Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Rafael, Costa Rica

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,674 a month against $1,718 in San Rafael, rent and utilities included – about $530 less a year. The total is higher in San Rafael despite lower rent and utilities.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
83

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

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,718

/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 $1,718 in San Rafael.

Mexico City $1,674
San Rafael $1,718

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $2,741 in San Rafael.

Mexico City $2,606
San Rafael $2,741

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $3,765 in San Rafael.

Mexico City $3,537
San Rafael $3,765

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 3% less than in San Rafael, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 24% above, San Rafael 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$12.45 ₡5,597

-14.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$62.3 ₡28.0K

-16.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$11.82 ₡5,315

-9.22%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$4.34 ₡1,951

-12.44%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$2.61 ₡1,174

-38.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$1.93 ₡866

-37.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$3.30 ₡1,484

-3.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$4.46 ₡2,007

21.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$2.31 ₡1,039

-25.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$3.06 ₡1,375

-2.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$2.39 ₡1,074

-19.25%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$3.53 ₡1,589

-21.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$10.70 ₡4,813

9.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$10.61 ₡4,772

-10.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$13.86 ₡6,232

10.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$5.12 ₡2,301

-39.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.60 ₡717

22.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$4.89 ₡2,197

-59.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$3.82 ₡1,718

-38.74%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$3.72 ₡1,671

-45.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$3.71 ₡1,666

-50.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.13 ₡509

36.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$3.20 ₡1,439

-59.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$6.00 ₡2,696

-10.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$19.67 ₡8,846

-17.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$2.87 ₡1,291

-31.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$3.55 ₡1,595

22.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$1.35 ₡607

-77.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$2.46 ₡1,107

-21.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$1.62 ₡728

-70.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$8.85 ₡3,978

-38.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.56 ₡702

-5.13%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$33.9K ₡15.3M

-37.02%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$42.2K ₡19.0M

-43.73%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$96.5 ₡43.4K

-35.76%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$35.72 ₡16.1K

-20.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$59.7 ₡26.9K

-42.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$68.3 ₡30.7K

-14.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$7.73 ₡3,478

-14.75%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$985 ₡442.8K

-55.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$16.9K ₡7.6M

-17.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$72.3 ₡32.5K

-5.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$56.9 ₡25.6K

-3.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$127 ₡56.9K

-12.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$133 ₡59.6K

-12.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$795 ₡357.3K

48.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$621 ₡279.3K

24.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$1,888 ₡849.2K

36.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$1,271 ₡571.8K

11.65%

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

8.62

31.67%

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 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

San Rafael

$621 36.1% 19.4% $150

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

San Rafael

$400 23.3% 23.7% $77

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

San Rafael

$231 13.4% 15% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

San Rafael

$175 10.2% 11% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

San Rafael

$192 11.2% 54.1% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

San Rafael

$84 4.9% 17.1% $12

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

San Rafael

$16 * 0.9% 36.2% $9

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 $795 in San Rafael. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $62 in San Rafael for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $400 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇷 San Rafael

🕒 Local time

13:49 1:49 PM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

30,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San Rafael 1,930 km ≈ 3 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 $1,718 in San Rafael, so Mexico City is about 3% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $2,577 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 $795 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 $985 in San Rafael. 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 $62 in San Rafael. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.