Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zihuatanejo and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Zihuatanejo: $1,131 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Zihuatanejo
Learn more

Zihuatanejo Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Zihuatanejo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,131

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,131 in Zihuatanejo versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Zihuatanejo $1,131
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,824 in Zihuatanejo versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Zihuatanejo $1,824
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,517 in Zihuatanejo versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Zihuatanejo $2,517
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Zihuatanejo costs roughly 27% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zihuatanejo is 17% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$202

$11.02 MX$205

-1.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.16 MX$824

$48.68 MX$908

-9.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.74 MX$163

$10.90 MX$203

-19.82%

Cappuccino

$3.48 MX$65.0

$3.68 MX$68.7

-5.43%

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

$1.36 MX$25.36

$1.63 MX$30.46

-16.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 MX$19.01

$1.25 MX$23.28

-18.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 MX$45.72

$3.25 MX$60.6

-24.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 MX$74.1

$5.53 MX$103

-28.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$30.94

$1.70 MX$31.78

-2.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 MX$47.51

$3.02 MX$56.3

-15.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.79

$1.92 MX$35.86

-14.06%

Eggs

$2.44 MX$45.44

$2.73 MX$51.0

-10.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.11 MX$151

$11.77 MX$220

-31.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.52 MX$159

$9.53 MX$178

-10.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.56 MX$216

$14.41 MX$269

-19.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$50.8

$3.02 MX$56.3

-9.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 MX$29.16

$1.89 MX$35.33

-17.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.26

$1.99 MX$37.03

-2.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.77 MX$32.98

$2.19 MX$40.75

-19.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.92 MX$35.75

1.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 MX$35.02

$1.87 MX$34.81

0.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.61

$1.44 MX$26.86

-0.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.40

$1.27 MX$23.60

-14.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.28 MX$79.8

$5.22 MX$97.3

-18.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.27 MX$192

$16.17 MX$302

-36.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 MX$33.91

$1.90 MX$35.35

-4.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 MX$57.1

$4.22 MX$78.7

-27.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.73

$0.34 MX$6.36

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$366

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 MX$48.75

$2.00 MX$37.23

30.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 MX$37.74

$0.52 MX$9.76

288.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.18 MX$208

$5.34 MX$99.6

109.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.83

$1.52 MX$28.39

-5.26%

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

$21.3K MX$397.0K

$22.1K MX$411.7K

-3.58%

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

$23.9K MX$445.3K

$24.5K MX$457.1K

-2.57%

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

$57.3 MX$1,068

$61.1 MX$1,139

-6.24%

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

$23.00 MX$429

$28.58 MX$533

-19.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.80 MX$556

$34.47 MX$643

-13.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.76 MX$648

$56.4 MX$1,051

-38.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.02 MX$373

$24.88 MX$464

-19.53%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$6.66 MX$124

-22.82%

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

$216 MX$4,027

$427 MX$7,964

-49.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,526 MX$84.4K

$11.6K MX$217.0K

-61.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.5 MX$1,035

$67.8 MX$1,264

-18.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.25 MX$751

$52.0 MX$969

-22.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 MX$1,838

$106 MX$1,977

-7.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 MX$1,678

$113 MX$2,099

-20.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 MX$11.1K

$1,025 MX$19.1K

-41.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$384 MX$7,155

$654 MX$12.2K

-41.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 MX$19.6K

$2,308 MX$43.0K

-54.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$759 MX$14.1K

$1,242 MX$23.2K

-38.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,915 MX$35.7K

$3,613 MX$67.4K

-46.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,149 MX$21.4K

$1,936 MX$36.1K

-40.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$18.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

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

Last update for Zihuatanejo: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zihuatanejo

$384 34%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 70.5% $271

Groceries & Markets

Zihuatanejo

$264 23.3%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 20.6% $54

Eating Out

Zihuatanejo

$185 16.3%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 10.4% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Zihuatanejo

$128 11.3%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 19% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zihuatanejo

$110 9.7%

Mexico City

$124 8% 12.8% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Zihuatanejo

$45 4%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 54.8% $25

Getting Around

Zihuatanejo

$15 * 1.4%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 65.8% $10

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

Dining out: $44 in Zihuatanejo vs $49 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $264 vs $318 per month, with Zihuatanejo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Zihuatanejo

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

20:51 8:51 PM

Same time as Zihuatanejo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,408

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zihuatanejo Mexico City 320 km

From you

Zihuatanejo
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

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

Zihuatanejo and Mexico City differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($1,131 vs $1,548 including rent). Zihuatanejo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,696 in Zihuatanejo and $2,322 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: $596 in Zihuatanejo versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $216 in Zihuatanejo 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 Zihuatanejo – a meal for two runs $44 versus $49 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,131 in Zihuatanejo versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Zihuatanejo but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. 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.