Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sal and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Sal: $851 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Sal
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Sal Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Sal

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$851

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $851 in Sal versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Sal $851
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,320 in Sal versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Sal $1,320
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,788 in Sal versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Sal $1,788
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Sal costs roughly 47% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sal is 37% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.65 CVE 556

$10.62 MX$199

-46.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.61 CVE 4,493

$48.35 MX$908

-5.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.41 CVE 1,124

$10.35 MX$194

10.24%

Cappuccino

$2.35 CVE 231

$3.69 MX$69.3

-36.31%

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

$2.63 CVE 259

$1.67 MX$31.29

57.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.11 CVE 109

$1.27 MX$23.76

-12.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 CVE 441

$3.19 MX$59.9

40.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 CVE 304

$5.31 MX$99.6

-41.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 CVE 153

$1.72 MX$32.38

-9.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.25 CVE 221

$3.04 MX$57.1

-25.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.24 CVE 122

$1.94 MX$36.44

-36.08%

Eggs

$2.92 CVE 288

$2.89 MX$54.2

1.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.34 CVE 920

$10.97 MX$206

-14.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.56 CVE 745

$9.25 MX$174

-18.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.03 CVE 1,579

$15.13 MX$284

5.95%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 CVE 321

$3.05 MX$57.2

6.89%

Banana (1kg)

$2.50 CVE 246

$1.94 MX$36.45

28.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.16 CVE 311

$2.03 MX$38.02

55.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.89 CVE 383

$2.31 MX$43.46

68.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.71 CVE 168

$2.04 MX$38.21

-16.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 CVE 184

$1.80 MX$33.79

3.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.50 CVE 148

$1.48 MX$27.77

1.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 CVE 107

$1.27 MX$23.80

-14.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.48 CVE 441

$5.30 MX$99.6

-15.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.76 CVE 666

$16.10 MX$302

-58.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.94 CVE 388

$1.98 MX$37.23

98.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 CVE 181

$4.25 MX$79.8

-56.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.03 CVE 102

$0.31 MX$5.73

232.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 CVE 197

$1.84 MX$34.50

8.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.03 CVE 299

$0.53 MX$10.02

471.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.65 CVE 1,246

$5.30 MX$99.4

138.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 CVE 131

$1.51 MX$28.36

-11.92%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

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

$61.7 CVE 6,080

$63.0 MX$1,182

-1.98%

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

$27.39 MX$514

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.38 CVE 4,864

$35.67 MX$670

38.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.40 CVE 2,797

$58.9 MX$1,107

-51.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

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

$112 CVE 11.1K

$432 MX$8,103

-73.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.61 CVE 3,015

$68.2 MX$1,281

-55.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 CVE 14.1K

$117 MX$2,202

21.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$254 CVE 25.0K

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-77.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$164 CVE 16.2K

$710 MX$13.3K

-76.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$299 CVE 29.5K

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-88.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$201 CVE 19.8K

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-85.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$665 CVE 65.5K

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-81.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$334 CVE 32.9K

$2,135 MX$40.1K

-84.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$249 CVE 24.6K

$946 MX$17.8K

-73.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

11.35

-53.74%

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

Last update for Sal: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sal

$297 34.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 7.7% $23

Accommodation & Living

Sal

$164 19.3%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 333% $546

Eating Out

Sal

$151 17.8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 31.4% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sal

$111 * 13.1%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 13.4% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Sal

$78 * 9.2%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 99.6% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Sal

$28 * 3.3%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 153% $43

Getting Around

Sal

$21 * 2.5%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 19.6% $4.2

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 $254 in Sal and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $46 in Sal vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $320 per month, with Sal cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇻 Sal

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

21:52 9:52 PM

16:52 4:52 PM

5 h behind Sal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,288

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CVE = 10.15 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.09 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CVE – Cabo Verdean Escudo Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇻 Cabo Verdean Escudo ($)

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 98.5 CVE (100 CVE = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.09 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 CVE in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sal Mexico City 7,990 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sal
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $851 in Sal and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Sal is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 74% lower in Sal. 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: $254 in Sal versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $112 in Sal 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 Sal – a meal for two runs $46 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $851 in Sal versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sal but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Sal 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.

It comes down to priorities – Sal wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.