Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quetzaltenango and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Quetzaltenango: $1,138 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Quetzaltenango
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Quetzaltenango Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Quetzaltenango

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,138

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,138 in Quetzaltenango versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Quetzaltenango $1,138
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,443 in Quetzaltenango versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Quetzaltenango $1,443
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,747 in Quetzaltenango versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Quetzaltenango $1,747
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Quetzaltenango costs roughly 29% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Quetzaltenango is 16% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.77 Q 51.7

$10.62 MX$199

-36.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.9 Q 389

$48.35 MX$908

5.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.68 Q 58.7

$10.35 MX$194

-25.80%

Cappuccino

$3.36 Q 25.69

$3.69 MX$69.3

-8.94%

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

$1.10 Q 8.40

$1.67 MX$31.29

-34.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 Q 7.44

$1.27 MX$23.76

-23.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 Q 25.45

$3.19 MX$59.9

4.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.62 Q 35.27

$5.31 MX$99.6

-12.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.10 Q 16.01

$1.72 MX$32.38

22.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.57 Q 19.64

$3.04 MX$57.1

-15.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 Q 15.69

$1.94 MX$36.44

5.67%

Eggs

$2.36 Q 18.05

$2.89 MX$54.2

-18.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.37 Q 48.69

$10.97 MX$206

-41.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.92 Q 60.5

$9.25 MX$174

-14.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.09 Q 100

$15.13 MX$284

-13.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 Q 22.58

$3.05 MX$57.2

-2.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 Q 13.14

$1.94 MX$36.45

-11.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 Q 22.34

$2.03 MX$38.02

43.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 Q 12.20

$2.31 MX$43.46

-30.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.54 Q 11.73

$2.04 MX$38.21

-24.51%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 Q 16.79

$1.80 MX$33.79

22.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 Q 5.65

$1.48 MX$27.77

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 Q 8.90

$1.27 MX$23.80

-8.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 Q 25.61

$5.30 MX$99.6

-36.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.04 Q 61.5

$16.10 MX$302

-50.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 Q 13.57

$1.98 MX$37.23

-10.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 Q 19.84

$4.25 MX$79.8

-38.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.12 Q 39.12

$1.84 MX$34.50

178.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.72 Q 13.16

$0.53 MX$10.02

224.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.34 Q 79.0

$5.30 MX$99.4

95.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 Q 10.14

$1.51 MX$28.36

-11.92%

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

$27.6K Q 210.6K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

26.72%

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

$25.8K Q 197.5K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

7.76%

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

$72.2 Q 551

$63.0 MX$1,182

14.58%

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

$12.97 Q 99.1

$27.39 MX$514

-52.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.36 Q 354

$35.67 MX$670

29.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.27 Q 254

$58.9 MX$1,107

-43.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$6.34 Q 48.46

$6.40 MX$120

-0.94%

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

$342 Q 2,613

$432 MX$8,103

-20.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,808 Q 52.0K

$11.4K MX$214.5K

-40.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.78 Q 373

$68.2 MX$1,281

-28.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.81 Q 365

$53.1 MX$997

-10.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Q 839

$108 MX$2,023

1.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 Q 853

$117 MX$2,202

-4.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$399 Q 3,052

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-64.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$389 Q 2,971

$710 MX$13.3K

-45.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

11.35

2.38%

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

Last update for Quetzaltenango: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Quetzaltenango

$389 34.2%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 82.7% $322

Groceries & Markets

Quetzaltenango

$263 23.1%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 21.4% $56

Eating Out

Quetzaltenango

$152 13.3%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 30.9% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Quetzaltenango

$143 12.6%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 8.9% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quetzaltenango

$131 11.6%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 4.1% $5.4

Sport & Entertainment

Quetzaltenango

$46 4%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 56.1% $26

Getting Around

Quetzaltenango

$14 * 1.2%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 85.4% $12

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 $399 in Quetzaltenango and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $51 in Quetzaltenango vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $263 vs $320, with Quetzaltenango cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Quetzaltenango

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

16:20 4:20 PM

Same time as Quetzaltenango

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

500,000

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.53 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Quetzaltenango Mexico City 960 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Quetzaltenango
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,138 in Quetzaltenango and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Quetzaltenango is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,707 in Quetzaltenango and $2,412 in Mexico City 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: $399 in Quetzaltenango versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $342 in Quetzaltenango versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $51 in Quetzaltenango. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Quetzaltenango 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.