Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quito and Ciudad Obregon

For one person, living is cheaper in Quito: $984 a month against $1,183 in Ciudad Obregon, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Quito
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Quito Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad Obregon
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Ciudad Obregon Living Index

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Quito

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$984

/mo nomad

Ciudad Obregon

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Quito and in Ciudad Obregon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $984 in Quito versus $1,183 in Ciudad Obregon.

Quito $984
Ciudad Obregon $1,183

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,587 in Quito versus $1,868 in Ciudad Obregon.

Quito $1,587
Ciudad Obregon $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,189 in Quito versus $2,553 in Ciudad Obregon.

Quito $2,189
Ciudad Obregon $2,553

Living in Quito costs roughly 17% less than in Ciudad Obregon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Quito 27% lower, Ciudad Obregon 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.07 $6.07

$10.31 MX$191

-41.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.8 $53.8

$48.41 MX$895

11.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.45 $7.45

$8.32 MX$154

-10.46%

Cappuccino

$3.34 $3.34

$3.94 MX$72.7

-15.23%

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

$1.39 $1.39

$1.24 MX$22.87

12.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 $1.15

$1.13 MX$20.93

1.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.45 $3.45

$2.56 MX$47.31

34.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.98 $5.98

$4.33 MX$80.1

38.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 $1.10

$1.57 MX$29.02

-29.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 $1.53

$2.57 MX$47.49

-40.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 $1.49

$1.73 MX$32.05

-13.87%

Eggs

$2.09 $2.09

$2.39 MX$44.10

-12.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.33 $6.33

$8.27 MX$153

-23.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.58 $5.58

$8.07 MX$149

-30.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.57 $7.57

$11.24 MX$208

-32.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.23 $2.23

$2.65 MX$48.92

-15.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 $1.24

$1.49 MX$27.48

-16.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 $1.28

$1.85 MX$34.15

-30.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.13 $1.13

$1.78 MX$32.82

-36.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 $1.18

$2.01 MX$37.20

-41.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.08 $1.08

$1.74 MX$32.07

-37.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 $0.93

$1.47 MX$27.18

-36.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.11 MX$20.57

-8.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.91 $5.91

$4.25 MX$78.6

39.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.06 $10.06

$11.44 MX$211

-12.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.70 MX$31.39

-10.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 $3.20

$3.09 MX$57.1

3.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 $0.37

$0.68 MX$12.48

-45.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.25 $21.25

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.48 $1.48

$2.53 MX$46.69

-41.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.67 MX$30.81

-8.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.08 $10.08

$9.65 MX$178

4.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 $0.81

$1.35 MX$25.00

-40.00%

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

$22.8K $22.8K

$25.9K MX$478.2K

-11.88%

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

$30.6K $30.6K

$25.4K MX$469.7K

20.29%

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

$28.20 $28.20

$65.9 MX$1,218

-57.20%

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

$17.65 $17.65

$19.30 MX$357

-8.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.83 $28.83

$28.95 MX$535

-0.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.91 $46.91

$33.67 MX$622

39.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.10 $18.10

$20.00 MX$370

-9.50%

Cinema Ticket

$6.58 $6.58

$5.07 MX$93.7

29.78%

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

$744 $744

$215 MX$3,980

245.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,068 $9,068

$4,644 MX$85.8K

95.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.1 $70.1

$53.4 MX$987

31.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.81 $49.81

$40.86 MX$755

21.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 $115

$101 MX$1,862

14.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 $110

$89.8 MX$1,659

22.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 $481

$684 MX$12.6K

-29.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$317 $317

$436 MX$8,053

-27.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$950 $950

$1,160 MX$21.4K

-18.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$546 $546

$786 MX$14.5K

-30.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,775 $1,775

$1,931 MX$35.7K

-8.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$722 $722

$1,120 MX$20.7K

-35.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$597 $597

$1,189 MX$22.0K

-49.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

11.3

-10.44%

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

Last update for Quito: October 17, 2026

Last update for Ciudad Obregon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Quito

$317 32.2%

Ciudad Obregon

$436 36.9% 37.5% $119

Groceries & Markets

Quito

$195 19.9%

Ciudad Obregon

$261 22.1% 33.8% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Quito

$155 15.8%

Ciudad Obregon

$128 10.8% 17.3% $27

Eating Out

Quito

$150 15.3%

Ciudad Obregon

$186 15.7% 23.4% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quito

$75 7.6%

Ciudad Obregon

$114 9.7% 52.9% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Quito

$60 6.1%

Ciudad Obregon

$44 3.7% 27.1% $16

Getting Around

Quito

$32 3.2%

Ciudad Obregon

$14 * 1.2% 57.3% $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 $481 in Quito and $684 in Ciudad Obregon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ciudad Obregon pays 99% 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: $54.0 in Quito vs $48.00 in Ciudad Obregon. Groceries flip the comparison at $195 vs $261, with Quito cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Quito

🇲🇽 Ciudad Obregon

🕒 Local time

16:28 4:28 PM

14:28 2:28 PM

2 h behind Quito

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,671,191 Capital

329,404

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 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 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Quito Ciudad Obregon 4,550 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Quito
Ciudad Obregon

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

Quito vs Ciudad Obregon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Quito wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Ciudad Obregon. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Quito the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 99% lower in Ciudad Obregon. 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: $481 in Quito versus $684 in Ciudad Obregon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $744 in Quito versus $215 in Ciudad Obregon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Quito – a meal for two runs $54.0 versus $48.00 in Ciudad Obregon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $984 in Quito versus $1,183 in Ciudad Obregon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Quito but tight or insufficient in Ciudad Obregon. The gap between the two cities makes Quito the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Quito delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $984 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Quito hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Quito and Ciudad Obregon 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 Quito gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Ciudad Obregon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.