Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico

For one person, living is cheaper in San Lorenzo: $1,263 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 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
60

Cost of Living Index in San Lorenzo
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San Lorenzo Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

San Lorenzo

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,263

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,263 in San Lorenzo.

Mexico City $1,674
San Lorenzo $1,263

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,995 in San Lorenzo.

Mexico City $2,606
San Lorenzo $1,995

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,728 in San Lorenzo.

Mexico City $3,537
San Lorenzo $2,728

Living in Mexico City is roughly 33% more expensive than in San Lorenzo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, San Lorenzo is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$11.94 $11.94

-11.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$84.7 $84.7

-38.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$9.08 $9.08

18.17%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$3.47 $3.47

9.51%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.88 $1.88

-14.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$1.46 $1.46

-17.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$3.07 $3.07

3.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$5.10 $5.10

6.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$2.20 $2.20

-21.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$3.72 $3.72

-20.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$2.44 $2.44

-20.90%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$7.93 $7.93

-65.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$12.65 $12.65

-7.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$9.67 $9.67

-1.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$13.43 $13.43

14.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$4.95 $4.95

-37.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$2.58 $2.58

-24.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$4.81 $4.81

-58.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$4.68 $4.68

-50.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$3.89 $3.89

-48.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$3.90 $3.90

-53.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$3.47 $3.47

-55.62%

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

$11.84 $11.84

-54.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$15.44 $15.44

4.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$2.97 $2.97

-34.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$4.10 $4.10

6.10%

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

$2.55 $2.55

-24.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$1.53 $1.53

-69.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$41.24 $41.24

-86.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.26 $1.26

17.46%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$34.5K $34.5K

-38.03%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$27.6K $27.6K

-14.04%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$320 $320

-80.62%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$69.6 $69.6

-59.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$69.6 $69.6

-50.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$10.46 $10.46

-37.00%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$818 $818

-46.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$12.0K $12.0K

17.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$55.4 $55.4

23.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$61.5 $61.5

-10.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$110 $110

1.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$113 $113

2.39%

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

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 Lorenzo: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

San Lorenzo

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

San Lorenzo

$416 33% 28.7% $93

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

San Lorenzo

$203 16.1% 1.4% $2.8

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

San Lorenzo

$153 12.1% 2.9% $4.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

San Lorenzo

$459 36.4% 269% $335

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

San Lorenzo

$21 * 1.7% 70.8% $51

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

San Lorenzo

$10 * 0.8% 59.3% $15

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $85 in San Lorenzo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $416 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇷 San Lorenzo

🕒 Local time

00:13 12:13 AM

02:13 2:13 AM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

9,373

💱 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 Lorenzo 3,490 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San Lorenzo

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 Lorenzo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,263 in San Lorenzo, so San Lorenzo is about 25% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,894 in San Lorenzo 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.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $818 in San Lorenzo. 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 $85 in San Lorenzo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,263 in San Lorenzo versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Lorenzo but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes San Lorenzo 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.