Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mexico City vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary
Mexico City is 47.1% cheaper than San Jose.
- Restaurants
-
pay 42.3% less in Mexico City
- Groceries
-
pay 46.2% less in Mexico City
- Transportation
-
pay 48.4% less in Mexico City
- Housing
-
pay 69.2% less in Mexico City
- Childcare
-
pay 74.8% less in Mexico City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 53.7% less in Mexico City
- Clothing
-
pay 5.0% more in Mexico City
Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Mexico City.
Mexico City vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mexico City instead of San Jose, you would:
pay 42.3% less for restaurants
|
San Jose
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$10.86
MX$197.31
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$8.82
MX$160.32
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.42
|
$1.73
MX$31.47
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$1.30
MX$23.70
|
|
San Jose vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants
pay 46.2% less for groceries
|
San Jose
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.00
|
$2.63
MX$47.71
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$5.04
MX$91.60
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.64
|
$6.54
MX$118.83
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.40
|
$2.61
MX$47.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.98
|
$3.80
MX$69.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.37
MX$24.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.80
MX$14.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.62
|
$0.97
MX$17.69
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$0.91
MX$16.47
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$0.96
MX$17.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$0.99
MX$18.07
|
|
San Jose vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries
pay 48.4% less for transportation
|
San Jose
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$5.14
MX$93.37
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$19.54
MX$355.17
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$20,030.45
MX$364,045.47
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.41
|
$4.42
MX$80.42
|
|
San Jose vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation
pay 69.2% less for housing
|
San Jose
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.13
|
$30.93
MX$562.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,916.67
|
$1,079.15
MX$19,613.07
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,700.00
|
$677.25
MX$12,308.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$221.60
|
$37.36
MX$679.03
|
|
San Jose vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing
pay 74.8% less for childcare
|
San Jose
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,866.67
|
$430.39
MX$7,822.12
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,800.00
|
$10,897.53
MX$198,058.25
|
|
San Jose vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare
pay 53.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Jose
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.00
|
$3.26
MX$59.19
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$3.81
MX$69.31
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$4.34
MX$78.93
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$113.89
|
$58.44
MX$1,062.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$6.51
MX$118.39
|
|
San Jose vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.0% more for clothing
|
San Jose
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.50
|
$60.95
MX$1,107.65
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$48.08
MX$873.77
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$105.72
MX$1,921.42
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$110.91
MX$2,015.75
|
|
San Jose 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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