Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Rafael, Argentina

Name: San Rafael
Address: San Rafael, AR

For one person, living is cheaper in San Rafael: $1,353 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 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
64

Cost of Living Index in San Rafael
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San Rafael Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

San Rafael

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,353

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,353 in San Rafael.

Mexico City $1,674
San Rafael $1,353

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $2,224 in San Rafael.

Mexico City $2,606
San Rafael $2,224

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $3,096 in San Rafael.

Mexico City $3,537
San Rafael $3,096

Living in Mexico City is roughly 24% more expensive than in San Rafael, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$11.01 ARS 17.0K

-3.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$965

$50.9 ARS 78.7K

2.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$199

$14.49 ARS 22.4K

-25.95%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.5

$4.44 ARS 6,857

-14.41%

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

$1.61 MX$29.95

$2.43 ARS 3,760

-33.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.51

$1.90 ARS 2,932

-36.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.0

$3.89 ARS 6,015

-18.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$4.38 ARS 6,768

24.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.90

$1.39 ARS 2,148

23.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.1

$2.19 ARS 3,376

35.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.77

$2.78 ARS 4,297

-30.58%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.5

$3.19 ARS 4,921

-13.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$14.27 ARS 22.1K

-18.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$6.11 ARS 9,446

55.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$11.04 ARS 17.1K

39.22%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.7

$2.36 ARS 3,639

31.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.41

$2.23 ARS 3,447

-12.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.81

$1.37 ARS 2,109

44.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.37

$3.33 ARS 5,149

-29.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.58

$2.03 ARS 3,129

-0.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.88

$1.52 ARS 2,352

19.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.68

$2.00 ARS 3,092

-23.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.37

$2.57 ARS 3,967

-49.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.4

$2.68 ARS 4,138

99.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$5.07 ARS 7,838

219.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.38

$1.80 ARS 2,785

8.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$80.8

$3.07 ARS 4,740

41.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.66

$0.98 ARS 1,508

-69.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$362

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.61

$2.01 ARS 3,105

-4.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.78

$1.03 ARS 1,584

-54.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$100

$4.93 ARS 7,610

9.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.55

$1.22 ARS 1,880

21.31%

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

$21.4K MX$396.9K

$27.4K ARS 42.3M

-21.87%

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

$23.8K MX$441.2K

$32.4K ARS 50.0M

-26.60%

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

$62.0 MX$1,151

$146 ARS 226.0K

-57.62%

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

$28.47 MX$529

$17.25 ARS 26.7K

65.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$634

$23.80 ARS 36.8K

43.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,084

$31.51 ARS 48.7K

85.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$455

$21.04 ARS 32.5K

16.44%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$122

$7.25 ARS 11.2K

-9.10%

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

$434 MX$8,064

$174 ARS 268.8K

149.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$260.7K

$4,125 ARS 6.4M

240.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,269

$125 ARS 193.3K

-45.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,018

$142 ARS 219.9K

-61.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,059

$141 ARS 218.5K

-21.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,154

$158 ARS 243.8K

-26.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$511 ARS 788.8K

130.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$336 ARS 519.9K

129.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.7K

$1,049 ARS 1.6M

144.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$825 ARS 1.3M

72.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.3K

$1,272 ARS 2.0M

62.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

-80.76%

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 Rafael: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

San Rafael

$336 24.9% 56.3% $434

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

San Rafael

$287 21.2% 11.4% $37

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

San Rafael

$230 17% 14.9% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

San Rafael

$255 18.9% 61.9% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

San Rafael

$187 13.9% 50.4% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

San Rafael

$46 3.4% 35.7% $26

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

San Rafael

$11 * 0.8% 55.8% $14

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 $1,179 in Mexico City and $511 in San Rafael. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $51 in San Rafael for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $287 per month, with San Rafael cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇦🇷 San Rafael

🕒 Local time

05:57 5:57 AM

08:57 8:57 AM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

118,850

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.78 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1,545 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,730 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.78 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San Rafael 6,830 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San Rafael

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 Rafael: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,353 in San Rafael, so San Rafael is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $2,029 in San Rafael 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 $511 in San Rafael. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $174 in San Rafael. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,674 per month in Mexico City versus $1,353 in San Rafael – San Rafael is about 19% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. San Rafael 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.