Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Fernando, Philippines and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $807 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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San Fernando

🇵🇭 Philippines

$807

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $807 in San Fernando versus $1,674 in Mexico City.

San Fernando $807
Mexico City $1,674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,271 in San Fernando versus $2,606 in Mexico City.

San Fernando $1,271
Mexico City $2,606

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,735 in San Fernando versus $3,537 in Mexico City.

San Fernando $1,735
Mexico City $3,537

Living in San Fernando costs roughly 52% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Fernando is 40% below, Mexico City is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.07 ₱195

$10.59 MX$197

-71.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.84 ₱1,516

$52.0 MX$967

-54.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.82 ₱179

$10.73 MX$200

-73.72%

Cappuccino

$1.71 ₱109

$3.80 MX$70.7

-55.00%

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

$0.64 ₱40.43

$1.61 MX$30.01

-60.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 ₱24.23

$1.21 MX$22.55

-68.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.09 ₱69.3

$3.18 MX$59.1

-65.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 ₱124

$5.44 MX$101

-64.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 ₱112

$1.72 MX$31.96

2.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 ₱55.0

$2.97 MX$55.2

-70.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.96 ₱61.1

$1.93 MX$35.84

-50.26%

Eggs

$1.90 ₱121

$2.77 MX$51.6

-31.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.60 ₱293

$11.67 MX$217

-60.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.31 ₱210

$9.48 MX$176

-65.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.04 ₱448

$15.37 MX$286

-54.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 ₱164

$3.10 MX$57.8

-16.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.06 ₱131

$1.96 MX$36.49

5.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 ₱175

$1.98 MX$36.88

38.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.92 ₱58.2

$2.34 MX$43.46

-60.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.38 ₱88.0

$2.02 MX$37.66

-31.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 ₱83.8

$1.82 MX$33.95

-27.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 ₱41.09

$1.54 MX$28.74

-57.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.35 ₱22.37

$1.31 MX$24.42

-73.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.71 ₱172

$5.35 MX$99.6

-49.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.96 ₱442

$16.19 MX$301

-57.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ₱47.73

$1.96 MX$36.46

-61.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 ₱187

$4.35 MX$81.0

-32.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.80

$0.30 MX$5.67

-16.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.59 ₱864

$19.49 MX$363

-30.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.00 ₱63.7

$1.92 MX$35.68

-47.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 ₱12.70

$0.47 MX$8.80

-57.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.94 ₱123

$5.41 MX$101

-64.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ₱80.7

$1.48 MX$27.61

-14.19%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$21.4K MX$397.7K

-1.65%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$23.8K MX$442.1K

-19.77%

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

$96.3 ₱6,121

$62.0 MX$1,154

55.30%

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

$17.18 ₱1,092

$28.47 MX$530

-39.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.29 ₱1,926

$34.11 MX$635

-11.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.66 ₱2,013

$58.4 MX$1,087

-45.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.57 ₱990

$24.50 MX$456

-36.45%

Cinema Ticket

$4.66 ₱296

$6.59 MX$123

-29.29%

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

$267 ₱17.0K

$434 MX$8,081

-38.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.5K ₱855.9K

$14.0K MX$261.2K

-4.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.06 ₱3,119

$68.4 MX$1,272

-28.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.73 ₱2,399

$54.8 MX$1,020

-31.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.4 ₱4,542

$111 MX$2,063

-35.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.4 ₱4,982

$116 MX$2,159

-32.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$402 ₱25.6K

$1,179 MX$21.9K

-65.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$266 ₱16.9K

$771 MX$14.3K

-65.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$724 ₱46.0K

$2,570 MX$47.8K

-71.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$560 ₱35.6K

$1,420 MX$26.4K

-60.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,249 ₱270.2K

$3,586 MX$66.7K

18.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,385 ₱151.6K

$2,064 MX$38.4K

15.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

-38.33%

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

Last update for San Fernando: November 1, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Fernando

$266 32.9%

Mexico City

$771 46.1% 190% $505

Groceries & Markets

San Fernando

$167 20.7%

Mexico City

$324 19.3% 93.6% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Fernando

$144 17.8%

Mexico City

$125 7.4% 13.3% $19

Clothing & Footwear

San Fernando

$106 13.2%

Mexico City

$158 9.4% 47.9% $51

Eating Out

San Fernando

$67 8.3%

Mexico City

$201 12% 199% $134

Sport & Entertainment

San Fernando

$41 5.1%

Mexico City

$72 4.3% 74.7% $31

Getting Around

San Fernando

$17 2.1%

Mexico City

$25 1.5% 50.7% $8.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $402 in San Fernando and $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24 in San Fernando vs $52 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $167 vs $324 per month, with San Fernando cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 San Fernando

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

08:36 8:36 AM

18:36 6:36 PM

14 h behind San Fernando

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

354,666

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 63.58 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.57 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Fernando Mexico City 14,210 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

San Fernando
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

San Fernando vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $807 in San Fernando and $1,674 in Mexico City, so San Fernando is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,211 in San Fernando and $2,510 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: $402 in San Fernando versus $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in San Fernando runs roughly 30% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $267 in San Fernando versus $434 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $807 in San Fernando versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in San Fernando but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes San Fernando 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 San Fernando gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.