Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lake Charles vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary

Lake Charles is 67.8% more expensive than Mexico City.

Restaurants
pay 52.4% more in Lake Charles
Groceries
pay 43.0% more in Lake Charles
Transportation
pay 96.9% more in Lake Charles
Housing
pay 2.3 times more in Lake Charles
Childcare
pay 2.3 times more in Lake Charles
Entertainment and Sports
pay 45.4% more in Lake Charles
Clothing
pay 18.8% less in Lake Charles

The cost of childcare, housing, transportation, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Lake Charles are more expensive than in Mexico City. Notably, childcare, housing, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Lake Charles.

Lake Charles vs. Mexico City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lake Charles instead of Mexico City, you would:

pay 52.4% more for restaurants

 
Mexico City
Lake Charles
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.86
MX$198.62
$26.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.82
MX$161.38
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.73
MX$31.68
$1.65
 

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pay 43.0% more for groceries

 
Mexico City
Lake Charles
Bread
1 loaf
$2.63
MX$48.03
$4.10
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.04
MX$92.21
$7.67
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.54
MX$119.62
$5.25
 

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pay 96.9% more for transportation

 
Mexico City
Lake Charles
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.14
MX$93.99
$2.98
 
Monthly public transit pass $19.54
MX$357.52
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $20,030.45
MX$366,457.13
$36,884.90
 

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

 
Mexico City
Lake Charles
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$30.93
MX$565.92
$60.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,079.15
MX$19,743.00
$1,050.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $677.25
MX$12,390.21
$1,000.00
 

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

 
Mexico City
Lake Charles
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $430.39
MX$7,873.93
$1,563.89
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,897.53
MX$199,370.32
$10,230.00
 

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pay 45.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Mexico City
Lake Charles
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.26
MX$59.59
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.81
MX$69.77
$4.42
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.34
MX$79.45
$8.50
 

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pay 18.8% less for clothing

 
Mexico City
Lake Charles
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$60.95
MX$1,114.99
$47.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$48.08
MX$879.56
$43.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$105.72
MX$1,934.15
$71.00
 

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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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