Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Panama City and Nogales

For one person, living is cheaper in Nogales: $1,138 a month against $1,837 in Panama City, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

90

Cost of Living Index in Panama City
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Panama City Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Nogales
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Nogales Living Index

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Panama City

🇵🇦 Panama

$1,837

/mo nomad

Nogales

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,138

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Panama City and in Nogales

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,837 in Panama City versus $1,138 in Nogales.

Panama City $1,837
Nogales $1,138

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,825 in Panama City versus $1,854 in Nogales.

Panama City $2,825
Nogales $1,854

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,812 in Panama City versus $2,570 in Nogales.

Panama City $3,812
Nogales $2,570

Living in Panama City is roughly 61% more expensive than in Nogales, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Panama City is 37% above, Nogales is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.34 PAB 11.34

$10.96 MX$199

3.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.85 PAB 47.85

$45.05 MX$820

6.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.07 PAB 8.07

$8.37 MX$152

-3.58%

Cappuccino

$4.02 PAB 4.02

$3.62 MX$65.8

11.05%

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

$1.94 PAB 1.94

$1.35 MX$24.56

43.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 PAB 1.62

$1.04 MX$18.83

55.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 PAB 3.26

$2.58 MX$46.86

26.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 PAB 3.99

$4.10 MX$74.6

-2.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 PAB 1.83

$1.58 MX$28.83

15.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.57 PAB 2.57

$2.63 MX$47.77

-2.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.33 PAB 3.33

$1.73 MX$31.56

92.49%

Eggs

$2.69 PAB 2.69

$2.55 MX$46.34

5.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.33 PAB 12.33

$8.49 MX$154

45.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.69 PAB 6.69

$8.51 MX$155

-21.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.40 PAB 10.40

$11.84 MX$215

-12.16%

Apples (1kg)

$4.16 PAB 4.16

$2.73 MX$49.58

52.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 PAB 1.84

$1.59 MX$28.89

15.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.18 PAB 4.18

$1.91 MX$34.83

118.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.08 PAB 4.08

$1.85 MX$33.73

120.54%

Potato (1kg)

$3.50 PAB 3.50

$1.96 MX$35.68

78.57%

Onion (1kg)

$4.37 PAB 4.37

$1.92 MX$34.86

127.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 PAB 2.34

$1.45 MX$26.30

61.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 PAB 1.75

$1.11 MX$20.12

57.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.06 PAB 6.06

$4.33 MX$78.7

39.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.72 PAB 11.72

$10.64 MX$194

10.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 PAB 1.37

$1.84 MX$33.40

-25.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 PAB 2.84

$3.25 MX$59.2

-12.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 PAB 0.36

$0.69 MX$12.54

-47.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.96 PAB 20.96

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.52 PAB 2.52

$2.58 MX$47.00

-2.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 PAB 1.79

$2.06 MX$37.44

-13.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.01 PAB 22.01

$11.28 MX$205

95.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 PAB 1.25

$1.48 MX$26.89

-15.54%

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

$21.5K PAB 21.5K

$21.2K MX$385.8K

1.54%

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

$21.2K PAB 21.2K

$24.9K MX$452.4K

-14.79%

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

$131 PAB 131

$62.4 MX$1,136

110.09%

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

$27.68 PAB 27.68

$22.44 MX$408

23.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.59 PAB 48.59

$30.41 MX$553

59.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.11 PAB 46.11

$34.79 MX$633

32.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.01 PAB 35.01

$20.65 MX$376

69.54%

Cinema Ticket

$8.73 PAB 8.73

$5.22 MX$94.9

67.24%

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

$551 PAB 551

$224 MX$4,067

146.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,560 PAB 9,560

$4,654 MX$84.7K

105.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.6 PAB 67.6

$55.1 MX$1,002

22.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.03 PAB 48.03

$42.38 MX$771

13.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.9 PAB 94.9

$103 MX$1,874

-7.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 PAB 113

$92.4 MX$1,681

22.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,238 PAB 1,238

$614 MX$11.2K

101.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$873 PAB 873

$400 MX$7,273

118.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,197 PAB 2,197

$1,072 MX$19.5K

104.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,538 PAB 1,538

$786 MX$14.3K

95.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,116 PAB 3,116

$1,927 MX$35.1K

61.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,725 PAB 1,725

$1,151 MX$20.9K

49.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$934 PAB 934

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.39

11.3

-43.45%

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

Last update for Panama City: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nogales: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Panama City

$873 47.2%

Nogales

$400 34.4% 54.2% $473

Groceries & Markets

Panama City

$324 17.5%

Nogales

$269 23.1% 17.2% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Panama City

$207 11.2%

Nogales

$115 9.9% 44.4% $92

Eating Out

Panama City

$202 10.9%

Nogales

$187 16.1% 7.4% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Panama City

$146 7.9%

Nogales

$132 11.3% 9.4% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Panama City

$64 3.4%

Nogales

$45 3.9% 28.9% $18

Getting Around

Panama City

$34 1.8%

Nogales

$16 * 1.3% 53.9% $18

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 $1,238 in Panama City and $614 in Nogales. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48.00 in Panama City vs $45.00 in Nogales for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $269 per month, with Nogales cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇦 Panama City

🇲🇽 Nogales

🕒 Local time

05:42 5:42 AM

03:42 3:42 AM

2 h behind Panama City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,086,990 Capital

261,137

💱 Currency

Panamanian Balboa PAB B/.

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PAB = 1 USD

1 PAB = 0.892 EUR

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PAB – Panamanian Balboa Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇦 Panamanian Balboa (B/.)

Panamanian Balboa exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1 PAB (1 PAB = 1 USD). 1 EUR = 1.12 PAB (1 PAB = 0.892 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.38 MXN (100 MXN = 4.91 EUR).

USD to PAB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Panama City Nogales 4,090 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Panama City
Nogales

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

Panama City vs Nogales: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Panama City and Nogales differ by about 61% in total monthly costs ($1,837 vs $1,138 including rent). Nogales is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,756 in Panama City and $1,707 in Nogales 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: $1,238 in Panama City versus $614 in Nogales. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $551 in Panama City versus $224 in Nogales. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Nogales – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $48.00 in Panama City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,138 in Nogales versus $1,837 in Panama City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nogales but tight or insufficient in Panama City. The gap between the two cities makes Nogales 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.

Expats usually find Nogales gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Panama City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.