Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mexico City vs. Palo Alto Cost of Living Summary
Mexico City is 49.8% cheaper than Palo Alto.
- Restaurants
-
pay 46.1% less in Mexico City
- Groceries
-
pay 47.0% less in Mexico City
- Transportation
-
pay 48.6% less in Mexico City
- Housing
-
pay 70.7% less in Mexico City
- Childcare
-
pay 79.4% less in Mexico City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 57.4% less in Mexico City
- Clothing
-
pay 0.6% more in Mexico City
Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Mexico City.
Mexico City vs. Palo Alto Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mexico City instead of Palo Alto, you would:
pay 46.1% less for restaurants
|
Palo Alto
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$10.86
MX$198.62
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$8.82
MX$161.38
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$1.73
MX$31.68
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$1.30
MX$23.86
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants
pay 47.0% less for groceries
|
Palo Alto
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$2.63
MX$48.03
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$5.04
MX$92.21
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$6.54
MX$119.62
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$2.61
MX$47.69
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$3.80
MX$69.61
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$1.37
MX$25.05
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.80
MX$14.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$0.97
MX$17.81
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$0.91
MX$16.58
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$0.96
MX$17.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$0.99
MX$18.19
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries
pay 48.6% less for transportation
|
Palo Alto
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$5.14
MX$93.99
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$19.54
MX$357.52
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$20,030.45
MX$366,457.13
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.06
|
$4.42
MX$80.95
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation
pay 70.7% less for housing
|
Palo Alto
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$30.93
MX$565.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,600.00
|
$1,079.15
MX$19,743.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$3,148.75
|
$677.25
MX$12,390.21
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$37.36
MX$683.53
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing
pay 79.4% less for childcare
|
Palo Alto
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,823.00
|
$430.39
MX$7,873.93
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$10,897.53
MX$199,370.32
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare
pay 57.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Palo Alto
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$3.26
MX$59.59
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$3.81
MX$69.77
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$4.34
MX$79.45
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$206.33
|
$58.44
MX$1,069.25
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$6.51
MX$119.17
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.6% more for clothing
|
Palo Alto
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.50
|
$60.95
MX$1,114.99
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$48.08
MX$879.56
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$105.72
MX$1,934.15
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$110.91
MX$2,029.10
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Mexico City - 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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