Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Tacloban

For one person, living is cheaper in Tacloban: $773 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Tacloban
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Tacloban Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Tacloban

🇵🇭 Philippines

$773

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Tacloban

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $773 in Tacloban.

Mexico City $1,567
Tacloban $773

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,160 in Tacloban.

Mexico City $2,450
Tacloban $1,160

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $1,548 in Tacloban.

Mexico City $3,333
Tacloban $1,548

Living in Mexico City is roughly 103% more expensive than in Tacloban, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Tacloban is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$3.06 ₱193

251.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$15.80 ₱995

218.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$2.36 ₱149

370.34%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.41 ₱152

52.70%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$0.66 ₱41.55

150.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.37 ₱23.54

251.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$1.56 ₱98.2

112.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$2.21 ₱139

150.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$2.03 ₱128

-12.81%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.17 ₱73.9

160.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$0.90 ₱56.7

123.33%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$1.95 ₱123

42.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$10.00 ₱629

19.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$4.34 ₱273

114.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$7.20 ₱453

108.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$3.47 ₱218

-11.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.10 ₱69.0

77.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$2.32 ₱146

-12.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$1.48 ₱93.5

49.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$2.36 ₱149

-14.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.92 ₱121

-5.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.14 ₱71.9

33.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.64 ₱40.22

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$1.95 ₱123

170.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$6.23 ₱392

158.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.13 ₱71.0

72.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$1.66 ₱104

156.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.27 ₱17.05

14.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$11.05 ₱696

79.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$0.78 ₱49.11

156.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.23 ₱14.54

130.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$1.87 ₱118

200.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$0.99 ₱62.1

53.54%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

-0.75%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$19.6K ₱1.2M

28.33%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$120 ₱7,542

-47.83%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$14.07 ₱886

104.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$27.83 ₱1,752

23.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$32.70 ₱2,059

74.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$4.69 ₱295

429.00%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$5.73 ₱361

16.40%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$134 ₱8,419

222.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$8,021 ₱505.0K

46.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$32.68 ₱2,057

116.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$19.29 ₱1,214

168.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$76.2 ₱4,797

42.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$57.1 ₱3,597

96.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$263 ₱16.5K

299.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$191 ₱12.0K

248.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$523 ₱32.9K

348.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$360 ₱22.7K

240.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$2,393 ₱150.6K

48.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$976 ₱61.5K

102.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$347 ₱21.9K

180.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

7.2

56.94%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Tacloban: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Tacloban

$191 24.7% 71.3% $474

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Tacloban

$202 26.1% 37.4% $121

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Tacloban

$77 9.9% 62.2% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Tacloban

$83 10.8% 46.1% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Tacloban

$162 20.9% 28.6% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Tacloban

$44 5.7% 37.3% $26

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Tacloban

$14 1.8% 45.4% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $263 in Tacloban. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 180% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $16.00 in Tacloban for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $202 per month, with Tacloban cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 Tacloban

🕒 Local time

15:26 3:26 PM

05:26 5:26 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

242,089

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Tacloban 14,100 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Tacloban

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 Tacloban: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Tacloban differ by about 103% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $773 including rent). Tacloban is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 180% higher in Mexico City, 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $263 in Tacloban. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tacloban runs roughly 80% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $134 in Tacloban. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $773 in Tacloban versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tacloban but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Tacloban 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 Tacloban gentler on the wallet – expenses run 103% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.