Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mexico City vs. Santa Barbara Cost of Living Summary
Mexico City is 42.6% cheaper than Santa Barbara.
- Restaurants
-
pay 44.7% less in Mexico City
- Groceries
-
pay 36.1% less in Mexico City
- Transportation
-
pay 41.0% less in Mexico City
- Housing
-
pay 67.3% less in Mexico City
- Childcare
-
pay 70.2% less in Mexico City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 44.1% less in Mexico City
- Clothing
-
pay 5.2% more in Mexico City
Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries are lower in Mexico City.
Mexico City vs. Santa Barbara Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mexico City instead of Santa Barbara, you would:
pay 44.7% less for restaurants
|
Santa Barbara
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$10.86
MX$198.62
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$8.82
MX$161.38
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$1.73
MX$31.68
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.42
|
$1.30
MX$23.86
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants
pay 36.1% less for groceries
|
Santa Barbara
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.40
|
$2.63
MX$48.03
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$12.68
|
$5.04
MX$92.21
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.25
|
$6.54
MX$119.62
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.38
|
$2.61
MX$47.69
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.38
|
$3.80
MX$69.61
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$1.37
MX$25.05
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$0.80
MX$14.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$0.97
MX$17.81
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.48
|
$0.91
MX$16.58
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$0.96
MX$17.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$0.99
MX$18.19
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries
pay 41.0% less for transportation
|
Santa Barbara
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.73
|
$5.14
MX$93.99
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$52.00
|
$19.54
MX$357.52
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,500.00
|
$20,030.45
MX$366,457.13
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.78
|
$4.42
MX$80.95
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation
pay 67.3% less for housing
|
Santa Barbara
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.25
|
$30.93
MX$565.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,720.83
|
$1,079.15
MX$19,743.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.89
|
$677.25
MX$12,390.21
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$166.24
|
$37.36
MX$683.53
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing
pay 70.2% less for childcare
|
Santa Barbara
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,425.00
|
$430.39
MX$7,873.93
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,000.00
|
$10,897.53
MX$199,370.32
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare
pay 44.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Barbara
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$3.26
MX$59.59
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.14
|
$3.81
MX$69.77
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.82
|
$4.34
MX$79.45
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.50
|
$58.44
MX$1,069.25
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$6.51
MX$119.17
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.2% more for clothing
|
Santa Barbara
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.00
|
$60.95
MX$1,114.99
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.75
|
$48.08
MX$879.56
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$77.00
|
$105.72
MX$1,934.15
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$143.33
|
$110.91
MX$2,029.10
|
|
Santa Barbara 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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