Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Rafael, Argentina and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in San Rafael: $1,357 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in San Rafael
Learn more

San Rafael Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

San Rafael

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,357

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,357 in San Rafael versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

San Rafael $1,357
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,260 in San Rafael versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

San Rafael $2,260
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,163 in San Rafael versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

San Rafael $3,163
Mexico City $3,490

Living in San Rafael costs roughly 16% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.81 ARS 16.7K

$10.62 MX$197

1.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.9 ARS 78.7K

$48.35 MX$898

5.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.80 ARS 22.9K

$10.35 MX$192

43.00%

Cappuccino

$4.47 ARS 6,901

$3.69 MX$68.5

21.14%

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

$2.42 ARS 3,738

$1.67 MX$30.95

44.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 ARS 3,013

$1.27 MX$23.50

53.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.09 ARS 6,324

$3.19 MX$59.3

28.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 ARS 6,761

$5.31 MX$98.6

-17.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 ARS 2,056

$1.72 MX$32.03

-22.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 ARS 3,418

$3.04 MX$56.5

-27.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.76 ARS 4,262

$1.94 MX$36.05

42.27%

Eggs

$3.24 ARS 5,000

$2.89 MX$53.6

12.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.53 ARS 22.4K

$10.97 MX$204

32.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.42 ARS 9,917

$9.25 MX$172

-30.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.09 ARS 17.1K

$15.13 MX$281

-26.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.36 ARS 3,640

$3.05 MX$56.6

-22.62%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 ARS 3,326

$1.94 MX$36.05

10.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 ARS 1,998

$2.03 MX$37.61

-36.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.18 ARS 4,913

$2.31 MX$42.99

37.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 ARS 2,976

$2.04 MX$37.79

-5.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 ARS 2,350

$1.80 MX$33.43

-15.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.01 ARS 3,106

$1.48 MX$27.47

35.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 ARS 3,765

$1.27 MX$23.54

92.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.71 ARS 4,192

$5.30 MX$98.5

-48.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.09 ARS 7,862

$16.10 MX$299

-68.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 ARS 2,721

$1.98 MX$36.83

-11.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 ARS 4,500

$4.25 MX$79.0

-31.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.00 ARS 1,542

$0.31 MX$5.67

222.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.97 ARS 3,037

$1.84 MX$34.13

7.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 ARS 1,523

$0.53 MX$9.91

86.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 ARS 7,675

$5.30 MX$98.3

-6.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ARS 1,955

$1.51 MX$28.05

-15.89%

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

$27.1K ARS 41.9M

$21.8K MX$404.0K

24.56%

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

$33.0K ARS 50.9M

$24.0K MX$445.4K

37.40%

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

$146 ARS 225.1K

$63.0 MX$1,170

131.31%

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

$17.12 ARS 26.4K

$27.39 MX$509

-37.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.87 ARS 36.9K

$35.67 MX$662

-33.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.97 ARS 46.3K

$58.9 MX$1,095

-49.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.67 ARS 27.3K

$23.64 MX$439

-25.25%

Cinema Ticket

$7.24 ARS 11.2K

$6.40 MX$119

13.12%

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

$172 ARS 265.9K

$432 MX$8,015

-60.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,098 ARS 6.3M

$11.4K MX$212.1K

-64.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$126 ARS 194.4K

$68.2 MX$1,267

84.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$141 ARS 217.6K

$53.1 MX$987

165.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$145 ARS 223.7K

$108 MX$2,002

34.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$158 ARS 244.0K

$117 MX$2,178

34.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$545 ARS 842.3K

$1,113 MX$20.7K

-51.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$342 ARS 529.0K

$710 MX$13.2K

-51.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,077 ARS 1.7M

$2,588 MX$48.1K

-58.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$900 ARS 1.4M

$1,406 MX$26.1K

-36.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,277 ARS 2.0M

$2,135 MX$39.6K

-40.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

419.82%

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

Last update for San Rafael: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Rafael

$342 25.2%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 108% $368

Groceries & Markets

San Rafael

$285 21%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 12.1% $34

Clothing & Footwear

San Rafael

$256 18.9%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 39.2% $100

Eating Out

San Rafael

$231 17%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 14.1% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Rafael

$187 13.8%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 32.5% $61

Sport & Entertainment

San Rafael

$44 3.3%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 61.4% $27

Getting Around

San Rafael

$11 * 0.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 134% $15

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 $545 in San Rafael and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $51 in San Rafael vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $285 vs $320, with San Rafael cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Rafael

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

07:42 7:42 AM

04:42 4:42 AM

3 h behind San Rafael

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

118,850

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.78 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1,545 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,730 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.78 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Rafael Mexico City 6,830 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,357 in San Rafael and $1,608 in Mexico City, so San Rafael is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,035 in San Rafael and $2,412 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: $545 in San Rafael versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $172 in San Rafael 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 Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $51 in San Rafael. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. San Rafael is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.