Cost of living comparison

compared to

Contagem vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary

Contagem is 27.3% cheaper than Mexico City.

Restaurants: pay 46.1% less in Contagem
Groceries: pay 39.6% less in Contagem
Transportation: pay 90.4% more in Contagem
Housing: pay 42.3% less in Contagem
Childcare: pay 72.5% less in Contagem
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.1% less in Contagem
Clothing: pay 33.2% less in Contagem

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in Contagem. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Contagem.

Contagem vs. Mexico City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Contagem instead of Mexico City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 46.1% less for restaurants

	Mexico City	Contagem
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.86 MX$197.31	$4.66 R$25.34	-57.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.82 MX$160.32	$6.34 R$34.46	-28.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 MX$31.47	$1.05 R$5.74	-39.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 MX$23.70	$0.52 R$2.84	-60.0%
Average			-46.1%

Mexico City vs. Contagem - Cost of restaurants

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pay 39.6% less for groceries

	Mexico City	Contagem
Bread 1 loaf	$2.63 MX$47.71	$1.57 R$8.53	-40.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.04 MX$91.60	$4.35 R$23.65	-13.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 MX$118.83	$3.34 R$18.16	-48.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.61 MX$47.38	$1.90 R$10.34	-27.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.80 MX$69.15	$1.52 R$8.28	-60.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.37 MX$24.88	$0.85 R$4.60	-38.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 MX$14.54	$0.61 R$3.30	-24.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 MX$17.69	$0.42 R$2.30	-56.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 MX$16.47	$0.67 R$3.63	-26.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 MX$17.42	$0.54 R$2.93	-43.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.99 MX$18.07	$0.43 R$2.35	-56.5%
Average			-39.6%

Mexico City vs. Contagem - Cost of groceries

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pay 90.4% more for transportation

	Mexico City	Contagem
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 MX$93.37	$4.30 R$23.40	-16.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$19.54 MX$355.17	$74.96 R$407.76	+283.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,030.45 MX$364,045.47	$14,907.02 R$81,085.23	-25.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.42 MX$80.42	$9.73 R$52.91	+119.8%
Average			+90.4%

Mexico City vs. Contagem - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.3% less for housing

	Mexico City	Contagem
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.93 MX$562.20	$16.77 R$91.22	-45.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,079.15 MX$19,613.07	$211.18 R$1,148.71	-80.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$677.25 MX$12,308.67	$124.23 R$675.71	-81.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$37.36 MX$679.03	$51.82 R$281.89	+38.7%
Average			-42.3%

Mexico City vs. Contagem - Cost of housing

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pay 72.5% less for childcare

	Mexico City	Contagem
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$430.39 MX$7,822.12	$139.75 R$760.17	-67.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,897.53 MX$198,058.25	$2,459.66 R$13,379.06	-77.4%
Average			-72.5%

Mexico City vs. Contagem - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Mexico City	Contagem
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.26 MX$59.19	$1.21 R$6.59	-62.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.81 MX$69.31	$1.61 R$8.78	-57.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.34 MX$78.93	$1.49 R$8.11	-65.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.44 MX$1,062.21	$24.85 R$135.14	-57.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.51 MX$118.39	$6.71 R$36.49	+3.0%
Average			-48.1%

Mexico City vs. Contagem - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.2% less for clothing

	Mexico City	Contagem
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.95 MX$1,107.65	$53.71 R$292.13	-11.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.08 MX$873.77	$40.82 R$222.06	-15.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.72 MX$1,921.42	$60.56 R$329.41	-42.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.91 MX$2,015.75	$40.99 R$222.98	-63.0%
Average			-33.2%

Mexico City vs. Contagem - Cost of clothing

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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

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