Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Zihuatanejo

For one person, living is cheaper in Zihuatanejo: $1,131 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Zihuatanejo
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Zihuatanejo Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Zihuatanejo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,131

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,131 in Zihuatanejo.

Mexico City $1,548
Zihuatanejo $1,131

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,824 in Zihuatanejo.

Mexico City $2,436
Zihuatanejo $1,824

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,517 in Zihuatanejo.

Mexico City $3,323
Zihuatanejo $2,517

Living in Mexico City is roughly 37% more expensive than in Zihuatanejo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Zihuatanejo is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$206

$10.86 MX$203

1.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$911

$44.16 MX$827

10.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$204

$8.74 MX$164

24.71%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.9

$3.48 MX$65.2

5.75%

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

$1.63 MX$30.57

$1.36 MX$25.45

19.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.36

$1.02 MX$19.08

22.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.8

$2.45 MX$45.89

32.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$104

$3.98 MX$74.4

38.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.90

$1.66 MX$31.05

2.41%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$56.5

$2.55 MX$47.69

18.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.99

$1.65 MX$30.90

16.36%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$51.2

$2.44 MX$45.61

11.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$220

$8.11 MX$152

45.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$178

$8.52 MX$159

11.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$270

$11.56 MX$216

24.65%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$56.5

$2.72 MX$51.0

11.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.46

$1.56 MX$29.27

21.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.17

$1.94 MX$36.39

2.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.90

$1.77 MX$33.10

23.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.88

$1.94 MX$36.24

-1.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.94

$1.88 MX$35.15

-0.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.96

$1.43 MX$26.71

0.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.69

$1.09 MX$20.47

16.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$97.7

$4.28 MX$80.1

21.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$303

$10.27 MX$192

57.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.48

$1.82 MX$34.04

4.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$79.0

$3.06 MX$57.3

37.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.38

$0.68 MX$12.77

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$37.37

$2.61 MX$48.93

-23.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.80

$2.02 MX$37.88

-74.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$100.0

$11.18 MX$209

-52.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.50

$1.44 MX$26.93

5.56%

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

$22.1K MX$413.2K

$21.3K MX$398.4K

3.71%

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

$24.5K MX$458.7K

$23.9K MX$447.0K

2.63%

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

$61.1 MX$1,143

$57.3 MX$1,072

6.65%

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

$28.58 MX$535

$23.00 MX$431

24.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$645

$29.80 MX$558

15.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,055

$34.76 MX$651

62.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$466

$20.02 MX$375

24.28%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$125

$5.14 MX$96.2

29.57%

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

$427 MX$7,993

$216 MX$4,041

97.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$217.8K

$4,526 MX$84.7K

157.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,269

$55.5 MX$1,038

22.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$973

$40.25 MX$753

29.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,984

$98.5 MX$1,844

7.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,106

$90.0 MX$1,684

25.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$19.2K

$596 MX$11.1K

72.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.2K

$384 MX$7,182

70.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$43.2K

$1,053 MX$19.7K

119.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$23.2K

$759 MX$14.2K

63.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$67.6K

$1,915 MX$35.8K

88.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$36.2K

$1,149 MX$21.5K

68.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$18.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Zihuatanejo: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Zihuatanejo

$384 34% 41.4% $271

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Zihuatanejo

$264 23.3% 17.1% $54

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Zihuatanejo

$185 16.3% 9.4% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Zihuatanejo

$128 11.3% 16% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Zihuatanejo

$110 9.7% 11.3% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Zihuatanejo

$45 4% 35.4% $25

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Zihuatanejo

$15 * 1.4% 39.7% $10

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 $1,025 in Mexico City and $596 in Zihuatanejo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49 in Mexico City vs $44 in Zihuatanejo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $264 per month, with Zihuatanejo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇽 Zihuatanejo

🕒 Local time

03:16 3:16 AM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

67,408

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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 Zihuatanejo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Zihuatanejo differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $1,131 including rent). Zihuatanejo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,322 in Mexico City and $1,696 in Zihuatanejo 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $596 in Zihuatanejo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $216 in Zihuatanejo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Zihuatanejo – a meal for two runs $44 versus $49 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,131 in Zihuatanejo versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Zihuatanejo but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Zihuatanejo 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.