Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tijuana and Pago Pago

For one person, living is cheaper in Tijuana: $1,294 a month against $1,479 in Pago Pago, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Tijuana
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Tijuana Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Pago Pago
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Pago Pago Living Index

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Tijuana

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,294

/mo nomad

Pago Pago

🇦🇸 American Samoa

$1,479

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tijuana and in Pago Pago

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Tijuana versus $1,479 in Pago Pago.

Tijuana $1,294
Pago Pago $1,479

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,004 in Tijuana versus $2,291 in Pago Pago.

Tijuana $2,004
Pago Pago $2,291

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,713 in Tijuana versus $3,102 in Pago Pago.

Tijuana $2,713
Pago Pago $3,102

Living in Tijuana costs roughly 13% less than in Pago Pago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tijuana is 4% below, Pago Pago is 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 MX$230

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.03 MX$620

$36.28 $36.28

-8.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.52 MX$179

$10.05 $10.05

-5.27%

Cappuccino

$4.17 MX$78.4

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

$1.35 MX$25.31

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.22

$0.98 $0.98

20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 MX$60.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.50 MX$122

$3.97 $3.97

63.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 MX$33.47

$2.62 $2.62

-32.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.5

$2.92 $2.92

-2.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 MX$35.15

$4.41 $4.41

-57.60%

Eggs

$3.24 MX$60.9

$4.61 $4.61

-29.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.11 MX$152

$10.08 $10.08

-19.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.24 MX$136

$10.08 $10.08

-28.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.34 MX$213

$11.57 $11.57

-1.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 MX$51.3

$6.03 $6.03

-54.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 MX$30.76

$1.03 $1.03

59.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.87

$3.06 $3.06

-39.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.46 MX$27.40

$3.97 $3.97

-63.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 MX$27.96

$4.09 $4.09

-63.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 MX$32.43

$3.95 $3.95

-56.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.76

$1.99 $1.99

-28.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 MX$19.20

$2.03 $2.03

-49.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.19 MX$78.8

$11.37 $11.37

-63.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.92 MX$149

$14.86 $14.86

-46.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.16 MX$40.60

$0.99 $0.99

118.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 MX$73.4

$2.93 $2.93

33.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 MX$17.44

$2.02 $2.02

-53.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.25 MX$700

$126 $126

-70.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$4.95 $4.95

-44.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.10 MX$39.37

$1.95 $1.95

7.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.58 MX$349

$29.48 $29.48

-36.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.62

$1.36 $1.36

11.76%

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

$24.0K MX$450.6K

$30.2K $30.2K

-20.49%

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

$23.6K MX$443.1K

$19.7K $19.7K

20.05%

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

$47.30 MX$888

$411 $411

-88.48%

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

$33.20 MX$624

$29.94 $29.94

10.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.87 MX$542

$73.9 $73.9

-60.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.21 MX$661

$50.9 $50.9

-30.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.85 MX$147

$10.12 $10.12

-22.43%

Cinema Ticket

$6.52 MX$123

$8.75 $8.75

-25.49%

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

$205 MX$3,856

$994 $994

-79.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,596 MX$86.3K

$10.1K $10.1K

-54.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 MX$1,010

$69.9 $69.9

-23.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.86 MX$861

$50.2 $50.2

-8.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 MX$1,872

$79.9 $79.9

24.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.1 MX$1,297

$99.1 $99.1

-30.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$846 MX$15.9K

$326 $326

160.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$486 MX$9,127

$202 $202

140.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,481 MX$27.8K

$901 $901

64.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$889 MX$16.7K

$706 $706

25.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,091 MX$58.0K

$17.5K $17.5K

-82.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,778 MX$52.2K

$10.7K $10.7K

-74.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,090 MX$20.5K

$1,194 $1,194

-8.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.6

286.67%

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

Last update for Tijuana: November 1, 2026

Last update for Pago Pago: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tijuana

$486 37.6%

Pago Pago

$202 13.7% 58.4% $284

Groceries & Markets

Tijuana

$260 20.1%

Pago Pago

$368 24.9% 41.7% $108

Eating Out

Tijuana

$216 16.7%

Pago Pago

$42 * 2.8% 80.5% $174

Clothing & Footwear

Tijuana

$121 9.3%

Pago Pago

$135 9.1% 11.4% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tijuana

$109 8.5%

Pago Pago

$515 34.8% 370% $405

Getting Around

Tijuana

$54 4.2%

Pago Pago

$149 10.1% 175% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Tijuana

$48 3.7%

Pago Pago

$68 4.6% 41.9% $20

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 $846 in Tijuana and $326 in Pago Pago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pago Pago pays 10% 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: $33 in Tijuana vs $36 in Pago Pago for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $368 per month, with Tijuana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tijuana

🇦🇸 Pago Pago

🕒 Local time

23:52 11:52 PM

20:52 8:52 PM

3 h behind Tijuana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,810,645

11,500 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tijuana Pago Pago 7,720 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Tijuana
Pago Pago

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

Tijuana vs Pago Pago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tijuana wins on cost – living expenses run 13% lower than in Pago Pago. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Tijuana the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 9% lower in Tijuana. 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: $846 in Tijuana versus $326 in Pago Pago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tijuana runs roughly 70% less than in Pago Pago. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $205 in Tijuana versus $994 in Pago Pago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Tijuana is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Tijuana wins on affordability, Pago Pago on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.