For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico: $1,274 a month against $3,791 in Sint Maarten, rent and utilities included – about $30,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.
How much you'll spend in Sint Maarten and in Mexico
Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sint Maarten and in Mexico actually costs, broken down by who's living it.
Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,791 in Sint Maarten versus $1,274 in Mexico.
Sint Maarten $3,791
Mexico $1,274
Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,693 in Sint Maarten versus $2,010 in Mexico.
Sint Maarten $6,693
Mexico $2,010
Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $9,595 in Sint Maarten versus $2,746 in Mexico.
Sint Maarten $9,595
Mexico $2,746
📏
Sint Maarten ($2,291–$3,850) and Mexico ($730–$2,625) have similar cost spreads. Where you settle within each country has roughly equal impact on the budget.
🌍
Living in Sint Maarten is roughly 198% more expensive than in Mexico on average.
📊
Sint Maarten (179% above) and Mexico (6% below) straddle the global median.
Currency
No currencies found
🍽 Eating Out
Sint Maarten
Mexico
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.29ANG 30.94
$10.63MX$199
62.65%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$73.7ANG 132
$43.29MX$809
70.22%
Fast Food Meal(McDonalds, etc)
$10.04ANG 17.98
$8.94MX$167
12.30%
Cappuccino
$4.59ANG 8.22
$3.61MX$67.4
27.15%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite(0.33 liter bottle)
$3.06ANG 5.47
$1.48MX$27.57
106.76%
Water(0.33 liter bottle)
$3.52ANG 6.31
$1.00MX$18.68
252.00%
Local Beer(0.5 liter draught)
$4.07ANG 7.29
$2.67MX$49.80
52.43%
Imported Beer(0.33 liter bottle)
$5.46ANG 9.77
$4.37MX$81.6
24.94%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Sint Maarten
Mexico
Difference
Milk(1 liter)
$3.58ANG 6.42
$1.59MX$29.63
125.16%
White Bread(500g)
$2.73ANG 4.89
$2.67MX$49.98
2.25%
Rice(white)(1kg)
$3.07ANG 5.50
$1.68MX$31.42
82.74%
Eggs
$5.17ANG 9.26
$2.52MX$47.16
105.16%
Local Cheese(1kg)
$20.47ANG 36.65
$8.79MX$164
132.88%
Chicken Fillets(1kg)
$14.53ANG 26.00
$7.97MX$149
82.31%
Beef Round Steak(1kg)
$16.11ANG 28.83
$11.50MX$215
40.09%
Apples(1kg)
$5.27ANG 9.43
$2.76MX$51.5
90.94%
Banana(1kg)
$5.13ANG 9.17
$1.52MX$28.48
237.50%
Oranges(1kg)
$8.86ANG 15.87
$1.95MX$36.52
354.36%
Tomato(1kg)
$7.36ANG 13.17
$1.97MX$36.75
273.60%
Potato(1kg)
$4.25ANG 7.61
$1.96MX$36.67
116.84%
Onion(1kg)
$3.70ANG 6.62
$2.03MX$37.90
82.27%
Lettuce(1 head)
$3.94ANG 7.06
$1.43MX$26.78
175.52%
Water(1.5 liter bottle)
$1.38ANG 2.47
$1.14MX$21.29
21.05%
Cigarettes 20 Pack(Marlboro, Camel)
$7.92ANG 14.18
$4.52MX$84.5
75.22%
Wine(Bottle)
$11.19ANG 20.03
$10.87MX$203
2.94%
Local Beer(0.5 liter bottle)
$5.13ANG 9.18
$1.77MX$32.99
189.83%
Imported Beer(0.33 liter bottle)
$1.79ANG 3.21
$3.19MX$59.6
-43.89%
🚌 Getting Around
Sint Maarten
Mexico
Difference
One-way Ticket(Public Transport)
$3.03ANG 5.42
$0.62MX$11.59
388.71%
Public Transport Monthly Pass(Regular Price)
$1.54ANG 2.76
$29.85MX$558
-94.84%
Taxi Start(Normal Tariff)
$20.09ANG 35.96
$2.66MX$49.74
655.26%
Taxi(Normal Tariff)(1km)
-
$2.72MX$50.8
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting(Normal Tariff)
-
$10.63MX$199
-
Gasoline(1 liter)
$1.32ANG 2.36
$1.40MX$26.12
-5.71%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l(Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
-
$24.0KMX$447.9K
-
Compact Sedan 1.6l(Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
-
$23.9KMX$446.9K
-
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sint Maarten
Mexico
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment(Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage)(85m2)
$392ANG 701
$69.2MX$1,293
466.49%
SIM Card Monthly Plan(Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$37.70ANG 67.5
$23.51MX$439
60.36%
Internet(50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$77.5ANG 139
$29.00MX$542
167.17%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Sint Maarten
Mexico
Difference
Gym Membership(Monthly)
$65.9ANG 118
$34.74MX$649
89.78%
Tennis Court(1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$17.46MX$326
-
Cinema Ticket
$9.15ANG 16.38
$5.24MX$98.0
74.62%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Sint Maarten
Mexico
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child(Monthly)
$582ANG 1,041
$261MX$4,869
123.25%
International Primary School, 1 Child(Yearly)
$11.9KANG 21.3K
$5,999MX$112.1K
98.48%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Sint Maarten
Mexico
Difference
Jeans(Levis 501 Or Similar)
$50.8ANG 91.0
$55.8MX$1,043
-8.99%
Summer Dress(H&M, Zara, etc)
$40.58ANG 72.6
$41.58MX$777
-2.41%
Sport Shoes(Adidas, Nike)
$101ANG 181
$96.3MX$1,800
4.87%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$59.3ANG 106
$90.1MX$1,683
-34.17%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Sint Maarten
Mexico
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center(Monthly)
$2,277ANG 4,075
$713MX$13.3K
219.37%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center(Monthly)
$2,260ANG 4,045
$477MX$8,912
373.85%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center(Monthly)
$6,574ANG 11.8K
$1,358MX$25.4K
384.06%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center(Monthly)
$6,431ANG 11.5K
$906MX$16.9K
609.79%
Buy Apartment in City Center(m2)
-
$2,597MX$48.5K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center(m2)
$12.0KANG 21.5K
$1,565MX$29.2K
668.05%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Sint Maarten
Mexico
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary(After Tax)
$1,833ANG 3,280
$773MX$14.5K
136.95%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate(Annual %)
5
11.43
-56.26%
CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.
Last update for Sint Maarten: October 24, 2026
Last update for Mexico: October 25, 2026
Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Share of the monthly basket for a family of three, rent included.
🏠Accommodation & Living
Sint Maarten
$2.3K 59.6%
Mexico
$477 37.4% ↓ 78.9%$1.8K
🛒Groceries & Markets
Sint Maarten
$512 13.5%
Mexico
$267 21% ↓ 47.8%$245
🧾Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sint Maarten
$507 13.4%
Mexico
$122 9.6% ↓ 76%$385
🍽Eating Out
Sint Maarten
$281 7.4%
Mexico
$187 14.7% ↓ 33.4%$94
👕👟Clothing & Footwear
Sint Maarten
$113 3%
Mexico
$128 10% ↑ 12.8%$14
🎉Sport & Entertainment
Sint Maarten
$84 2.2%
Mexico
$45 3.6% ↓ 46.3%$39
🚌Getting Around
Sint Maarten
$34 * 0.9%
Mexico
$49 3.8% ↑ 43.9%$15
Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.
🏠Accommodation & Living
Sint Maarten
$6.4K 67%
Mexico
$906 33% ↓ 85.9%$5.5K
🛒Groceries & Markets
Sint Maarten
$1.2K 12.4%
Mexico
$612 22.3% ↓ 48.7%$580
🧾Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sint Maarten
$545 5.7%
Mexico
$145 5.3% ↓ 73.3%$400
🍽Eating Out
Sint Maarten
$934 9.7%
Mexico
$593 21.6% ↓ 36.5%$341
👕👟Clothing & Footwear
Sint Maarten
$252 2.6%
Mexico
$284 10.3% ↑ 12.8%$32
🎉Sport & Entertainment
Sint Maarten
$168 * 1.8%
Mexico
$108 3.9% ↓ 35.9%$61
🚌Getting Around
Sint Maarten
$74 * 0.8%
Mexico
$98 3.6% ↑ 33.8%$25
Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.
Cost Breakdown
🏠National rent averages: $2,231 in Sint Maarten, $624 in Mexico. Capital cities: $2,126 in Philipsburg vs $1,113 in Mexico City.
💰National salary averages: $2,053 in Sint Maarten, $722 in Mexico. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.
Cost Highlights
⭐Rent is 258% higher in Sint Maarten.
⭐Dining out costs 133% more in Sint Maarten.
⭐Public transport is 1450% more expensive in Mexico.
⭐Salaries are about 2.8 times higher in Sint Maarten.
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
Sint Maarten vs Mexico: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost difference between Mexico and Sint Maarten?
At $1,274 per month in Mexico and $3,791 in Sint Maarten, there’s a 198% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.
Which country has higher housing costs?
Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $2,231 in Sint Maarten and $624 in Mexico. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.
Should I move to Mexico or to Sint Maarten?
It depends on what you’re after: Mexico wins on affordability; Sint Maarten may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.
Sint Maarten vs other spots: cost of living compared