Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $2,253 in San Juan, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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San Juan

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$2,253

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,253 in San Juan versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

San Juan $2,253
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,373 in San Juan versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

San Juan $3,373
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,494 in San Juan versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

San Juan $4,494
Mexico City $3,333

Living in San Juan is roughly 44% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: San Juan 67% above, Mexico City 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.43 $19.43

$10.75 MX$199

80.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.3 $82.3

$50.3 MX$929

63.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.43 $9.43

$11.10 MX$205

-15.05%

Cappuccino

$3.56 $3.56

$3.68 MX$68.1

-3.26%

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

$1.83 $1.83

$1.65 MX$30.42

10.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.30 MX$24.08

11.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.04 $3.04

$3.32 MX$61.3

-8.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.13 $5.13

$5.54 MX$102

-7.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 $2.19

$1.77 MX$32.68

23.73%

White Bread (500g)

$3.69 $3.69

$3.05 MX$56.4

20.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.36 $2.36

$2.01 MX$37.20

17.41%

Eggs

$7.33 $7.33

$2.77 MX$51.1

164.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.75 $12.75

$11.91 MX$220

7.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.55 $9.55

$9.33 MX$172

2.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.21 $13.21

$15.02 MX$278

-12.05%

Apples (1kg)

$5.13 $5.13

$3.08 MX$56.8

66.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.66 $2.66

$1.95 MX$35.97

36.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.00 $5.00

$2.03 MX$37.54

146.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.92 $4.92

$2.21 MX$40.92

122.62%

Potato (1kg)

$3.71 $3.71

$2.02 MX$37.41

83.66%

Onion (1kg)

$3.90 $3.90

$1.82 MX$33.67

114.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.53 $3.53

$1.52 MX$28.07

132.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 $1.61

$1.28 MX$23.65

25.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.78 $11.78

$5.27 MX$97.4

123.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.84 $15.84

$16.12 MX$298

-1.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.07 $3.07

$1.95 MX$36.05

57.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 $4.10

$4.25 MX$78.6

-3.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 $0.71

$0.31 MX$5.82

129.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.97 $29.97

$19.85 MX$367

50.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 $2.53

$2.00 MX$36.93

26.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.46 $1.46

$0.53 MX$9.86

175.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.26 $42.26

$5.62 MX$104

651.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 $1.24

$1.52 MX$28.07

-18.42%

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

$40.3K $40.3K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

91.76%

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

$27.7K $27.7K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

10.07%

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

$327 $327

$62.5 MX$1,155

423.46%

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

$68.4 $68.4

$28.77 MX$532

137.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.4 $70.4

$34.45 MX$637

104.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.46 $41.46

$57.1 MX$1,055

-27.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.70 $7.70

$24.81 MX$458

-68.96%

Cinema Ticket

$10.40 $10.40

$6.67 MX$123

55.92%

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

$821 $821

$431 MX$7,964

90.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K $12.5K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

6.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 $56.1

$70.8 MX$1,308

-20.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.4 $61.4

$51.8 MX$958

18.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 $109

$109 MX$2,011

-0.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 $116

$112 MX$2,076

3.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,802 $1,802

$1,051 MX$19.4K

71.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$846 $846

$665 MX$12.3K

27.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,972 $2,972

$2,346 MX$43.3K

26.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,476 $1,476

$1,227 MX$22.7K

20.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,283 $7,283

$3,554 MX$65.7K

104.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,377 $3,377

$1,977 MX$36.5K

70.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,704 $2,704

$975 MX$18.0K

177.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

11.3

-42.04%

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

Last update for San Juan: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Juan

$846 37.6%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 21.4% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$466 20.7%

Mexico City

$126 8% 73% $340

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$417 18.5%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 22.6% $94

Eating Out

San Juan

$265 11.8%

Mexico City

$203 13% 23.4% $62

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$154 6.8%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 0.5% $0.8

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$62 2.8%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 13.2% $8.2

Getting Around

San Juan

$43 1.9%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 39.6% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,802 in San Juan and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Juan pays 177% 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: $82.0 in San Juan vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $417 vs $323 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 San Juan

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

12:45 12:45 PM

10:45 10:45 AM

2 h behind San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

322,854 Capital

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 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 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Juan Mexico City 3,470 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

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

San Juan and Mexico City differ by about 44% in total monthly costs ($2,253 vs $1,567 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 177% higher in San Juan, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,802 in San Juan versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 51% less than in San Juan. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $821 in San Juan versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $2,253 in San Juan, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in San Juan. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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 Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in San Juan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.