Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mexico vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary
Mexico is 35.1% cheaper than Houston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 42.2% less in Mexico
- Groceries
-
pay 16.9% less in Mexico
- Transportation
-
pay 4.5% more in Mexico
- Housing
-
pay 63.7% less in Mexico
- Childcare
-
pay 80.0% less in Mexico
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 42.4% less in Mexico
- Clothing
-
pay 5.0% less in Mexico
Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in Mexico.
Mexico vs. Houston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mexico instead of Houston, you would:
pay 42.2% less for restaurants
|
Houston
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$10.13
MX$182.57
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$8.37
MX$150.74
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.76
|
$1.38
MX$24.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
|
$1.04
MX$18.78
|
|
Houston vs. Mexico - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.9% less for groceries
|
Houston
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
|
$2.62
MX$47.15
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.32
|
$4.26
MX$76.76
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$5.95
MX$107.16
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.35
|
$2.45
MX$44.13
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.20
|
$3.68
MX$66.21
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$1.27
MX$22.83
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$0.67
MX$12.12
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$0.93
MX$16.69
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$0.83
MX$14.86
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$0.90
MX$16.17
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$0.98
MX$17.63
|
|
Houston vs. Mexico - Cost of groceries
pay 4.5% more for transportation
|
Houston
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.81
|
$5.00
MX$90.12
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$28.70
MX$517.01
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,278.39
|
$23,996.60
MX$432,272.31
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.39
|
$19.51
MX$351.48
|
|
Houston vs. Mexico - Cost of transportation
pay 63.7% less for housing
|
Houston
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.76
|
$29.35
MX$528.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,660.33
|
$587.67
MX$10,586.16
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,287.77
|
$443.50
MX$7,989.08
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$145.65
|
$49.22
MX$886.72
|
|
Houston vs. Mexico - Cost of housing
pay 80.0% less for childcare
|
Houston
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,258.33
|
$236.91
MX$4,267.68
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,120.00
|
$5,569.03
MX$100,319.97
|
|
Houston vs. Mexico - Cost of childcare
pay 42.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$2.44
MX$43.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.41
|
$3.34
MX$60.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.95
|
$4.42
MX$79.56
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.29
|
$39.27
MX$707.36
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$5.43
MX$97.88
|
|
Houston vs. Mexico - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.0% less for clothing
|
Houston
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.57
|
$53.04
MX$955.43
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.00
|
$40.66
MX$732.36
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.95
|
$95.33
MX$1,717.34
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$116.43
|
$87.49
MX$1,576.01
|
|
Houston vs. Mexico - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. Mexico.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Mexico.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Mexico or Houston. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.