Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toluca and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Toluca: $1,098 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Toluca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,098

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,098 in Toluca versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Toluca $1,098
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,844 in Toluca versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Toluca $1,844
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,589 in Toluca versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Toluca $2,589
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Toluca costs roughly 29% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Toluca is 19% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.03 MX$204

$11.02 MX$204

0.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.85 MX$792

$48.68 MX$900

-11.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.09 MX$168

$10.90 MX$201

-16.61%

Cappuccino

$3.14 MX$58.0

$3.68 MX$68.1

-14.67%

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

$1.26 MX$23.24

$1.63 MX$30.18

-22.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 MX$13.97

$1.25 MX$23.07

-39.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$3.25 MX$60.1

-34.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 MX$60.8

$5.53 MX$102

-40.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.71

$1.70 MX$31.50

4.12%

White Bread (500g)

$3.12 MX$57.7

$3.02 MX$55.8

3.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 MX$40.28

$1.92 MX$35.53

13.54%

Eggs

$3.05 MX$56.3

$2.73 MX$50.5

11.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.94 MX$147

$11.77 MX$218

-32.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.36 MX$155

$9.53 MX$176

-12.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.91 MX$165

$14.41 MX$266

-38.17%

Apples (1kg)

$4.08 MX$75.3

$3.02 MX$55.8

35.10%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 MX$39.00

$1.89 MX$35.01

11.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.07

$1.99 MX$36.70

11.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.28 MX$42.16

$2.19 MX$40.38

4.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.82 MX$52.2

$1.92 MX$35.43

46.87%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.58

$1.87 MX$34.49

22.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 MX$30.26

$1.44 MX$26.62

13.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.07

$1.27 MX$23.39

-18.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.87 MX$90.0

$5.22 MX$96.4

-6.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.25 MX$226

$16.17 MX$299

-24.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 MX$36.76

$1.90 MX$35.03

4.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 MX$67.5

$4.22 MX$78.0

-13.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MX$13.92

$0.34 MX$6.30

120.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 MX$59.0

$2.00 MX$36.90

60.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.01 MX$37.22

$0.52 MX$9.67

286.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.17 MX$188

$5.34 MX$98.7

90.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.66

$1.52 MX$28.13

-5.26%

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

$24.6K MX$454.6K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

11.43%

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

$23.5K MX$433.9K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

-4.19%

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

$58.1 MX$1,074

$61.1 MX$1,129

-4.85%

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

$25.04 MX$463

$28.58 MX$528

-12.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.71 MX$586

$34.47 MX$637

-8.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.08 MX$889

$56.4 MX$1,042

-14.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 MX$419

$24.88 MX$460

-8.92%

Cinema Ticket

$6.95 MX$128

$6.66 MX$123

4.35%

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

$224 MX$4,131

$427 MX$7,891

-47.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,244 MX$96.9K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

-54.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.7 MX$1,233

$67.8 MX$1,253

-1.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.7 MX$992

$52.0 MX$960

3.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 MX$1,920

$106 MX$1,959

-1.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 MX$1,923

$113 MX$2,080

-7.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 MX$13.0K

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-31.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$289 MX$5,345

$654 MX$12.1K

-55.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$972 MX$18.0K

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-57.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$703 MX$13.0K

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-43.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,296 MX$24.0K

$3,613 MX$66.8K

-64.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$915 MX$16.9K

$1,936 MX$35.8K

-52.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,273 MX$23.5K

$964 MX$17.8K

32.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.07

11.3

-2.04%

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

Last update for Toluca: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Toluca

$289 26.4%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 9.9% $29

Accommodation & Living

Toluca

$289 26.3%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 126% $365

Eating Out

Toluca

$178 16.3%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 14.2% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Toluca

$148 13.5%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 3% $4.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toluca

$115 10.5%

Mexico City

$124 8% 8.1% $9.3

Sport & Entertainment

Toluca

$62 5.7%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 12.4% $7.7

Getting Around

Toluca

$16 * 1.5%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 57.4% $9.3

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 $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toluca pays 32% 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 $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $318 per month, with Toluca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Toluca

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

07:17 7:17 AM

Same time as Toluca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

223,876

9,209,944 Capital

💱 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

On the map

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Toluca Mexico City 57 km

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Toluca
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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 Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Toluca and Mexico City differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,098 vs $1,548 including rent). Toluca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 32% 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 $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $224 in Toluca versus $427 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 Toluca – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,098 in Toluca versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Toluca but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Toluca 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.

Expats usually find Toluca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.