Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $4,405 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $33,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

211

Cost of Living Index in St Thomas
Learn more

St Thomas Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

St Thomas

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,405

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,405 in St Thomas versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

St Thomas $4,405
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $7,271 in St Thomas versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

St Thomas $7,271
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $10.1K in St Thomas versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

St Thomas $10.1K
Mexico City $3,490

Living in St Thomas is roughly 174% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St Thomas 224% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 $22.53

$10.62 MX$197

112.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$169 $169

$48.35 MX$898

249.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.39 $13.39

$10.35 MX$192

29.37%

Cappuccino

$6.00 $6.00

$3.69 MX$68.5

62.60%

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

$3.88 $3.88

$1.67 MX$30.95

132.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 $3.43

$1.27 MX$23.50

170.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.97 $4.97

$3.19 MX$59.3

55.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.02 $7.02

$5.31 MX$98.6

32.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.77 $2.77

$1.72 MX$32.03

61.05%

White Bread (500g)

$6.70 $6.70

$3.04 MX$56.5

120.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$18.56 $18.56

$1.94 MX$36.05

856.70%

Eggs

$8.84 $8.84

$2.89 MX$53.6

205.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 $11.47

$10.97 MX$204

4.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$29.17 $29.17

$9.25 MX$172

215.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.88 $39.88

$15.13 MX$281

163.58%

Apples (1kg)

$12.14 $12.14

$3.05 MX$56.6

298.03%

Banana (1kg)

$10.95 $10.95

$1.94 MX$36.05

464.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$11.95 $11.95

$2.03 MX$37.61

488.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$19.65 $19.65

$2.31 MX$42.99

750.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 $1.97

$2.04 MX$37.79

-3.43%

Onion (1kg)

$8.71 $8.71

$1.80 MX$33.43

383.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$8.22 $8.22

$1.48 MX$27.47

455.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$5.39 $5.39

$1.27 MX$23.54

324.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.5

Wine (Bottle)

$25.08 $25.08

$16.10 MX$299

55.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.83

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.95 $5.95

$4.25 MX$79.0

40.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.95 $1.95

$0.31 MX$5.67

529.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 $61.0

$19.73 MX$367

209.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.99 $19.99

$1.84 MX$34.13

986.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.05 $3.05

$0.53 MX$9.91

475.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.3

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 $1.44

$1.51 MX$28.05

-4.64%

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

$54.0K $54.0K

$21.8K MX$404.0K

148.03%

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

$48.2K $48.2K

$24.0K MX$445.4K

100.96%

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

$462 $462

$63.0 MX$1,170

633.71%

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

$98.9 $98.9

$27.39 MX$509

261.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$147 $147

$35.67 MX$662

313.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$163 $163

$58.9 MX$1,095

176.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$439

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 $10.18

$6.40 MX$119

59.06%

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

$1,471 $1,471

$432 MX$8,015

240.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.1K $22.1K

$11.4K MX$212.1K

93.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 $116

$68.2 MX$1,267

69.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$147 $147

$53.1 MX$987

177.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$204 $204

$108 MX$2,002

88.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 $148

$117 MX$2,178

25.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 $1,589

$1,113 MX$20.7K

42.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,813 $1,813

$710 MX$13.2K

155.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,239 $3,239

$2,588 MX$48.1K

25.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,321 $4,321

$1,406 MX$26.1K

207.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,840 $4,840

$3,631 MX$67.4K

33.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.0K $11.0K

$2,135 MX$39.6K

414.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,724 $2,724

$946 MX$17.6K

187.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

11.35

-16.74%

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

Last update for St Thomas: 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

St Thomas

$1.8K 41.2%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 60.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

St Thomas

$960 * 21.8%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 66.7% $640

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Thomas

$708 16.1%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 82.2% $582

Eating Out

St Thomas

$361 8.2%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 44.9% $162

Clothing & Footwear

St Thomas

$276 6.3%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 43.6% $121

Sport & Entertainment

St Thomas

$183 4.2%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 60.8% $111

Getting Around

St Thomas

$104 2.4%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 75.5% $79

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 $1,589 in St Thomas and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St Thomas pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $169 in St Thomas vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $960 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

23:15 11:15 PM

21:15 9:15 PM

2 h behind St Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

St Thomas Mexico City 3,600 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $4,405 in St Thomas and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Mexico City is about 64% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in St Thomas is about 2.9 times higher, 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: $1,589 in St Thomas 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 Mexico City runs roughly 68% less than in St Thomas. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $1,471 in St Thomas versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,608 in Mexico City versus $4,405 in St Thomas, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in St Thomas. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Mexico City is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in St Thomas, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in St Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.