Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santarem and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Santarem: $1,300 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Santarem
Learn more

Santarem Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Santarem

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,300

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,300 in Santarem versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Santarem $1,300
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,014 in Santarem versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Santarem $2,014
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,729 in Santarem versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Santarem $2,729
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Santarem costs roughly 17% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santarem is 4% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.30 €10.94

$10.75 MX$199

14.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.39 €35.04

$50.3 MX$929

-21.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.99 €8.00

$11.10 MX$205

-19.01%

Cappuccino

$1.71 €1.52

$3.68 MX$68.1

-53.53%

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

$1.78 €1.59

$1.65 MX$30.42

7.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.30 MX$24.08

-11.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 €1.93

$3.32 MX$61.3

-34.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 €3.02

$5.54 MX$102

-38.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.77 MX$32.68

-35.59%

White Bread (500g)

$0.46 €0.41

$3.05 MX$56.4

-84.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.09 €0.97

$2.01 MX$37.20

-45.77%

Eggs

$3.27 €2.91

$2.77 MX$51.1

18.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.05 €9.83

$11.91 MX$220

-7.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.14 €6.35

$9.33 MX$172

-23.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.42 €11.93

$15.02 MX$278

-10.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 €2.50

$3.08 MX$56.8

-8.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.95 MX$35.97

-30.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.50 €2.23

$2.03 MX$37.54

23.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 €1.88

$2.21 MX$40.92

-4.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 €1.25

$2.02 MX$37.41

-30.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 €1.38

$1.82 MX$33.67

-14.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.97

$1.52 MX$28.07

-27.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.31 €0.28

$1.28 MX$23.65

-75.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.62 €5.00

$5.27 MX$97.4

6.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.78 €5.14

$16.12 MX$298

-64.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.95 MX$36.05

-37.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 €3.17

$4.25 MX$78.6

-16.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.25 €2.00

$0.31 MX$5.82

625.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.4 €50.2

$19.85 MX$367

184.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.53 €3.14

$2.00 MX$36.93

76.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.52 MX$28.07

34.21%

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

$33.8K €30.1K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

60.69%

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

$38.4K €34.1K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

52.37%

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

$130 €116

$62.5 MX$1,155

108.11%

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

$20.74 €18.45

$28.77 MX$532

-27.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 €49.81

$34.45 MX$637

62.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.97 €33.78

$57.1 MX$1,055

-33.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.65 €5.91

$6.67 MX$123

-0.30%

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

$416 €370

$431 MX$7,964

-3.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.4K €16.4K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

57.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.0 €69.3

$70.8 MX$1,308

10.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.74 €33.57

$51.8 MX$958

-27.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 €95.6

$109 MX$2,011

-1.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 €117

$112 MX$2,076

17.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$656 €584

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-37.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$412 €366

$665 MX$12.3K

-38.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,042 €927

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-55.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$810 €720

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-33.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,167 €1,927

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-39.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,103 €981

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-44.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,068 €950

$975 MX$18.0K

9.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.76

11.3

-57.88%

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

Last update for Santarem: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santarem

$412 31.7%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 61.4% $253

Groceries & Markets

Santarem

$226 17.4%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 43% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santarem

$207 15.9%

Mexico City

$126 8% 39.2% $81

Eating Out

Santarem

$175 13.5%

Mexico City

$203 13% 15.8% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Santarem

$160 12.3%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 3.2% $5.1

Getting Around

Santarem

$69 * 5.3%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 62.6% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Santarem

$51 4%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 37.4% $19

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 $656 in Santarem and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santarem pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39.00 in Santarem vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $323 per month, with Santarem cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Santarem

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:03 2:03 AM

19:03 7:03 PM

7 h behind Santarem

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,671

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santarem Mexico City 8,690 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Santarem
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

Santarem vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santarem and Mexico City differ by about 21% in total monthly costs ($1,300 vs $1,567 including rent). Santarem is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 10% higher in Santarem, 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: $656 in Santarem 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 Santarem runs roughly 184% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $416 in Santarem versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,300 in Santarem versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Santarem but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Santarem 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, Santarem 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 Santarem gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.