Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 2.3 times more expensive than Mexico City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 82.6% more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 58.4% more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 2.6 times more in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 3.7 times more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 3.4 times more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.1 times more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 11.7% more in San Diego
The cost of housing, childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in San Diego are more expensive than in Mexico City. Notably, housing, childcare, and transportation are significantly more expensive in San Diego.
San Diego vs. Mexico City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Mexico City, you would:
pay 82.6% more for restaurants
|
Mexico City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.86
MX$198.62
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.82
MX$161.38
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.73
MX$31.68
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.30
MX$23.86
|
$2.50
|
|
Mexico City vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 58.4% more for groceries
|
Mexico City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.63
MX$48.03
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.04
MX$92.21
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.54
MX$119.62
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.61
MX$47.69
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.80
MX$69.61
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.37
MX$25.05
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.80
MX$14.63
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.97
MX$17.81
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
MX$16.58
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.96
MX$17.54
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.99
MX$18.19
|
$1.12
|
|
Mexico City vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 2.6 times more for transportation
|
Mexico City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.14
MX$93.99
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$19.54
MX$357.52
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$20,030.45
MX$366,457.13
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$4.42
MX$80.95
|
$19.40
|
|
Mexico City vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 3.7 times more for housing
|
Mexico City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.93
MX$565.92
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,079.15
MX$19,743.00
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$677.25
MX$12,390.21
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$37.36
MX$683.53
|
$205.84
|
|
Mexico City vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 3.4 times more for childcare
|
Mexico City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$430.39
MX$7,873.93
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,897.53
MX$199,370.32
|
$28,750.00
|
|
Mexico City vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Mexico City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.26
MX$59.59
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.81
MX$69.77
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.34
MX$79.45
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.44
MX$1,069.25
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.51
MX$119.17
|
$17.50
|
|
Mexico City vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.7% more for clothing
|
Mexico City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.95
MX$1,114.99
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.08
MX$879.56
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.72
MX$1,934.15
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$110.91
MX$2,029.10
|
$126.25
|
|
Mexico City vs. San Diego - 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
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