Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Vicente

For one person, living is cheaper in San Vicente: $815 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in San Vicente
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San Vicente Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

San Vicente

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$815

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $815 in San Vicente.

Mexico City $1,674
San Vicente $815

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,310 in San Vicente.

Mexico City $2,606
San Vicente $1,310

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,806 in San Vicente.

Mexico City $3,537
San Vicente $1,806

Living in Mexico City is roughly 105% more expensive than in San Vicente, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, San Vicente is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$199

$6.87 $6.87

54.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$978

$45.20 $45.20

14.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$202

$6.89 $6.89

55.73%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.4

$3.61 $3.61

5.26%

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

$1.61 MX$30.35

$1.17 $1.17

37.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.81

$0.80 $0.80

51.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.8

$2.06 $2.06

54.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$3.59 $3.59

51.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.89 $1.89

-8.99%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.8

$2.79 $2.79

6.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.24

$1.39 $1.39

38.85%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$52.2

$3.07 $3.07

-9.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$220

$7.54 $7.54

54.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$178

$7.08 $7.08

33.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$289

$10.42 $10.42

47.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.4

$5.02 $5.02

-38.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.90

$1.43 $1.43

37.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.30

$2.55 $2.55

-22.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.95

$3.35 $3.35

-30.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.08

$2.89 $2.89

-30.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.34

$3.38 $3.38

-46.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$29.06

$0.95 $0.95

62.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.70

$1.00 $1.00

31.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$101

$3.98 $3.98

34.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$305

$12.03 $12.03

34.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.87

$2.28 $2.28

-14.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.9

$2.95 $2.95

47.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.74

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$36.08

$6.04 $6.04

-68.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.90

$2.94 $2.94

-84.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$102

$19.70 $19.70

-72.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.92

$1.25 $1.25

18.40%

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

$21.4K MX$402.2K

$25.5K $25.5K

-16.04%

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

$23.8K MX$447.1K

$27.5K $27.5K

-13.73%

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

$62.0 MX$1,167

$132 $132

-52.92%

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

$28.47 MX$536

$21.65 $21.65

31.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$642

$42.85 $42.85

-20.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,099

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$461

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$124

$5.04 $5.04

30.75%

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

$434 MX$8,172

$165 $165

162.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$264.1K

$4,759 $4,759

194.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,286

$67.6 $67.6

1.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,031

$46.84 $46.84

16.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,086

$118 $118

-5.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,183

$116 $116

-0.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

8.5

33.53%

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 Vicente: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

San Vicente

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

San Vicente

$287 35.2% 11.2% $36

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

San Vicente

$144 17.7% 28% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

San Vicente

$157 19.2% 0.5% $0.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

San Vicente

$196 24.1% 57.5% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

San Vicente

$10 * 1.2% 85.9% $61

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

San Vicente

$21 * 2.5% 17.1% $4.3

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 $45 in San Vicente for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $287 per month, with San Vicente cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇸🇻 San Vicente

🕒 Local time

03:37 3:37 AM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

41,504

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San Vicente 1,280 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San Vicente

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 Vicente: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $815 in San Vicente, so San Vicente is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,223 in San Vicente 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 $165 in San Vicente. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Vicente – a meal for two runs $45 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $815 in San Vicente versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in San Vicente but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes San Vicente 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.