Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz, Laguna and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz, Laguna: $616 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz, Laguna
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Santa Cruz, Laguna Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Santa Cruz, Laguna

🇵🇭 Philippines

$616

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $616 in Santa Cruz, Laguna versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Santa Cruz, Laguna $616
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $911 in Santa Cruz, Laguna versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Santa Cruz, Laguna $911
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,206 in Santa Cruz, Laguna versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Santa Cruz, Laguna $1,206
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Santa Cruz, Laguna costs roughly 62% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Cruz, Laguna is 55% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.55 ₱98.8

$10.62 MX$198

-85.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$7.73 ₱494

$48.35 MX$901

-84.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.79 ₱178

$10.35 MX$193

-73.04%

Cappuccino

$1.76 ₱113

$3.69 MX$68.8

-52.30%

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

$0.37 ₱23.90

$1.67 MX$31.07

-77.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 ₱15.42

$1.27 MX$23.59

-81.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.01 ₱64.7

$3.19 MX$59.5

-68.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 ₱57.2

$5.31 MX$98.9

-83.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 ₱98.4

$1.72 MX$32.15

-10.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.15 ₱73.3

$3.04 MX$56.7

-62.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.91 ₱57.9

$1.94 MX$36.19

-53.09%

Eggs

$1.52 ₱97.0

$2.89 MX$53.8

-47.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.82 ₱308

$10.97 MX$205

-56.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.29 ₱210

$9.25 MX$172

-64.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.20 ₱460

$15.13 MX$282

-52.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.37 ₱87.7

$3.05 MX$56.8

-55.08%

Banana (1kg)

$0.49 ₱31.52

$1.94 MX$36.19

-74.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.43 ₱91.7

$2.03 MX$37.75

-29.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.06 ₱67.7

$2.31 MX$43.15

-54.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 ₱107

$2.04 MX$37.94

-18.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.68 ₱107

$1.80 MX$33.55

-6.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 ₱39.25

$1.48 MX$27.58

-58.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ₱33.12

$1.27 MX$23.63

-59.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.93 ₱187

$5.30 MX$98.9

-44.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.49 ₱543

$16.10 MX$300

-47.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₱61.4

$1.98 MX$36.97

-51.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 ₱131

$4.25 MX$79.3

-51.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$0.31 MX$5.69

-32.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.50 ₱735

$19.73 MX$368

-41.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 ₱48.74

$1.84 MX$34.25

-58.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱14.00

$0.53 MX$9.94

-58.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.93 ₱124

$5.30 MX$98.7

-63.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 ₱76.5

$1.51 MX$28.16

-20.53%

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

$20.7K ₱1.3M

$21.8K MX$405.5K

-4.84%

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

$18.9K ₱1.2M

$24.0K MX$447.1K

-21.08%

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

$82.8 ₱5,290

$63.0 MX$1,174

31.45%

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

$17.51 ₱1,118

$27.39 MX$511

-36.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.58 ₱1,443

$35.67 MX$665

-36.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.30 ₱1,744

$58.9 MX$1,099

-53.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.47 ₱285

$23.64 MX$441

-81.09%

Cinema Ticket

$5.03 ₱321

$6.40 MX$119

-21.41%

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

$128 ₱8,194

$432 MX$8,045

-70.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K ₱677.6K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

-7.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.32 ₱1,809

$68.2 MX$1,272

-58.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.21 ₱1,227

$53.1 MX$990

-63.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.6 ₱4,447

$108 MX$2,009

-35.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.7 ₱3,431

$117 MX$2,186

-54.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$219 ₱14.0K

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-80.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$160 ₱10.2K

$710 MX$13.2K

-77.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$480 ₱30.7K

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-81.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ₱19.1K

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-78.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,453 ₱156.7K

$3,631 MX$67.7K

-32.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,079 ₱68.9K

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-49.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

11.35

-40.53%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz, Laguna: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$160 26%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 344% $550

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$153 24.8%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 109% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$123 20%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 2.6% $3.2

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$77 12.5%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 103% $79

Eating Out

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$51 8.3%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 288% $147

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$37 6.1%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 92.1% $34

Getting Around

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$14 2.3%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 79.5% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $219 in Santa Cruz, Laguna and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $8 in Santa Cruz, Laguna vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $153 vs $320 per month, with Santa Cruz, Laguna cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Santa Cruz, Laguna

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

03:06 3:06 AM

13:06 1:06 PM

14 h behind Santa Cruz, Laguna

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,574

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Cruz, Laguna Mexico City 14,210 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Cruz, Laguna
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

Santa Cruz, Laguna vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Cruz, Laguna and Mexico City differ by about 161% in total monthly costs ($616 vs $1,608 including rent). Santa Cruz, Laguna is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $923 in Santa Cruz, Laguna 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: $219 in Santa Cruz, Laguna versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Santa Cruz, Laguna runs roughly 42% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $128 in Santa Cruz, Laguna versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $616 in Santa Cruz, Laguna versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Santa Cruz, Laguna but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Cruz, Laguna 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 Santa Cruz, Laguna gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.