 76.1% $540

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

San Juan

$169 23.3% 47% $150

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

San Juan

$84 11.5% 57.9% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

San Juan

$78 10.8% 49.7% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

San Juan

$174 24% 38.3% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

San Juan

$37 5.1% 48.4% $35

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

San Juan

$14 2% 43.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $269 in San Juan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $16 in San Juan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $169 per month, with San Juan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 San Juan

🕒 Local time

20:08 8:08 PM

10:08 10:08 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

126,347

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.69 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.12 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mexico City San Juan 14,220 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San Juan

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: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $727 in San Juan, so San Juan is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 4 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $269 in San Juan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in San Juan runs roughly 42% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $70 in San Juan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $727 in San Juan versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in San Juan but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes San Juan 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 Juan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.