Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago and Aguascalientes

For one person, living is cheaper in Aguascalientes: $1,113 a month against $1,206 in Santiago, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Santiago outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Aguascalientes
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Aguascalientes Living Index

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Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,206

/mo nomad

Aguascalientes

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,113

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santiago and in Aguascalientes

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Santiago and in Aguascalientes actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,206 in Santiago versus $1,113 in Aguascalientes.

Santiago $1,206
Aguascalientes $1,113

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,885 in Santiago versus $1,744 in Aguascalientes.

Santiago $1,885
Aguascalientes $1,744

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,564 in Santiago versus $2,375 in Aguascalientes.

Santiago $2,564
Aguascalientes $2,375

Living in Santiago is roughly 8% more expensive than in Aguascalientes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santiago 10% lower, Aguascalientes 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 CLP 9,954

$12.50 MX$227

-18.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.2 CLP 51.0K

$44.72 MX$814

16.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.54 CLP 8,342

$7.00 MX$127

22.00%

Cappuccino

$3.19 CLP 3,122

$3.86 MX$70.2

-17.36%

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

$1.68 CLP 1,641

$1.64 MX$29.81

2.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 CLP 1,194

$1.21 MX$22.01

0.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.21 CLP 4,110

$2.18 MX$39.66

93.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 CLP 4,550

$3.26 MX$59.2

42.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 CLP 1,286

$1.47 MX$26.73

-10.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 CLP 1,760

$2.22 MX$40.35

-18.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 CLP 1,547

$1.56 MX$28.43

1.28%

Eggs

$4.25 CLP 4,151

$2.45 MX$44.61

73.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 CLP 10.9K

$8.03 MX$146

39.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.75 CLP 6,596

$8.61 MX$157

-21.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.67 CLP 10.4K

$11.47 MX$209

-6.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 CLP 1,995

$2.32 MX$42.12

-12.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 CLP 1,500

$1.33 MX$24.16

15.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.59 CLP 1,553

$1.54 MX$28.03

3.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 CLP 1,712

$1.76 MX$32.07

-0.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 CLP 1,054

$1.62 MX$29.38

-33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 CLP 1,480

$1.36 MX$24.80

11.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 CLP 1,148

$0.99 MX$18.04

18.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 CLP 1,043

$0.83 MX$15.04

28.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.14 CLP 5,027

$4.38 MX$79.7

17.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.88 CLP 5,745

$8.88 MX$162

-33.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CLP 1,516

$1.81 MX$33.01

-14.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 CLP 2,223

$3.42 MX$62.2

-33.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 CLP 831

$0.59 MX$10.68

44.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.50 CLP 40.6K

$24.33 MX$443

70.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 CLP 383

$1.22 MX$22.16

-68.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.84 CLP 822

$1.16 MX$21.17

-27.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.94 CLP 11.7K

$10.96 MX$199

8.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 CLP 1,470

$1.54 MX$27.95

-2.60%

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

$18.1K CLP 17.7M

$21.7K MX$393.9K

-16.39%

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

$21.6K CLP 21.1M

$23.9K MX$434.8K

-9.60%

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

$151 CLP 147.7K

$55.6 MX$1,011

171.79%

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

$12.04 CLP 11.8K

$24.71 MX$450

-51.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.93 CLP 18.5K

$24.50 MX$446

-22.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.81 CLP 33.0K

$31.42 MX$571

7.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.72 CLP 11.5K

$22.39 MX$407

-47.66%

Cinema Ticket

$7.37 CLP 7,202

$5.16 MX$93.9

42.83%

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

$434 CLP 424.3K

$220 MX$4,001

97.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K CLP 10.7M

$2,916 MX$53.1K

277.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.9 CLP 49.7K

$55.6 MX$1,012

-8.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.16 CLP 28.5K

$37.98 MX$691

-23.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.4 CLP 65.8K

$104 MX$1,898

-35.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.3 CLP 78.4K

$69.9 MX$1,272

14.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$555 CLP 542.0K

$516 MX$9,387

7.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 CLP 364.0K

$361 MX$6,559

3.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 CLP 986.6K

$810 MX$14.7K

24.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 CLP 760.9K

$642 MX$11.7K

21.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,671 CLP 2.6M

$1,183 MX$21.5K

125.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,622 CLP 2.6M

$1,176 MX$21.4K

122.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$791 CLP 773.5K

$884 MX$16.1K

-10.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

11.2

-51.88%

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

Last update for Santiago: October 4, 2026

Last update for Aguascalientes: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago

$372 31.6%

Aguascalientes

$361 32.7% 3.2% $12

Groceries & Markets

Santiago

$236 20%

Aguascalientes

$244 22.2% 3.4% $7.9

Eating Out

Santiago

$187 15.9%

Aguascalientes

$196 17.8% 4.7% $8.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago

$182 15.5%

Aguascalientes

$105 9.5% 42.4% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago

$102 8.7%

Aguascalientes

$121 10.9% 17.7% $18

Getting Around

Santiago

$50 4.2%

Aguascalientes

$34 3.1% 31.9% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago

$49 4.1%

Aguascalientes

$42 3.8% 14% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $555 in Santiago and $516 in Aguascalientes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aguascalientes pays 12% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $52.0 in Santiago vs $45.00 in Aguascalientes. Groceries flip the comparison at $236 vs $244, with Santiago cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Santiago

🇲🇽 Aguascalientes

🕒 Local time

00:58 12:58 AM

21:58 9:58 PM

3 h behind Santiago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,139,087 Capital

863,893

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.23 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.12 EUR

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 977 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,096 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.12 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santiago Aguascalientes 7,010 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Santiago
Aguascalientes

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

Santiago vs Aguascalientes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aguascalientes is cheaper overall, especially in transport and leisure. The 8% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 12% lower in Aguascalientes. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $555 in Santiago versus $516 in Aguascalientes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Aguascalientes runs roughly 71% less than in Santiago. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Santiago versus $220 in Aguascalientes. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,113 in Aguascalientes versus $1,206 in Santiago, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Aguascalientes but tight or insufficient in Santiago. The gap between the two cities makes Aguascalientes 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, Santiago and Aguascalientes 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 Aguascalientes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Santiago. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.