Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pago Pago and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Pago Pago: $1,477 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

71

Cost of Living Index in Pago Pago
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Pago Pago Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Pago Pago

🇦🇸 American Samoa

$1,477

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,477 in Pago Pago versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Pago Pago $1,477
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,274 in Pago Pago versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Pago Pago $2,274
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,071 in Pago Pago versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Pago Pago $3,071
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Pago Pago costs roughly 8% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Pago Pago 9% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.62 $35.62

$48.35 MX$904

-26.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.90 $9.90

$10.35 MX$193

-4.35%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.0

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

$1.67 MX$31.14

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.27 MX$23.65

-22.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 $3.95

$5.31 MX$99.2

-25.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.53 $2.53

$1.72 MX$32.23

47.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 $2.85

$3.04 MX$56.8

-6.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.19 $4.19

$1.94 MX$36.27

115.98%

Eggs

$4.63 $4.63

$2.89 MX$54.0

60.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.13 $10.13

$10.97 MX$205

-7.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.98 $9.98

$9.25 MX$173

7.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.55 $11.55

$15.13 MX$283

-23.66%

Apples (1kg)

$5.89 $5.89

$3.05 MX$57.0

93.11%

Banana (1kg)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.94 MX$36.27

-49.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.94 $2.94

$2.03 MX$37.85

44.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.94 $3.94

$2.31 MX$43.25

70.56%

Potato (1kg)

$3.93 $3.93

$2.04 MX$38.03

92.65%

Onion (1kg)

$3.97 $3.97

$1.80 MX$33.63

120.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.48 MX$27.64

37.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.27 MX$23.69

55.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.66 $11.66

$5.30 MX$99.1

120.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.74 $14.74

$16.10 MX$301

-8.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.98 MX$37.06

-48.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 $2.87

$4.25 MX$79.5

-32.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.05 $2.05

$0.31 MX$5.70

561.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$125 $125

$19.73 MX$369

531.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.13 $5.13

$1.84 MX$34.34

178.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 $2.04

$0.53 MX$9.97

284.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.67 $29.67

$5.30 MX$99.0

459.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 $1.29

$1.51 MX$28.23

-14.57%

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

$30.3K $30.3K

$21.8K MX$406.5K

39.26%

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

$20.0K $20.0K

$24.0K MX$448.2K

-16.48%

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

$415 $415

$63.0 MX$1,177

558.97%

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

$29.55 $29.55

$27.39 MX$512

7.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$75.9 $75.9

$35.67 MX$666

112.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.77 $49.77

$58.9 MX$1,101

-15.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.03 $10.03

$23.64 MX$442

-57.57%

Cinema Ticket

$8.84 $8.84

$6.40 MX$120

38.12%

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

$984 $984

$432 MX$8,065

128.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,831 $9,831

$11.4K MX$213.5K

-13.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 $70.8

$68.2 MX$1,275

3.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.70 $49.70

$53.1 MX$993

-6.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.7 $78.7

$108 MX$2,014

-26.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 $98.7

$117 MX$2,191

-15.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$327 $327

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-70.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$203 $203

$710 MX$13.3K

-71.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 $911

$2,588 MX$48.4K

-64.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 $691

$1,406 MX$26.3K

-50.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.2K $18.2K

$3,631 MX$67.8K

401.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$2,135 MX$39.9K

410.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,183 $1,183

$946 MX$17.7K

25.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

-73.57%

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

Last update for Pago Pago: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pago Pago

$520 35.2%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 75.8% $394

Groceries & Markets

Pago Pago

$363 24.6%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 11.9% $43

Accommodation & Living

Pago Pago

$203 13.7%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 250% $508

Getting Around

Pago Pago

$148 10%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 82.8% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Pago Pago

$134 9.1%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 16.3% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Pago Pago

$67 4.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 6.4% $4.3

Eating Out

Pago Pago

$42 * 2.8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 379% $157

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 $327 in Pago Pago and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pago Pago pays 25% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36 in Pago Pago vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $363 vs $320, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇸 Pago Pago

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

01:51 1:51 AM

06:51 6:51 AM

5 h ahead of Pago Pago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,500 Capital

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.899 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Pago Pago Mexico City 8,680 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Pago Pago
Mexico City

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

Pago Pago vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pago Pago and Mexico City differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,477 vs $1,608 including rent). Pago Pago is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 25% higher in Pago Pago, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $327 in Pago Pago versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 84% less than in Pago Pago. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $984 in Pago Pago versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Pago Pago is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.