Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Pedro de Atacama and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro de Atacama: $1,076 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro de Atacama
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San Pedro de Atacama Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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San Pedro de Atacama

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,076

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,076 in San Pedro de Atacama versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

San Pedro de Atacama $1,076
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,633 in San Pedro de Atacama versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

San Pedro de Atacama $1,633
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in San Pedro de Atacama versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

San Pedro de Atacama $2,191
Mexico City $3,323

Living in San Pedro de Atacama costs roughly 30% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Pedro de Atacama is 21% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.25 CLP 7,135

$11.02 MX$204

-34.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.15 CLP 43.5K

$48.68 MX$900

-9.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.21 CLP 8,083

$10.90 MX$201

-24.68%

Cappuccino

$2.81 CLP 2,771

$3.68 MX$68.1

-23.64%

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

$1.58 CLP 1,554

$1.63 MX$30.18

-3.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 CLP 1,197

$1.25 MX$23.07

-2.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.59 CLP 3,539

$3.25 MX$60.1

10.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.02 CLP 3,956

$5.53 MX$102

-27.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 CLP 1,211

$1.70 MX$31.50

-27.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 CLP 1,441

$3.02 MX$55.8

-51.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 CLP 1,674

$1.92 MX$35.53

-11.46%

Eggs

$3.70 CLP 3,642

$2.73 MX$50.5

35.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.31 CLP 10.2K

$11.77 MX$218

-12.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 CLP 6,733

$9.53 MX$176

-28.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.47 CLP 11.3K

$14.41 MX$266

-20.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.96 CLP 1,929

$3.02 MX$55.8

-35.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 CLP 1,589

$1.89 MX$35.01

-14.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 CLP 1,723

$1.99 MX$36.70

-12.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 CLP 1,658

$2.19 MX$40.38

-23.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 CLP 1,619

$1.92 MX$35.43

-14.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 CLP 1,518

$1.87 MX$34.49

-17.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 CLP 1,329

$1.44 MX$26.62

-6.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 CLP 1,165

$1.27 MX$23.39

-7.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.06 CLP 4,986

$5.22 MX$96.4

-3.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.17 CLP 5,092

$16.17 MX$299

-68.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 CLP 1,516

$1.90 MX$35.03

-18.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 CLP 2,218

$4.22 MX$78.0

-46.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 CLP 601

$0.34 MX$6.30

79.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.71 CLP 700

$2.00 MX$36.90

-64.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 CLP 1,403

$1.52 MX$28.13

-5.92%

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

$17.7K CLP 17.4M

$22.1K MX$408.0K

-19.79%

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

$19.1K CLP 18.8M

$24.5K MX$452.9K

-21.91%

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

$132 CLP 130.3K

$61.1 MX$1,129

116.80%

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

$13.60 CLP 13.4K

$28.58 MX$528

-52.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.89 CLP 21.6K

$34.47 MX$637

-36.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.84 CLP 37.3K

$56.4 MX$1,042

-32.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.99 CLP 22.6K

$24.88 MX$460

-7.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.31 CLP 5,226

$6.66 MX$123

-20.27%

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

$385 CLP 379.4K

$427 MX$7,891

-9.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,576 CLP 8.4M

$11.6K MX$215.0K

-26.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.73 CLP 47.0K

$67.8 MX$1,253

-29.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.86 CLP 24.5K

$52.0 MX$960

-52.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.4 CLP 61.4K

$106 MX$1,959

-41.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.9 CLP 80.6K

$113 MX$2,080

-27.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$485 CLP 477.4K

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-52.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 CLP 366.2K

$654 MX$12.1K

-43.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$904 CLP 889.7K

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-60.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$598 CLP 588.4K

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-51.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,312 CLP 2.3M

$3,613 MX$66.8K

-36.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.01

11.3

-55.66%

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

Last update for San Pedro de Atacama: October 18, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Pedro de Atacama

$372 34.6%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 75.9% $282

Groceries & Markets

San Pedro de Atacama

$233 21.7%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 36.4% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Pedro de Atacama

$168 15.6%

Mexico City

$124 8% 26.1% $44

Eating Out

San Pedro de Atacama

$154 14.3%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 32.7% $50

Clothing & Footwear

San Pedro de Atacama

$98 9.1%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 56% $55

Sport & Entertainment

San Pedro de Atacama

$48 4.5%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 43.8% $21

Getting Around

San Pedro de Atacama

$3.2 * 0.3%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 714% $22

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 $485 in San Pedro de Atacama and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44.00 in San Pedro de Atacama vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $318 per month, with San Pedro de Atacama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇱 San Pedro de Atacama

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

07:53 7:53 AM

04:53 4:53 AM

3 h behind San Pedro de Atacama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,347

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 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).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Pedro de Atacama Mexico City 5,780 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

San Pedro de Atacama
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 Pedro de Atacama vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Pedro de Atacama and Mexico City differ by about 44% in total monthly costs ($1,076 vs $1,548 including rent). San Pedro de Atacama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,614 in San Pedro de Atacama and $2,322 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: $485 in San Pedro de Atacama versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $385 in San Pedro de Atacama versus $427 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 San Pedro de Atacama – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,076 in San Pedro de Atacama versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Pedro de Atacama but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes San Pedro de Atacama 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.

Safety-wise, San Pedro de Atacama and Mexico City 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 San Pedro de Atacama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.