Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Toa Alta

For one person, living is cheaper in Toa Alta: $1,234 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Toa Alta
Learn more

Toa Alta Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Toa Alta

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,234

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Toa Alta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,234 in Toa Alta.

Mexico City $1,567
Toa Alta $1,234

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,933 in Toa Alta.

Mexico City $2,450
Toa Alta $1,933

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,633 in Toa Alta.

Mexico City $3,333
Toa Alta $2,633

Living in Mexico City is roughly 27% more expensive than in Toa Alta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Toa Alta is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$12.77 $12.77

-15.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$82.3 $82.3

-38.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$8.97 $8.97

23.75%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.47 $3.47

6.05%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$1.54 $1.54

7.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$1.41 $1.41

-7.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$2.97 $2.97

11.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$5.06 $5.06

9.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$2.23 $2.23

-20.63%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$3.53 $3.53

-13.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$2.40 $2.40

-16.25%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$5.14 $5.14

-46.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$5.07 $5.07

134.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$9.68 $9.68

-3.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$6.38 $6.38

135.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$5.04 $5.04

-38.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$2.66 $2.66

-26.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$4.94 $4.94

-58.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$4.71 $4.71

-53.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$3.75 $3.75

-46.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$3.95 $3.95

-53.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$3.36 $3.36

-54.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$1.59 $1.59

-19.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$11.84 $11.84

-55.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$14.83 $14.83

8.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$2.95 $2.95

-33.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$3.93 $3.93

8.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$2.45 $2.45

-18.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$1.48 $1.48

-64.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$42.49 $42.49

-86.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.18 $1.18

28.81%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$40.3K $40.3K

-47.87%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$27.7K $27.7K

-9.10%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$317 $317

-80.27%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$70.4 $70.4

-59.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$69.2 $69.2

-50.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$27.67 $27.67

106.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$10.35 $10.35

-35.56%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$836 $836

-48.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$12.6K $12.6K

-6.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$56.3 $56.3

25.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$61.3 $61.3

-15.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$110 $110

-0.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$112 $112

0.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

6.55

72.52%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Toa Alta: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Toa Alta

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Toa Alta

$359 29.1% 11.2% $36

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Toa Alta

$208 16.8% 2.3% $4.6

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Toa Alta

$153 12.4% 1.3% $2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Toa Alta

$456 37% 263% $331

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Toa Alta

$48 3.9% 31.3% $22

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Toa Alta

$9.8 * 0.8% 61.8% $16

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $82.0 in Toa Alta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $359 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇷 Toa Alta

🕒 Local time

13:00 1:00 PM

15:00 3:00 PM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

74,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Toa Alta 3,460 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Toa Alta

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 Toa Alta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Toa Alta differ by about 27% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $1,234 including rent). Toa Alta is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,351 in Mexico City and $1,851 in Toa Alta 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.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $836 in Toa Alta. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Toa Alta – a meal for two runs $82.0 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,234 in Toa Alta versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Toa Alta but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Toa Alta 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 Toa Alta gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.