Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Santa Teresa

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Teresa: $1,530 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Santa Teresa
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Santa Teresa Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Santa Teresa

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,530

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,530 in Santa Teresa.

Mexico City $1,674
Santa Teresa $1,530

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $2,295 in Santa Teresa.

Mexico City $2,606
Santa Teresa $2,295

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $3,061 in Santa Teresa.

Mexico City $3,537
Santa Teresa $3,061

Living in Mexico City is roughly 9% more expensive than in Santa Teresa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 24% above, Santa Teresa 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$9.90 ₡4,459

6.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$42.31 ₡19.1K

22.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$9.71 ₡4,374

10.50%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$3.70 ₡1,667

2.70%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$2.04 ₡917

-21.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$1.63 ₡735

-25.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$3.03 ₡1,366

4.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$4.55 ₡2,048

19.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$2.05 ₡925

-16.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$2.82 ₡1,270

5.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$2.16 ₡972

-10.65%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$2.98 ₡1,344

-7.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$10.01 ₡4,509

16.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$8.97 ₡4,042

5.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$13.60 ₡6,127

13.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$4.56 ₡2,052

-32.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.44 ₡651

36.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$4.12 ₡1,856

-51.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$3.07 ₡1,385

-23.78%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$3.39 ₡1,526

-40.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$2.58 ₡1,161

-29.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.01 ₡455

52.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$2.85 ₡1,282

-54.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$5.09 ₡2,292

5.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$13.79 ₡6,211

17.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$2.36 ₡1,063

-16.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.62 ₡1,179

66.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.96 ₡433

-68.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$1.84 ₡830

4.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$1.83 ₡826

-74.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$7.95 ₡3,580

-31.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.46 ₡659

1.37%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$38.4K ₡17.3M

-44.32%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$32.7K ₡14.7M

-27.42%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$84.9 ₡38.2K

-26.98%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$26.16 ₡11.8K

8.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$50.4 ₡22.7K

-32.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$50.1 ₡22.6K

16.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$23.66 ₡10.7K

3.55%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$8.89 ₡4,004

-25.87%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$573 ₡257.9K

-24.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$12.4K ₡5.6M

12.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$61.8 ₡27.8K

10.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$51.2 ₡23.0K

7.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$127 ₡57.4K

-13.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$107 ₡48.0K

8.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$706 ₡318.2K

66.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$592 ₡266.6K

30.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$1,461 ₡657.9K

75.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$955 ₡430.0K

48.71%

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

10.17

11.60%

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 Teresa: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Santa Teresa

$592 38.7% 23.2% $179

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Santa Teresa

$346 22.6% 7.1% $23

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Santa Teresa

$192 12.5% 4.4% $8.9

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Santa Teresa

$156 10.2% 0.8% $1.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Santa Teresa

$161 10.6% 29.6% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Santa Teresa

$68 4.4% 5.2% $3.7

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Santa Teresa

$15 * 1% 40.5% $10

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 $706 in Santa Teresa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $42 in Santa Teresa. Groceries flip the comparison at $324 vs $346, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇷 Santa Teresa

🕒 Local time

03:20 3:20 AM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

3,099

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Santa Teresa 1,850 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Santa Teresa

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 Teresa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,530 in Santa Teresa, so Santa Teresa is about 9% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $2,295 in Santa Teresa 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 $706 in Santa Teresa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $573 in Santa Teresa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Teresa – a meal for two runs $42 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,500. Santa Teresa is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Santa Teresa delivers better value at $1,530 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Santa Teresa hard to pass up.