Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tena and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Tena: $891 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Tena
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Tena Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Tena

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$891

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $891 in Tena versus $1,674 in Mexico City.

Tena $891
Mexico City $1,674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,475 in Tena versus $2,606 in Mexico City.

Tena $1,475
Mexico City $2,606

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,060 in Tena versus $3,537 in Mexico City.

Tena $2,060
Mexico City $3,537

Living in Tena costs roughly 47% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tena is 34% below, Mexico City is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.63 $5.63

$10.59 MX$197

-46.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.8 $54.8

$52.0 MX$967

5.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.58 $7.58

$10.73 MX$200

-29.36%

Cappuccino

$3.34 $3.34

$3.80 MX$70.6

-12.11%

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

$1.43 $1.43

$1.61 MX$30.01

-11.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.21 MX$22.55

-13.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.43 $3.43

$3.18 MX$59.1

7.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.12 $6.12

$5.44 MX$101

12.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.72 MX$31.96

-33.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 $1.60

$2.97 MX$55.2

-46.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 $1.51

$1.93 MX$35.84

-21.76%

Eggs

$2.08 $2.08

$2.77 MX$51.6

-24.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.51 $6.51

$11.67 MX$217

-44.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.42 $5.42

$9.48 MX$176

-42.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 $7.67

$15.37 MX$286

-50.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.33 $2.33

$3.10 MX$57.8

-24.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 $1.22

$1.96 MX$36.49

-37.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.27 $1.27

$1.98 MX$36.88

-35.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.13 $1.13

$2.34 MX$43.46

-51.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 $1.19

$2.02 MX$37.66

-41.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.08 $1.08

$1.82 MX$33.95

-40.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 $0.87

$1.54 MX$28.74

-43.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 $1.00

$1.31 MX$24.42

-23.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.93 $5.93

$5.35 MX$99.6

10.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.27 $8.27

$16.19 MX$301

-48.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 $1.58

$1.96 MX$36.46

-19.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 $3.10

$4.35 MX$81.0

-28.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 $0.33

$0.30 MX$5.67

10.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.53 $1.53

$1.92 MX$35.68

-20.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 $0.75

$0.47 MX$8.80

59.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.91 $9.91

$5.41 MX$101

83.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 $0.86

$1.48 MX$27.61

-41.89%

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

$23.4K $23.4K

$21.4K MX$397.7K

9.41%

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

$30.1K $30.1K

$23.8K MX$442.1K

26.70%

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

$28.50 $28.50

$62.0 MX$1,154

-54.02%

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

$17.84 $17.84

$28.47 MX$530

-37.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.34 $28.34

$34.11 MX$635

-16.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.89 $29.89

$58.4 MX$1,087

-48.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.69 $16.69

$24.50 MX$456

-31.88%

Cinema Ticket

$6.50 $6.50

$6.59 MX$123

-1.37%

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

$729 $729

$434 MX$8,081

67.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,064 $9,064

$14.0K MX$261.2K

-35.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.3 $71.3

$68.4 MX$1,272

4.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.4 $50.4

$54.8 MX$1,020

-8.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 $116

$111 MX$2,063

4.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 $109

$116 MX$2,158

-5.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$422 $422

$1,179 MX$21.9K

-64.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$270 $270

$771 MX$14.3K

-64.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$802 $802

$2,570 MX$47.8K

-68.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$507 $507

$1,420 MX$26.4K

-64.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

11.35

-10.84%

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

Last update for Tena: November 3, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tena

$270 30.4%

Mexico City

$771 46.1% 185% $500

Groceries & Markets

Tena

$193 21.7%

Mexico City

$324 19.3% 67.7% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Tena

$156 17.5%

Mexico City

$158 9.4% 1% $1.5

Eating Out

Tena

$147 16.5%

Mexico City

$201 12% 36.3% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tena

$75 8.4%

Mexico City

$125 7.4% 66.8% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Tena

$43 4.8%

Mexico City

$72 4.3% 66.8% $29

Getting Around

Tena

$6.6 * 0.7%

Mexico City

$25 1.5% 277% $18

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 $422 in Tena and $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $55 in Tena vs $52 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $193 vs $324, with Tena cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Tena

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

15:42 3:42 PM

14:42 2:42 PM

1 h behind Tena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,669

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.894 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 = 0.894 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tena Mexico City 3,250 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Tena
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $891 in Tena and $1,674 in Mexico City, so Tena is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,336 in Tena and $2,510 in Mexico City to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $422 in Tena versus $1,179 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $729 in Tena versus $434 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $52 versus $55 in Tena. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $891 in Tena versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tena but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Tena 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.