Cost of living comparison

compared to

San Miguel de Allende vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

San Miguel de Allende is 17.0% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 30.9% less in San Miguel de Allende
Groceries: pay 6.6% less in San Miguel de Allende
Transportation: pay 8.1% more in San Miguel de Allende
Housing: pay 36.1% less in San Miguel de Allende
Childcare: pay 62.2% less in San Miguel de Allende
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.5% less in San Miguel de Allende
Clothing: pay 40.0% more in San Miguel de Allende

The cost of clothing and transportation in San Miguel de Allende are more expensive than in Ottawa. Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries are lower in San Miguel de Allende.

San Miguel de Allende vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Miguel de Allende instead of Ottawa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 30.9% less for restaurants

	Ottawa	San Miguel de Allende
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.99 CA$24.87	$12.00 MX$218.10	-33.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.01 CA$15.22	$8.12 MX$147.63	-26.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CA$2.77	$1.41 MX$25.59	-29.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 CA$2.15	$1.02 MX$18.54	-34.5%
Average			-30.9%

Ottawa vs. San Miguel de Allende - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.6% less for groceries

	Ottawa	San Miguel de Allende
Bread 1 loaf	$2.73 CA$3.77	$3.87 MX$70.39	+41.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.85 CA$8.09	$4.12 MX$74.80	-29.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$11.97	$5.37 MX$97.56	-38.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 CA$4.86	$2.65 MX$48.23	-24.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.74 CA$7.94	$5.53 MX$100.50	-3.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.91 CA$2.64	$1.91 MX$34.73	+0.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 CA$0.83	$0.75 MX$13.71	+25.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 CA$2.25	$1.29 MX$23.44	-20.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 CA$2.30	$1.28 MX$23.23	-23.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 CA$1.53	$1.14 MX$20.77	+3.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 CA$2.02	$1.41 MX$25.68	-3.2%
Average			-6.6%

Ottawa vs. San Miguel de Allende - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.1% more for transportation

	Ottawa	San Miguel de Allende
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.05 CA$5.60	$4.99 MX$90.63	+23.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.12 CA$134.31	$6.50 MX$118.11	-93.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,444.83 CA$33,803.54	$18,953.96 MX$344,480.68	-22.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.82 CA$20.49	$33.33 MX$605.75	+124.9%
Average			+8.1%

Ottawa vs. San Miguel de Allende - Cost of transportation

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pay 36.1% less for housing

	Ottawa	San Miguel de Allende
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.93 CA$69.04	$35.42 MX$643.69	-29.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,452.55 CA$2,008.67	$1,180.62 MX$21,457.31	-18.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,228.71 CA$1,699.13	$778.19 MX$14,143.26	-36.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.93 CA$164.46	$47.64 MX$865.87	-59.9%
Average			-36.1%

Ottawa vs. San Miguel de Allende - Cost of housing

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pay 62.2% less for childcare

	Ottawa	San Miguel de Allende
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$788.18 CA$1,089.93	$352.00 MX$6,397.50	-55.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,753.32 CA$21,784.48	$4,873.88 MX$88,580.75	-69.1%
Average			-62.2%

Ottawa vs. San Miguel de Allende - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	San Miguel de Allende
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.76 CA$7.96	$3.01 MX$54.62	-47.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.74 CA$5.18	$3.62 MX$65.82	-3.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.95 CA$17.91	$4.33 MX$78.74	-66.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.60 CA$61.68	$44.65 MX$811.54	+0.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.79 CA$14.92	$6.50 MX$118.11	-39.8%
Average			-31.5%

Ottawa vs. San Miguel de Allende - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.0% more for clothing

	Ottawa	San Miguel de Allende
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.82 CA$73.05	$64.99 MX$1,181.08	+23.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.91 CA$53.81	$59.57 MX$1,082.65	+53.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.10 CA$120.44	$111.92 MX$2,034.08	+28.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.91 CA$128.48	$144.41 MX$2,624.61	+55.4%
Average			+40.0%

Ottawa vs. San Miguel de Allende - 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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