Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Ushuaia

For one person, living is cheaper in Ushuaia: $957 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Ushuaia
Learn more

Ushuaia Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Ushuaia

🇦🇷 Argentina

$957

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $957 in Ushuaia.

Mexico City $1,567
Ushuaia $957

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,570 in Ushuaia.

Mexico City $2,450
Ushuaia $1,570

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,183 in Ushuaia.

Mexico City $3,333
Ushuaia $2,183

Living in Mexico City is roughly 64% more expensive than in Ushuaia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Ushuaia is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$10.38 ARS 15.8K

3.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$33.08 ARS 50.2K

51.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$9.06 ARS 13.7K

22.52%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.78 ARS 4,224

32.37%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$1.67 ARS 2,528

-1.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$1.54 ARS 2,330

-15.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$2.16 ARS 3,274

53.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$3.04 ARS 4,610

82.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.31 ARS 1,984

35.11%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.57 ARS 2,388

94.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$2.02 ARS 3,069

-0.50%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.27 ARS 3,449

22.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$10.15 ARS 15.4K

17.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$6.35 ARS 9,633

46.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$9.23 ARS 14.0K

62.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$2.01 ARS 3,052

53.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$2.06 ARS 3,132

-5.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$1.27 ARS 1,933

59.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$2.62 ARS 3,980

-15.65%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.17 ARS 1,779

72.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.19 ARS 1,809

52.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.32 ARS 2,005

15.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$1.45 ARS 2,197

-11.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$3.11 ARS 4,716

69.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$5.02 ARS 7,625

221.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.97 ARS 2,994

-1.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$3.02 ARS 4,583

40.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.77 ARS 1,173

-59.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$1.47 ARS 2,224

36.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.86 ARS 1,308

-38.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$5.86 ARS 8,894

-4.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.10 ARS 1,671

38.18%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$27.9K ARS 42.3M

-24.58%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$30.4K ARS 46.1M

-17.06%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$65.8 ARS 99.8K

-5.02%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$17.24 ARS 26.2K

66.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$22.31 ARS 33.9K

54.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$26.50 ARS 40.2K

115.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$13.68 ARS 20.8K

81.36%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$6.16 ARS 9,341

8.28%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$220 ARS 333.3K

96.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$2,731 ARS 4.1M

329.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$75.1 ARS 113.9K

-5.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$70.4 ARS 106.8K

-26.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$114 ARS 173.1K

-4.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$111 ARS 168.4K

1.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$342 ARS 519.2K

207.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$233 ARS 354.2K

184.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$694 ARS 1.1M

237.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$537 ARS 814.2K

128.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$1,848 ARS 2.8M

92.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$1,594 ARS 2.4M

24.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

58.5

-80.68%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ushuaia: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Ushuaia

$233 24.4% 64.9% $432

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Ushuaia

$231 24.1% 28.4% $92

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Ushuaia

$173 18.1% 14.6% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Ushuaia

$167 17.4% 7.8% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Ushuaia

$105 11% 16.2% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Ushuaia

$39 4.1% 44.9% $32

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Ushuaia

$8.9 * 0.9% 65.6% $17

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 $1,051 in Mexico City and $342 in Ushuaia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $33.00 in Ushuaia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $231 per month, with Ushuaia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇦🇷 Ushuaia

🕒 Local time

08:04 8:04 AM

11:04 11:04 AM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

79,538

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, 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).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Mexico City Ushuaia 8,760 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Ushuaia

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 Ushuaia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Ushuaia differ by about 64% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $957 including rent). Ushuaia 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 $1,436 in Ushuaia 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $342 in Ushuaia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $220 in Ushuaia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ushuaia – a meal for two runs $33.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $957 in Ushuaia versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ushuaia but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Ushuaia 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Ushuaia are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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