Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Gallen and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $3,635 in St. Gallen, rent and utilities included – about $24,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

178

Cost of Living Index in St. Gallen
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St. Gallen Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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St. Gallen

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,635

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,635 in St. Gallen versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

St. Gallen $3,635
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,183 in St. Gallen versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

St. Gallen $5,183
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,730 in St. Gallen versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

St. Gallen $6,730
Mexico City $3,333

Living in St. Gallen is roughly 132% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St. Gallen 169% above, Mexico City 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.02 CHF 23.90

$10.75 MX$199

169.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$143 CHF 118

$50.3 MX$929

184.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.94 CHF 14.78

$11.10 MX$205

61.62%

Cappuccino

$5.96 CHF 4.91

$3.68 MX$68.1

61.96%

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

$5.81 CHF 4.79

$1.65 MX$30.42

252.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.02 CHF 4.13

$1.30 MX$24.08

286.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.92 CHF 7.34

$3.32 MX$61.3

168.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.31 CHF 5.19

$5.54 MX$102

13.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 CHF 1.75

$1.77 MX$32.68

20.34%

White Bread (500g)

$3.10 CHF 2.55

$3.05 MX$56.4

1.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.59 CHF 2.96

$2.01 MX$37.20

78.61%

Eggs

$7.63 CHF 6.29

$2.77 MX$51.1

175.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.24 CHF 20.79

$11.91 MX$220

111.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.21 CHF 23.23

$9.33 MX$172

202.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.20 CHF 32.29

$15.02 MX$278

160.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 CHF 2.53

$3.08 MX$56.8

-0.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 CHF 1.31

$1.95 MX$35.97

-18.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 CHF 1.89

$2.03 MX$37.54

13.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.87 CHF 4.84

$2.21 MX$40.92

165.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 CHF 1.41

$2.02 MX$37.41

-14.85%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 CHF 1.71

$1.82 MX$33.67

14.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 CHF 1.86

$1.52 MX$28.07

48.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 CHF 0.96

$1.28 MX$23.65

-9.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.00 CHF 9.06

$5.27 MX$97.4

108.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.19 CHF 9.21

$16.12 MX$298

-30.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.11 CHF 1.74

$1.95 MX$36.05

8.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 CHF 1.83

$4.25 MX$78.6

-47.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.26 CHF 3.51

$0.31 MX$5.82

1274.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$125 CHF 103

$19.85 MX$367

531.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.73 CHF 5.54

$2.00 MX$36.93

236.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.56 CHF 3.75

$0.53 MX$9.86

760.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$78.0 CHF 64.3

$5.62 MX$104

1288.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.30 CHF 1.89

$1.52 MX$28.07

51.32%

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

$34.2K CHF 28.2K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

62.62%

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

$39.3K CHF 32.3K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

55.96%

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

$309 CHF 254

$62.5 MX$1,155

393.92%

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

$37.13 CHF 30.58

$28.77 MX$532

29.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.8 CHF 45.11

$34.45 MX$637

58.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.0 CHF 65.1

$57.1 MX$1,055

38.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$30.06 CHF 24.76

$6.67 MX$123

350.67%

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

$2,233 CHF 1,839

$431 MX$7,964

418.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.0K CHF 26.4K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

172.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$144 CHF 118

$70.8 MX$1,308

103.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.6 CHF 52.4

$51.8 MX$958

22.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$144 CHF 119

$109 MX$2,011

32.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$179 CHF 147

$112 MX$2,076

59.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,720 CHF 1,417

$1,051 MX$19.4K

63.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,662 CHF 1,369

$665 MX$12.3K

149.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,818 CHF 2,321

$2,346 MX$43.3K

20.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,152 CHF 1,773

$1,227 MX$22.7K

75.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.9K CHF 9,807

$3,554 MX$65.7K

235.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,042 CHF 7,447

$1,977 MX$36.5K

357.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,580 CHF 5,419

$975 MX$18.0K

575.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.1

11.3

-81.42%

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

Last update for St. Gallen: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Gallen

$1.7K 45.7%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 60% $997

Groceries & Markets

St. Gallen

$565 15.5%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 42.9% $242

Eating Out

St. Gallen

$458 12.6%

Mexico City

$203 13% 55.7% $255

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Gallen

$401 11%

Mexico City

$126 8% 68.6% $275

Clothing & Footwear

St. Gallen

$239 6.6%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 35.2% $84

Getting Around

St. Gallen

$172 4.7%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 85% $146

Sport & Entertainment

St. Gallen

$139 3.8%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 49.4% $69

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,720 in St. Gallen and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Gallen pays 575% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $143 in St. Gallen vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $565 vs $323 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 St. Gallen

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

07:42 7:42 AM

23:42 11:42 PM

8 h behind St. Gallen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,213

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

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 CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St. Gallen Mexico City 9,740 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Gallen
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

St. Gallen vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Gallen and Mexico City differ by about 132% in total monthly costs ($3,635 vs $1,567 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 575% higher in St. Gallen, 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: $1,720 in St. Gallen 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 Mexico City runs roughly 531% less than in St. Gallen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,233 in St. Gallen versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $3,635 in St. Gallen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in St. Gallen. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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, St. Gallen 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 Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 132% less than in St. Gallen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.