Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Queretaro and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Queretaro: $1,405 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Queretaro
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Queretaro Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Queretaro

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,405

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Queretaro 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 Queretaro and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,405 in Queretaro versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Queretaro $1,405
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,147 in Queretaro versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Queretaro $2,147
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,890 in Queretaro versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Queretaro $2,890
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Queretaro costs roughly 9% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Queretaro 4% above, Mexico City 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.88 MX$201

$11.02 MX$204

-1.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.9 MX$1,180

$48.68 MX$900

31.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.53 MX$176

$10.90 MX$201

-12.57%

Cappuccino

$3.56 MX$65.9

$3.68 MX$68.1

-3.26%

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

$1.63 MX$30.11

$1.63 MX$30.18

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$20.00

$1.25 MX$23.07

-13.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 MX$59.8

$3.25 MX$60.1

-0.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.37 MX$99.3

$5.53 MX$102

-2.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 MX$34.25

$1.70 MX$31.50

8.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.74 MX$50.7

$3.02 MX$55.8

-9.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.55

$1.92 MX$35.53

3.13%

Eggs

$2.67 MX$49.30

$2.73 MX$50.5

-2.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.53 MX$158

$11.77 MX$218

-27.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.57 MX$158

$9.53 MX$176

-10.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.64 MX$252

$14.41 MX$266

-5.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 MX$62.0

$3.02 MX$55.8

11.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 MX$29.94

$1.89 MX$35.01

-14.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.10

$1.99 MX$36.70

6.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.71

$2.19 MX$40.38

-14.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.60

$1.92 MX$35.43

-8.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 MX$32.01

$1.87 MX$34.49

-7.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 MX$28.24

$1.44 MX$26.62

6.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$21.68

$1.27 MX$23.39

-7.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 MX$82.2

$5.22 MX$96.4

-14.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.78 MX$329

$16.17 MX$299

9.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.11 MX$38.92

$1.90 MX$35.03

11.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.94 MX$72.8

$4.22 MX$78.0

-6.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.59 MX$10.89

$0.34 MX$6.30

73.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.82 MX$459

$19.65 MX$363

26.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.21 MX$59.4

$2.00 MX$36.90

60.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.54 MX$46.88

$0.52 MX$9.67

388.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.77 MX$199

$5.34 MX$98.7

101.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.64

$1.52 MX$28.13

1.97%

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

$24.3K MX$449.9K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

10.28%

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

$23.1K MX$427.0K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

-5.73%

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

$56.6 MX$1,046

$61.1 MX$1,129

-7.34%

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

$26.72 MX$494

$28.58 MX$528

-6.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.98 MX$462

$34.47 MX$637

-27.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.5 MX$1,026

$56.4 MX$1,042

-1.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.62 MX$455

$24.88 MX$460

-1.05%

Cinema Ticket

$7.25 MX$134

$6.66 MX$123

8.86%

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

$260 MX$4,795

$427 MX$7,891

-39.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,015 MX$92.7K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

-56.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 MX$976

$67.8 MX$1,253

-22.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.61 MX$824

$52.0 MX$960

-14.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.3 MX$1,836

$106 MX$1,959

-6.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.7 MX$1,769

$113 MX$2,080

-14.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$854 MX$15.8K

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-16.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$554 MX$10.2K

$654 MX$12.1K

-15.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,417 MX$26.2K

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-38.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$819 MX$15.1K

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-34.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,176 MX$40.2K

$3,613 MX$66.8K

-39.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,246 MX$23.0K

$1,936 MX$35.8K

-35.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$929 MX$17.2K

$964 MX$17.8K

-3.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.99

11.3

6.11%

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

Last update for Queretaro: October 18, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Queretaro

$554 39.5%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 18.1% $100

Groceries & Markets

Queretaro

$301 21.4%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 5.6% $17

Eating Out

Queretaro

$196 14%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 3.9% $7.7

Clothing & Footwear

Queretaro

$132 9.4%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 15.7% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Queretaro

$108 7.7%

Mexico City

$124 8% 14.6% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Queretaro

$70 5%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 0.5% $0.3

Getting Around

Queretaro

$43 3.1%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 40.5% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $854 in Queretaro and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 4% 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: $64.0 in Queretaro vs $49.00 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $301 vs $318, with Queretaro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Queretaro

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:11 2:11 AM

Same time as Queretaro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

804,663

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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

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

Queretaro and Mexico City differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($1,405 vs $1,548 including rent). Queretaro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Mexico City. 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: $854 in Queretaro versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Queretaro runs roughly 26% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $260 in Queretaro versus $427 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,405 in Queretaro versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Queretaro but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Queretaro 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, Queretaro and Mexico City 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 Queretaro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.