Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Santa Rosa, Philippines

Name: Santa Rosa
Address: Santa Rosa, PH

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Rosa: $614 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Santa Rosa
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Santa Rosa Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Santa Rosa

🇵🇭 Philippines

$614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $614 in Santa Rosa.

Mexico City $1,608
Santa Rosa $614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $873 in Santa Rosa.

Mexico City $2,549
Santa Rosa $873

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,131 in Santa Rosa.

Mexico City $3,490
Santa Rosa $1,131

Living in Mexico City is roughly 162% more expensive than in Santa Rosa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Santa Rosa is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$2.47 ₱158

329.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$16.32 ₱1,042

196.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$2.76 ₱176

275.00%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$1.12 ₱71.3

229.46%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.36 ₱22.76

363.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.22 ₱13.96

477.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.00 ₱63.8

219.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$1.26 ₱80.7

321.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.60 ₱102

7.50%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.15 ₱73.6

164.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$0.99 ₱63.6

95.96%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.53 ₱97.7

88.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$5.10 ₱326

115.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$3.42 ₱219

170.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.75 ₱495

95.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.18 ₱139

39.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$0.80 ₱51.2

142.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$2.27 ₱145

-10.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.00 ₱64.0

131.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.71 ₱109

19.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.73 ₱111

4.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$0.64 ₱40.97

131.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.48 ₱30.37

164.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$2.80 ₱179

89.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$8.75 ₱559

84.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$0.95 ₱61.0

108.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$2.03 ₱129

109.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.21 ₱13.28

47.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$13.39 ₱856

47.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$0.81 ₱51.6

127.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.24 ₱15.36

120.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$1.92 ₱123

176.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.02 ₱65.2

48.04%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$21.2K ₱1.4M

2.48%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$19.2K ₱1.2M

25.21%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$62.5 ₱3,990

0.85%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$6.40 ₱409

327.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$23.42 ₱1,496

52.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$31.17 ₱1,991

89.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$5.99 ₱382

294.66%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$5.16 ₱330

24.03%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$132 ₱8,404

228.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$5,549 ₱354.5K

105.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$28.17 ₱1,800

142.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$19.31 ₱1,234

175.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$71.5 ₱4,569

50.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$55.1 ₱3,517

113.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$255 ₱16.3K

336.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$168 ₱10.8K

321.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$494 ₱31.6K

424.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$169 ₱10.8K

732.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$2,457 ₱157.0K

47.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,162 ₱74.2K

83.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$140 ₱8,933

576.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.75

68.15%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Santa Rosa: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Santa Rosa

$168 27.4% 76.3% $542

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Santa Rosa

$166 27.1% 48% $153

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Santa Rosa

$51 8.3% 74.2% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Santa Rosa

$78 12.8% 49.8% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Santa Rosa

$92 15% 26.8% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Santa Rosa

$41 6.8% 42.2% $30

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Santa Rosa

$16 2.6% 36.3% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $255 in Santa Rosa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 6.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $16 in Santa Rosa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $166 per month, with Santa Rosa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 Santa Rosa

🕒 Local time

16:22 4:22 PM

06:22 6:22 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

414,812

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Santa Rosa 14,230 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Santa Rosa

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 Rosa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $614 in Santa Rosa, so Santa Rosa is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 6.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $255 in Santa Rosa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Santa Rosa runs roughly 32% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $132 in Santa Rosa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $614 in Santa Rosa versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Santa Rosa but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Rosa 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.

Expats usually find Santa Rosa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.