Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $4,405 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $33,600 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
211

Cost of Living Index in St Thomas
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St Thomas Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

St Thomas

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,405

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in St Thomas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $4,405 in St Thomas.

Mexico City $1,608
St Thomas $4,405

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $7,271 in St Thomas.

Mexico City $2,549
St Thomas $7,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $10.1K in St Thomas.

Mexico City $3,490
St Thomas $10.1K

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 64% less than in St Thomas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, St Thomas 224% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$197

$22.53 $22.53

-52.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$898

$169 $169

-71.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$192

$13.39 $13.39

-22.70%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.5

$6.00 $6.00

-38.50%

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

$1.67 MX$30.95

$3.88 $3.88

-56.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.50

$3.43 $3.43

-62.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.3

$4.97 $4.97

-35.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.6

$7.02 $7.02

-24.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.03

$2.77 $2.77

-37.91%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.5

$6.70 $6.70

-54.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.05

$18.56 $18.56

-89.55%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.6

$8.84 $8.84

-67.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$11.47 $11.47

-4.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$29.17 $29.17

-68.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$281

$39.88 $39.88

-62.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.6

$12.14 $12.14

-74.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.05

$10.95 $10.95

-82.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.61

$11.95 $11.95

-83.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.99

$19.65 $19.65

-88.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.79

$1.97 $1.97

3.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.43

$8.71 $8.71

-79.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.47

$8.22 $8.22

-82.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.54

$5.39 $5.39

-76.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.5

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$299

$25.08 $25.08

-35.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.83

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.0

$5.95 $5.95

-28.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.67

$1.95 $1.95

-84.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$367

$61.0 $61.0

-67.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.13

$19.99 $19.99

-90.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.91

$3.05 $3.05

-82.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.3

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.05

$1.44 $1.44

4.86%

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

$21.8K MX$404.0K

$54.0K $54.0K

-59.68%

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

$24.0K MX$445.4K

$48.2K $48.2K

-50.24%

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

$63.0 MX$1,170

$462 $462

-86.37%

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

$27.39 MX$509

$98.9 $98.9

-72.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$662

$147 $147

-75.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,095

$163 $163

-63.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$439

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$10.18 $10.18

-37.13%

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

$432 MX$8,015

$1,471 $1,471

-70.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.1K

$22.1K $22.1K

-48.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,267

$116 $116

-41.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$987

$147 $147

-63.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,002

$204 $204

-47.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,178

$148 $148

-20.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$1,589 $1,589

-29.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$1,813 $1,813

-60.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.1K

$3,239 $3,239

-20.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.1K

$4,321 $4,321

-67.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.4K

$4,840 $4,840

-24.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.6K

$11.0K $11.0K

-80.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$2,724 $2,724

-65.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

9.45

20.11%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for St Thomas: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

St Thomas

$1.8K 41.2% 155% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

St Thomas

$960 * 21.8% 200% $640

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

St Thomas

$361 8.2% 81.6% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

St Thomas

$276 6.3% 77.3% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

St Thomas

$708 16.1% 462% $582

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

St Thomas

$183 4.2% 155% $111

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

St Thomas

$104 2.4% 309% $79

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $1,589 in St Thomas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St Thomas pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $169 in St Thomas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $960 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🕒 Local time

21:28 9:28 PM

23:28 11:28 PM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

20,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 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 St Thomas 3,600 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
St Thomas

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 St Thomas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $4,405 in St Thomas, so Mexico City is about 64% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 65% lower in Mexico City. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $1,589 in St Thomas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 68% less than in St Thomas. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $1,471 in St Thomas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,608 in Mexico City versus $4,405 in St Thomas, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in St Thomas. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Mexico City is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in St Thomas, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in St Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.