Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toluca and Guadalajara

For one person, living is cheaper in Toluca: $1,098 a month against $1,273 in Guadalajara, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Toluca
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Toluca Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Guadalajara
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Guadalajara Living Index

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Toluca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,098

/mo nomad

Guadalajara

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,273

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Toluca and in Guadalajara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,098 in Toluca versus $1,273 in Guadalajara.

Toluca $1,098
Guadalajara $1,273

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,844 in Toluca versus $2,041 in Guadalajara.

Toluca $1,844
Guadalajara $2,041

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,589 in Toluca versus $2,810 in Guadalajara.

Toluca $2,589
Guadalajara $2,810

Living in Toluca costs roughly 14% less than in Guadalajara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Toluca 19% lower, Guadalajara 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.03 MX$204

$13.72 MX$254

-19.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.85 MX$792

$43.18 MX$798

-0.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.09 MX$168

$9.32 MX$172

-2.47%

Cappuccino

$3.14 MX$58.0

$3.76 MX$69.5

-16.49%

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

$1.26 MX$23.24

$1.66 MX$30.62

-24.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 MX$13.97

$1.19 MX$22.08

-36.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.67 MX$49.31

-19.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 MX$60.8

$4.80 MX$88.7

-31.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.71

$1.75 MX$32.32

1.14%

White Bread (500g)

$3.12 MX$57.7

$2.54 MX$47.00

22.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 MX$40.28

$1.55 MX$28.68

40.65%

Eggs

$3.05 MX$56.3

$2.42 MX$44.71

26.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.94 MX$147

$8.76 MX$162

-9.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.36 MX$155

$9.30 MX$172

-10.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.91 MX$165

$11.53 MX$213

-22.72%

Apples (1kg)

$4.08 MX$75.3

$2.71 MX$50.1

50.55%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 MX$39.00

$1.62 MX$29.91

30.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.07

$1.89 MX$34.98

17.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.28 MX$42.16

$1.79 MX$33.14

27.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.82 MX$52.2

$2.06 MX$38.08

36.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.58

$1.82 MX$33.62

26.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 MX$30.26

$1.51 MX$27.84

8.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.07

$1.05 MX$19.40

-1.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.87 MX$90.0

$4.80 MX$88.6

1.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.25 MX$226

$10.43 MX$193

17.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 MX$36.76

$1.92 MX$35.51

3.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 MX$67.5

$3.29 MX$60.8

10.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MX$13.92

$0.63 MX$11.61

19.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.97 MX$554

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 MX$59.0

$2.22 MX$41.06

44.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.01 MX$37.22

$1.45 MX$26.71

38.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.17 MX$188

$9.54 MX$176

6.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.66

$1.53 MX$28.36

-5.88%

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

$24.6K MX$454.6K

$21.4K MX$394.8K

15.15%

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

$23.5K MX$433.9K

$23.9K MX$440.8K

-1.56%

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

$58.1 MX$1,074

$49.71 MX$919

16.90%

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

$25.04 MX$463

$23.09 MX$427

8.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.71 MX$586

$29.23 MX$540

8.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.08 MX$889

$29.01 MX$536

65.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 MX$419

$10.94 MX$202

107.13%

Cinema Ticket

$6.95 MX$128

$6.15 MX$114

13.01%

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

$224 MX$4,131

$237 MX$4,381

-5.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,244 MX$96.9K

$10.6K MX$195.7K

-50.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.7 MX$1,233

$56.6 MX$1,045

17.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.7 MX$992

$40.02 MX$739

34.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 MX$1,920

$105 MX$1,943

-1.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 MX$1,923

$80.0 MX$1,479

30.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 MX$13.0K

$811 MX$15.0K

-13.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$289 MX$5,345

$472 MX$8,725

-38.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$972 MX$18.0K

$1,505 MX$27.8K

-35.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$703 MX$13.0K

$943 MX$17.4K

-25.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,296 MX$24.0K

$3,221 MX$59.5K

-59.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$915 MX$16.9K

$1,720 MX$31.8K

-46.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,273 MX$23.5K

$767 MX$14.2K

66.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.07

11.53

-3.99%

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

Last update for Toluca: October 19, 2026

Last update for Guadalajara: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Toluca

$289 26.4%

Guadalajara

$272 21.3% 6.2% $18

Accommodation & Living

Toluca

$289 26.3%

Guadalajara

$472 37.1% 63.3% $183

Eating Out

Toluca

$178 16.3%

Guadalajara

$217 17.1% 21.7% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Toluca

$148 13.5%

Guadalajara

$127 10% 14.2% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toluca

$115 10.5%

Guadalajara

$102 8% 11.2% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Toluca

$62 5.7%

Guadalajara

$41 3.2% 33.4% $21

Getting Around

Toluca

$16 * 1.5%

Guadalajara

$42 3.3% 158% $26

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 $705 in Toluca and $811 in Guadalajara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toluca pays 66% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43.00 in Toluca vs $43.00 in Guadalajara. Groceries flip the comparison at $289 vs $272, with Guadalajara cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Toluca

🇲🇽 Guadalajara

🕒 Local time

07:16 7:16 AM

Same time as Toluca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

223,876

1,385,629

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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

Toluca vs Guadalajara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Toluca wins on cost – living expenses run 16% lower than in Guadalajara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Toluca the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 66% higher in Toluca, 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: $705 in Toluca versus $811 in Guadalajara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $224 in Toluca versus $237 in Guadalajara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Toluca – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $43.00 in Guadalajara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,098 in Toluca versus $1,273 in Guadalajara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Toluca but tight or insufficient in Guadalajara. The gap between the two cities makes Toluca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Toluca delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,098 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Toluca hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Toluca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Guadalajara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.