Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Morelia and Austin, TX

For one person, living is cheaper in Morelia: $1,157 a month against $2,663 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $18,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Morelia
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Morelia Living Index
130

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index

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Morelia

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,157

/mo nomad

Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,663

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Morelia and in Austin, TX

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Morelia and in Austin, TX actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,157 in Morelia versus $2,663 in Austin, TX.

Morelia $1,157
Austin, TX $2,663

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,866 in Morelia versus $4,133 in Austin, TX.

Morelia $1,866
Austin, TX $4,133

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,576 in Morelia versus $5,603 in Austin, TX.

Morelia $2,576
Austin, TX $5,603

Living in Morelia costs roughly 57% less than in Austin, TX, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Morelia is 14% below, Austin, TX is 97% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.98 MX$129

$20.77 $20.77

-66.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.95 MX$701

$84.6 $84.6

-55.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.12 MX$113

$12.32 $12.32

-50.32%

Cappuccino

$3.54 MX$65.5

$5.63 $5.63

-37.12%

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

$1.24 MX$22.99

$3.72 $3.72

-66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.36

$2.50 $2.50

-51.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.93 MX$54.1

$8.05 $8.05

-63.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.93 MX$72.7

$9.01 $9.01

-56.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 MX$32.95

$1.12 $1.12

58.93%

White Bread (500g)

$3.06 MX$56.5

$3.75 $3.75

-18.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.17

$3.26 $3.26

-39.88%

Eggs

$2.80 MX$51.8

$4.17 $4.17

-32.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.88 MX$219

$12.90 $12.90

-7.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.36 MX$173

$14.16 $14.16

-33.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.95 MX$276

$16.22 $16.22

-7.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$4.33 $4.33

-29.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.54

$1.46 $1.46

13.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.49

$4.51 $4.51

-56.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.23 MX$41.16

$4.34 $4.34

-48.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.26

$2.58 $2.58

-24.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.53

$2.35 $2.35

-22.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 MX$27.12

$1.78 $1.78

-17.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 MX$24.59

$2.22 $2.22

-40.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.84 MX$71.0

$9.88 $9.88

-61.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.11 MX$279

$15.08 $15.08

0.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 MX$34.89

$2.92 $2.92

-35.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 MX$67.3

$3.46 $3.46

5.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 MX$11.28

$1.49 $1.49

-59.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.38 MX$451

$41.72 $41.72

-41.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.40 MX$25.96

$2.73 $2.73

-48.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$1.66 $1.66

-68.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.52 MX$102

$35.30 $35.30

-84.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 MX$27.52

$0.95 $0.95

56.84%

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

$21.4K MX$394.8K

$36.0K $36.0K

-40.73%

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

$23.3K MX$431.0K

$27.1K $27.1K

-13.85%

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

$61.6 MX$1,137

$229 $229

-73.12%

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

$28.34 MX$524

$59.4 $59.4

-52.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.37 MX$635

$69.9 $69.9

-50.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 MX$959

$57.2 $57.2

-9.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.22 MX$503

$16.33 $16.33

66.69%

Cinema Ticket

$4.32 MX$79.8

$14.28 $14.28

-69.75%

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

$223 MX$4,117

$1,506 $1,506

-85.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,837 MX$52.4K

$21.5K $21.5K

-86.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.6 MX$1,027

$52.8 $52.8

5.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.62 MX$695

$43.82 $43.82

-14.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$1,985

$84.8 $84.8

26.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.9 MX$1,790

$103 $103

-5.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$346 MX$6,402

$1,907 $1,907

-81.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$341 MX$6,296

$1,274 $1,274

-73.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$930 MX$17.2K

$3,664 $3,664

-74.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$706 MX$13.0K

$2,538 $2,538

-72.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,651 MX$30.5K

$7,614 $7,614

-78.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$653 MX$12.1K

$3,157 $3,157

-79.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$668 MX$12.3K

$5,121 $5,121

-86.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.53

6.79

55.08%

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

Last update for Morelia: October 12, 2026

Last update for Austin, TX: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Morelia

$341 29.5%

Austin, TX

$1.3K 47.8% 274% $933

Groceries & Markets

Morelia

$317 27.4%

Austin, TX

$405 15.2% 27.5% $87

Eating Out

Morelia

$149 12.9%

Austin, TX

$354 13.3% 137% $205

Clothing & Footwear

Morelia

$134 11.6%

Austin, TX

$128 4.8% 4.4% $5.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Morelia

$124 10.7%

Austin, TX

$358 13.5% 188% $234

Sport & Entertainment

Morelia

$61 5.2%

Austin, TX

$86 3.2% 41.8% $25

Getting Around

Morelia

$31 2.7%

Austin, TX

$59 2.2% 90% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $346 in Morelia and $1,907 in Austin, TX. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays 667% 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: $38.00 in Morelia vs $85.0 in Austin, TX for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $317 vs $405 per month, with Morelia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Morelia

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🕒 Local time

20:52 8:52 PM

21:52 9:52 PM

1 h ahead of Morelia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

743,275

974,447

💱 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 →

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Between locations

Morelia Austin, TX 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Morelia
Austin, TX

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

Morelia vs Austin, TX: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Morelia wins on cost – living expenses run 130% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Morelia the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 667% lower in Austin, TX. 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: $346 in Morelia versus $1,907 in Austin, TX. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,157 per month in Morelia versus $2,663 in Austin, TX – a 130% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Morelia runs roughly 71% less than in Austin, TX. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,157 in Morelia versus $2,663 in Austin, TX, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Morelia but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Morelia 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, Morelia and Austin, TX 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 Morelia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 130% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.