Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Pedro de Atacama

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro de Atacama: $1,076 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro de Atacama
Learn more

San Pedro de Atacama Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

San Pedro de Atacama

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,076

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in San Pedro de Atacama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,076 in San Pedro de Atacama.

Mexico City $1,548
San Pedro de Atacama $1,076

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,633 in San Pedro de Atacama.

Mexico City $2,436
San Pedro de Atacama $1,633

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,191 in San Pedro de Atacama.

Mexico City $3,323
San Pedro de Atacama $2,191

Living in Mexico City is roughly 44% more expensive than in San Pedro de Atacama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, San Pedro de Atacama is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$7.25 CLP 7,135

52.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$44.15 CLP 43.5K

10.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$8.21 CLP 8,083

32.76%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.81 CLP 2,771

30.96%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$1.58 CLP 1,554

3.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$1.22 CLP 1,197

2.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$3.59 CLP 3,539

-9.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$4.02 CLP 3,956

37.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.23 CLP 1,211

38.21%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.46 CLP 1,441

106.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.70 CLP 1,674

12.94%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$3.70 CLP 3,642

-26.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$10.31 CLP 10.2K

14.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$6.84 CLP 6,733

39.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$11.47 CLP 11.3K

25.63%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.96 CLP 1,929

54.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.61 CLP 1,589

17.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$1.75 CLP 1,723

13.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$1.68 CLP 1,658

30.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.64 CLP 1,619

17.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.54 CLP 1,518

21.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.35 CLP 1,329

6.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.18 CLP 1,165

7.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$5.06 CLP 4,986

3.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$5.17 CLP 5,092

212.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.54 CLP 1,516

23.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.25 CLP 2,218

87.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.61 CLP 601

-44.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$0.71 CLP 700

181.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.43 CLP 1,403

6.29%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$17.7K CLP 17.4M

24.67%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$19.1K CLP 18.8M

28.05%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$132 CLP 130.3K

-53.87%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$13.60 CLP 13.4K

110.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$21.89 CLP 21.6K

57.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$37.84 CLP 37.3K

48.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$22.99 CLP 22.6K

8.22%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$5.31 CLP 5,226

25.42%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$385 CLP 379.4K

10.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$8,576 CLP 8.4M

35.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$47.73 CLP 47.0K

42.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$24.86 CLP 24.5K

109.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$62.4 CLP 61.4K

69.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$81.9 CLP 80.6K

37.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$485 CLP 477.4K

111.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$372 CLP 366.2K

75.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$904 CLP 889.7K

155.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$598 CLP 588.4K

107.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$2,312 CLP 2.3M

56.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.01

125.55%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for San Pedro de Atacama: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

San Pedro de Atacama

$372 34.6% 43.1% $282

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

San Pedro de Atacama

$233 21.7% 26.7% $85

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

San Pedro de Atacama

$154 14.3% 24.7% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

San Pedro de Atacama

$98 9.1% 35.9% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

San Pedro de Atacama

$168 15.6% 35.3% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

San Pedro de Atacama

$48 4.5% 30.5% $21

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

San Pedro de Atacama

$3.2 * 0.3% 87.7% $22

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 $1,025 in Mexico City and $485 in San Pedro de Atacama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $44.00 in San Pedro de Atacama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $233 per month, with San Pedro de Atacama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇱 San Pedro de Atacama

🕒 Local time

06:37 6:37 AM

09:37 9:37 AM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

5,347

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San Pedro de Atacama 5,780 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San Pedro de Atacama

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 Pedro de Atacama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and San Pedro de Atacama differ by about 44% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $1,076 including rent). San Pedro de Atacama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,322 in Mexico City and $1,614 in San Pedro de Atacama 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $485 in San Pedro de Atacama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $385 in San Pedro de Atacama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Pedro de Atacama – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,076 in San Pedro de Atacama versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Pedro de Atacama but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes San Pedro de Atacama 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and San Pedro de Atacama are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find San Pedro de Atacama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.