Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zihuatanejo and Austin, TX

For one person, living is cheaper in Zihuatanejo: $1,131 a month against $2,698 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $18,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Zihuatanejo
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Zihuatanejo Living Index
129

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index

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Zihuatanejo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,131

/mo nomad

Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,698

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Zihuatanejo and in Austin, TX

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,131 in Zihuatanejo versus $2,698 in Austin, TX.

Zihuatanejo $1,131
Austin, TX $2,698

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,824 in Zihuatanejo versus $4,160 in Austin, TX.

Zihuatanejo $1,824
Austin, TX $4,160

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,517 in Zihuatanejo versus $5,622 in Austin, TX.

Zihuatanejo $2,517
Austin, TX $5,622

Living in Zihuatanejo costs roughly 58% less than in Austin, TX, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zihuatanejo is 17% below, Austin, TX is 99% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$20.63 $20.63

-47.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.16 MX$827

$84.6 $84.6

-47.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.74 MX$164

$12.07 $12.07

-27.59%

Cappuccino

$3.48 MX$65.2

$5.48 $5.48

-36.50%

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

$1.36 MX$25.45

$3.80 $3.80

-64.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 MX$19.08

$2.47 $2.47

-58.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 MX$45.89

$8.05 $8.05

-69.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 MX$74.4

$8.88 $8.88

-55.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$31.05

$1.11 $1.11

49.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 MX$47.69

$3.72 $3.72

-31.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.90

$3.37 $3.37

-51.04%

Eggs

$2.44 MX$45.61

$4.32 $4.32

-43.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.11 MX$152

$13.13 $13.13

-38.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.52 MX$159

$14.15 $14.15

-39.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.56 MX$216

$16.33 $16.33

-29.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$51.0

$4.55 $4.55

-40.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 MX$29.27

$1.46 $1.46

6.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$4.71 $4.71

-58.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.77 MX$33.10

$4.15 $4.15

-57.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.24

$2.58 $2.58

-24.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 MX$35.15

$2.35 $2.35

-20.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.71

$1.77 $1.77

-19.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.47

$2.14 $2.14

-49.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.28 MX$80.1

$10.10 $10.10

-57.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.27 MX$192

$15.19 $15.19

-32.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 MX$34.04

$2.82 $2.82

-35.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 MX$57.3

$3.44 $3.44

-11.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.77

$1.54 $1.54

-55.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.99 $40.99

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 MX$48.93

$2.80 $2.80

-6.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.60 $1.60

26.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.18 MX$209

$34.34 $34.34

-67.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.93

$0.94 $0.94

53.19%

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

$21.3K MX$398.4K

$34.0K $34.0K

-37.36%

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

$23.9K MX$447.0K

$26.8K $26.8K

-10.78%

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

$57.3 MX$1,072

$223 $223

-74.28%

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

$23.00 MX$431

$58.9 $58.9

-60.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.80 MX$558

$70.6 $70.6

-57.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.76 MX$651

$57.7 $57.7

-39.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.02 MX$375

$16.53 $16.53

21.11%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.2

$14.26 $14.26

-63.96%

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

$216 MX$4,041

$1,511 $1,511

-85.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,526 MX$84.7K

$20.9K $20.9K

-78.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.5 MX$1,038

$51.3 $51.3

8.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.25 MX$753

$44.17 $44.17

-8.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 MX$1,844

$87.0 $87.0

13.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 MX$1,684

$104 $104

-13.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 MX$11.1K

$1,940 $1,940

-69.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$384 MX$7,182

$1,316 $1,316

-70.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 MX$19.7K

$3,664 $3,664

-71.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$759 MX$14.2K

$2,565 $2,565

-70.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,915 MX$35.8K

$7,354 $7,354

-73.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,149 MX$21.5K

$3,129 $3,129

-63.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,286 $5,286

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

6.79

66.42%

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

Last update for Zihuatanejo: October 19, 2026

Last update for Austin, TX: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zihuatanejo

$384 34%

Austin, TX

$1.3K 48.8% 243% $933

Groceries & Markets

Zihuatanejo

$264 23.3%

Austin, TX

$406 15.1% 53.9% $142

Eating Out

Zihuatanejo

$185 16.3%

Austin, TX

$350 13% 89.6% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Zihuatanejo

$128 11.3%

Austin, TX

$129 4.8% 0.9% $1.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zihuatanejo

$110 9.7%

Austin, TX

$352 13.1% 220% $242

Sport & Entertainment

Zihuatanejo

$45 4%

Austin, TX

$86 3.2% 91.5% $41

Getting Around

Zihuatanejo

$15 * 1.4%

Austin, TX

$58 2.2% 275% $42

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 $596 in Zihuatanejo and $1,940 in Austin, TX. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Zihuatanejo vs $85 in Austin, TX for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $264 vs $406 per month, with Zihuatanejo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Zihuatanejo

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🕒 Local time

04:03 4:03 AM

05:03 5:03 AM

1 h ahead of Zihuatanejo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,408

974,447

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 USD = 0.891 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.72 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.891 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zihuatanejo Austin, TX 1,460 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Zihuatanejo
Austin, TX

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

Zihuatanejo vs Austin, TX: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zihuatanejo wins on cost – living expenses run 58% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Zihuatanejo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,696 in Zihuatanejo and $4,046 in Austin, TX 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: $596 in Zihuatanejo versus $1,940 in Austin, TX. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $216 in Zihuatanejo versus $1,511 in Austin, TX. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Zihuatanejo – a meal for two runs $44 versus $85 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,131 in Zihuatanejo versus $2,698 in Austin, TX, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Zihuatanejo but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Zihuatanejo 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.