Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Santa Cruz, Costa Rica

For one person, living costs are similar in Mexico City and in Santa Cruz: $1,674 and $1,711 a month, rent and utilities included.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz
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Santa Cruz Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,711

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Santa Cruz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,711 in Santa Cruz.

Mexico City $1,674
Santa Cruz $1,711

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $2,714 in Santa Cruz.

Mexico City $2,606
Santa Cruz $2,714

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $3,718 in Santa Cruz.

Mexico City $3,537
Santa Cruz $3,718

Monthly costs are close between Mexico City and Santa Cruz; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$199

$12.17 ₡5,472

-12.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$978

$61.9 ₡27.8K

-16.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$202

$11.04 ₡4,960

-2.81%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.4

$4.49 ₡2,017

-15.37%

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

$1.61 MX$30.35

$2.30 ₡1,034

-30.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.81

$1.86 ₡838

-34.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.8

$3.38 ₡1,521

-5.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$4.53 ₡2,038

20.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$2.40 ₡1,078

-28.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.8

$3.15 ₡1,415

-5.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.24

$2.41 ₡1,084

-19.92%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$52.2

$3.59 ₡1,616

-22.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$220

$10.64 ₡4,783

9.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$178

$10.45 ₡4,697

-9.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$289

$13.90 ₡6,248

10.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.4

$5.00 ₡2,248

-38.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.90

$1.11 ₡500

76.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.30

$4.73 ₡2,125

-58.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.95

$3.95 ₡1,773

-40.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.08

$3.86 ₡1,735

-47.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.34

$3.60 ₡1,616

-49.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$29.06

$1.12 ₡505

37.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.70

$3.12 ₡1,402

-58.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$101

$5.86 ₡2,632

-8.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$305

$19.93 ₡8,958

-18.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.87

$2.76 ₡1,242

-28.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.9

$3.53 ₡1,586

23.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.74

$1.30 ₡582

-76.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$36.08

$2.43 ₡1,091

-20.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.90

$1.55 ₡699

-69.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$102

$8.47 ₡3,806

-36.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.92

$1.57 ₡705

-5.73%

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

$21.4K MX$402.2K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-38.08%

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

$23.8K MX$447.1K

$41.3K ₡18.6M

-42.53%

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

$62.0 MX$1,167

$95.7 ₡43.0K

-35.24%

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

$28.47 MX$536

$35.08 ₡15.8K

-18.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$642

$60.4 ₡27.2K

-43.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,099

$66.5 ₡29.9K

-12.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$461

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$124

$6.68 ₡3,002

-1.35%

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

$434 MX$8,172

$997 ₡448.1K

-56.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$264.1K

$17.2K ₡7.7M

-18.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,286

$70.5 ₡31.7K

-3.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,031

$56.6 ₡25.4K

-3.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,086

$130 ₡58.3K

-14.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,183

$131 ₡58.8K

-11.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.2K

$807 ₡362.7K

46.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.5K

$626 ₡281.5K

23.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.4K

$1,909 ₡858.0K

34.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.7K

$1,252 ₡562.7K

13.39%

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

8.62

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 Santa Cruz: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Santa Cruz

$626 36.6% 18.8% $145

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Santa Cruz

$397 23.2% 22.7% $74

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Santa Cruz

$227 13.3% 13.2% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Santa Cruz

$174 10.2% 10.8% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Santa Cruz

$191 11.2% 53.5% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Santa Cruz

$80 4.7% 11.6% $8.3

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Santa Cruz

$15 * 0.9% 38.5% $9.6

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 $807 in Santa Cruz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $62 in Santa Cruz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $397 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇷 Santa Cruz

🕒 Local time

03:11 3:11 AM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,665

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Santa Cruz 1,780 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Santa Cruz

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 Santa Cruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $2,567 in Santa Cruz 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 $807 in Santa Cruz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $997 in Santa Cruz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Santa Cruz. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.