Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Martin de los Andes

For one person, living is cheaper in San Martin de los Andes: $1,264 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 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
61

Cost of Living Index in San Martin de los Andes
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San Martin de los Andes Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

San Martin de los Andes

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,264

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in San Martin de los Andes

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 Martin de los Andes actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,264 in San Martin de los Andes.

Mexico City $1,608
San Martin de los Andes $1,264

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,136 in San Martin de los Andes.

Mexico City $2,549
San Martin de los Andes $2,136

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $3,007 in San Martin de los Andes.

Mexico City $3,490
San Martin de los Andes $3,007

Living in Mexico City is roughly 27% more expensive than in San Martin de los Andes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, San Martin de los Andes is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$18.03 ARS 27.8K

-41.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$57.1 ARS 88.1K

-15.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$13.84 ARS 21.3K

-25.22%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$3.30 ARS 5,091

11.82%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$1.97 ARS 3,041

-15.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$2.02 ARS 3,122

-37.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$3.44 ARS 5,309

-7.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.66 ARS 7,191

13.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.42 ARS 2,183

21.13%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$2.37 ARS 3,656

28.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.98 ARS 3,048

-2.02%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.92 ARS 4,506

-1.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$10.62 ARS 16.4K

3.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$7.95 ARS 12.3K

16.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$9.95 ARS 15.3K

52.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.13 ARS 3,291

43.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$2.31 ARS 3,568

-16.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$1.49 ARS 2,296

36.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$2.48 ARS 3,815

-6.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$1.17 ARS 1,797

74.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$1.11 ARS 1,706

62.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$1.44 ARS 2,220

-11.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$3.44 ARS 5,303

54.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$5.39 ARS 8,314

198.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$2.13 ARS 3,279

-7.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$3.03 ARS 4,670

40.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.93 ARS 1,433

-66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$1.58 ARS 2,429

16.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.22 ARS 1,876

23.77%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$27.5K ARS 42.4M

-20.83%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$30.9K ARS 47.7M

-22.50%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$134 ARS 206.8K

-53.06%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$15.99 ARS 24.7K

71.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$27.53 ARS 42.4K

29.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$31.26 ARS 48.2K

88.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$19.28 ARS 29.7K

22.61%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$8.74 ARS 13.5K

-26.77%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$239 ARS 368.6K

80.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$4,149 ARS 6.4M

175.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$106 ARS 163.7K

-35.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$85.5 ARS 131.8K

-37.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$126 ARS 194.9K

-14.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$130 ARS 200.6K

-9.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$465 ARS 717.2K

139.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$311 ARS 479.0K

128.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$1,006 ARS 1.6M

157.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$823 ARS 1.3M

70.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,249 ARS 1.9M

70.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

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 Martin de los Andes: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

San Martin de los Andes

$311 24.6% 56.3% $400

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

San Martin de los Andes

$252 * 20% 21% $67

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

San Martin de los Andes

$268 21.2% 34.9% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

San Martin de los Andes

$202 16% 29.4% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

San Martin de los Andes

$178 14.1% 41% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

San Martin de los Andes

$49 3.9% 32.1% $23

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

San Martin de los Andes

$5.3 * 0.4% 79.2% $20

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $465 in San Martin de los Andes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $57 in San Martin de los Andes. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $252, with San Martin de los Andes cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇦🇷 San Martin de los Andes

🕒 Local time

20:31 8:31 PM

23:31 11:31 PM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

36,913

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.49 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.83 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, 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 = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1,541 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.49 USD). 1 EUR = 1,716 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.83 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Mexico City San Martin de los Andes 7,220 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San Martin de los Andes

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 Martin de los Andes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,264 in San Martin de los Andes, so San Martin de los Andes is about 21% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,897 in San Martin de los Andes 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $465 in San Martin de los Andes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $239 in San Martin de los Andes. 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 $57 in San Martin de los Andes. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. San Martin de los Andes 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.