Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Trujillo Alto

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,674 a month against $1,754 in Trujillo Alto, rent and utilities included – about $960 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Trujillo Alto
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Trujillo Alto Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Trujillo Alto

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,754

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Trujillo Alto

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,754 in Trujillo Alto.

Mexico City $1,674
Trujillo Alto $1,754

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $2,637 in Trujillo Alto.

Mexico City $2,606
Trujillo Alto $2,637

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $3,520 in Trujillo Alto.

Mexico City $3,537
Trujillo Alto $3,520

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 5% less than in Trujillo Alto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 24% above, Trujillo Alto 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$12.83 $12.83

-17.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$78.6 $78.6

-33.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$9.43 $9.43

13.79%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.91 $2.91

30.58%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.92 $1.92

-16.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.98 $0.98

23.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$3.03 $3.03

4.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$3.89 $3.89

39.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$2.16 $2.16

-20.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$3.36 $3.36

-11.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$2.42 $2.42

-20.25%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$4.90 $4.90

-43.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$8.64 $8.64

35.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$9.37 $9.37

1.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$7.81 $7.81

96.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$4.29 $4.29

-27.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$2.57 $2.57

-23.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$4.74 $4.74

-58.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$3.82 $3.82

-38.74%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$3.74 $3.74

-45.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$4.05 $4.05

-55.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$3.48 $3.48

-55.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$1.54 $1.54

-14.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$10.11 $10.11

-47.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$14.96 $14.96

8.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$3.11 $3.11

-36.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$4.09 $4.09

6.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$2.44 $2.44

-21.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$1.47 $1.47

-68.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$42.15 $42.15

-87.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.04 $1.04

42.31%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$34.4K $34.4K

-37.87%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$28.2K $28.2K

-15.86%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$327 $327

-81.07%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$58.4 $58.4

-51.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$69.2 $69.2

-50.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$29.43 $29.43

98.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$10.16 $10.16

141.14%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$10.69 $10.69

-38.35%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$344 $344

26.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$5,458 $5,458

157.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$39.36 $39.36

73.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$54.0 $54.0

1.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$90.0 $90.0

23.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$113 $113

2.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$698 $698

69.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$544 $544

41.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$1,160 $1,160

121.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$960 $960

47.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$1,903 $1,903

88.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$1,614 $1,614

27.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

$3,311 $3,311

-69.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.55

73.28%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Trujillo Alto: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Trujillo Alto

$544 31% 29.4% $227

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Trujillo Alto

$361 20.6% 11.6% $37

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Trujillo Alto

$200 11.4% 0.1% $0.2

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Trujillo Alto

$133 7.6% 15.4% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Trujillo Alto

$455 25.9% 265% $330

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Trujillo Alto

$51 2.9% 29% $21

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Trujillo Alto

$9.8 * 0.6% 60.7% $15

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 $698 in Trujillo Alto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Trujillo Alto pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $79 in Trujillo Alto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $361 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇷 Trujillo Alto

🕒 Local time

20:47 8:47 PM

22:47 10:47 PM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

43,712

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 USD = 0.888 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Trujillo Alto 3,480 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Trujillo Alto

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 Trujillo Alto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,754 in Trujillo Alto, so Mexico City is about 5% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 70% 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $698 in Trujillo Alto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $344 in Trujillo Alto. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $52 versus $79 in Trujillo Alto. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Mexico City wins on affordability, Trujillo Alto on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.