Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Santa Barbara Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Santa Barbara

🙂 Solo nomad: Mexico City is 17.1% cheaper than Santa Barbara without rent, and 4.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Mexico City is 15.6% cheaper than Santa Barbara without rent, and 0.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.19 MX$233

$10.82 ₡5,364

21.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.5 MX$944

$59.5 ₡29.5K

-10.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.37 MX$165

$10.13 ₡5,025

-7.50%

Cappuccino

$3.75 MX$66.2

$3.89 ₡1,929

-3.60%

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

$1.57 MX$27.71

$2.00 ₡989

-21.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.11 MX$19.61

$1.59 ₡788

-30.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.12 MX$55.1

$2.95 ₡1,461

5.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.81 MX$84.9

$4.65 ₡2,306

3.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 MX$29.16

$2.06 ₡1,022

-19.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 MX$48.87

$2.76 ₡1,368

0.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.91 MX$33.67

$2.24 ₡1,111

-14.73%

Eggs

$2.60 MX$45.81

$2.92 ₡1,449

-10.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.21 MX$180

$8.96 ₡4,443

13.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.46 MX$149

$9.29 ₡4,608

-8.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.60 MX$205

$13.74 ₡6,814

-15.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.00 MX$52.9

$4.53 ₡2,248

-33.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 MX$30.49

$1.26 ₡622

37.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.04 MX$36.05

$2.35 ₡1,165

-13.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$35.34

$3.44 ₡1,707

-41.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 MX$37.91

$2.95 ₡1,464

-27.12%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 MX$39.71

$2.90 ₡1,436

-22.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 MX$24.57

$0.73 ₡362

90.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$18.88

$2.81 ₡1,393

-61.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.13 MX$73.0

$5.34 ₡2,648

-22.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.35 MX$218

$12.28 ₡6,088

0.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 MX$30.02

$2.42 ₡1,198

-29.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.56 MX$62.8

$2.91 ₡1,445

22.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 MX$6.35

$0.96 ₡474

-62.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.70 MX$330

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.36 MX$24.05

$1.79 ₡885

-24.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.28 MX$4.88

$0.97 ₡479

-71.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.44 MX$96.0

$7.78 ₡3,855

-30.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 MX$23.64

$1.41 ₡700

-4.96%

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

$19.0K MX$335.5K

$37.5K ₡18.6M

-49.32%

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

$23.3K MX$411.1K

$32.0K ₡15.9M

-27.22%

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

$40.62 MX$717

$68.6 ₡34.0K

-40.82%

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

$26.92 MX$475

$25.60 ₡12.7K

5.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.98 MX$529

$59.2 ₡29.3K

-49.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 MX$922

$57.1 ₡28.3K

-8.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.91 MX$457

$23.89 ₡11.8K

8.46%

Cinema Ticket

$6.39 MX$113

$8.89 ₡4,408

-28.12%

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

$431 MX$7,603

$568 ₡281.4K

-24.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.4K MX$184.0K

$12.8K ₡6.4M

-18.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.4 MX$1,031

$61.8 ₡30.6K

-5.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.65 MX$788

$52.3 ₡25.9K

-14.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 MX$1,823

$128 ₡63.3K

-19.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 MX$1,876

$108 ₡53.7K

-1.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$998 MX$17.6K

$776 ₡384.5K

28.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$624 MX$11.0K

$587 ₡290.9K

6.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,108 MX$37.2K

$1,502 ₡744.8K

40.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,231 MX$21.7K

$957 ₡474.3K

28.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,647 MX$64.4K

$1,681 ₡833.2K

116.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,169 MX$38.3K

$1,670 ₡827.9K

29.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,044 MX$18.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

26.00%

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

Last update for Mexico City: January 13, 2026

Last update for Santa Barbara: January 12, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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