Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mexico vs. Santa Cruz Cost of Living Summary
Mexico is 47.2% more expensive than Santa Cruz.
- Restaurants
-
pay 95.9% more in Mexico
- Groceries
-
pay 72.2% more in Mexico
- Transportation
-
pay 47.7% more in Mexico
- Housing
-
pay 30.1% more in Mexico
- Childcare
-
pay 25.6% more in Mexico
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 36.2% more in Mexico
- Clothing
-
pay 23.0% more in Mexico
The cost of restaurants, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, housing, and childcare in Mexico are more expensive than in Santa Cruz. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Mexico.
Mexico vs. Santa Cruz Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mexico instead of Santa Cruz, you would:
pay 95.9% more for restaurants
|
Santa Cruz
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.89
BOB19.99
|
$10.13
MX$184.20
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.23
BOB49.98
|
$8.37
MX$152.09
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.81
BOB5.59
|
$1.38
MX$25.01
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.71
BOB4.89
|
$1.04
MX$18.95
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Mexico - Cost of restaurants
pay 72.2% more for groceries
|
Santa Cruz
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.37
BOB9.48
|
$2.62
MX$47.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$2.37
BOB16.39
|
$4.26
MX$77.45
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.29
BOB29.64
|
$5.95
MX$108.11
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.76
BOB12.20
|
$2.45
MX$44.52
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.85
BOB12.79
|
$3.68
MX$66.80
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.23
BOB8.50
|
$1.27
MX$23.03
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.42
BOB2.90
|
$0.67
MX$12.23
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.52
BOB3.63
|
$0.93
MX$16.84
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.46
BOB3.17
|
$0.83
MX$15.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.43
BOB2.99
|
$0.90
MX$16.32
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.44
BOB3.06
|
$0.98
MX$17.79
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Mexico - Cost of groceries
pay 47.7% more for transportation
|
Santa Cruz
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.10
BOB14.50
|
$5.00
MX$90.92
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$21.34
BOB147.45
|
$28.70
MX$521.62
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,932.40
BOB199,929.52
|
$23,996.60
MX$436,128.57
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.47
BOB99.96
|
$19.51
MX$354.62
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Mexico - Cost of transportation
pay 30.1% more for housing
|
Santa Cruz
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$33.25
BOB229.78
|
$29.35
MX$533.46
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$407.65
BOB2,816.92
|
$587.67
MX$10,680.60
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$256.22
BOB1,770.51
|
$443.50
MX$8,060.35
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$42.87
BOB296.22
|
$49.22
MX$894.63
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Mexico - Cost of housing
pay 25.6% more for childcare
|
Santa Cruz
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$200.12
BOB1,382.85
|
$236.91
MX$4,305.75
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$4,195.20
BOB28,989.78
|
$5,569.03
MX$101,214.91
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Mexico - Cost of childcare
pay 36.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Cruz
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.45
BOB10.00
|
$2.44
MX$44.28
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.00
BOB20.72
|
$3.34
MX$60.69
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.17
BOB14.99
|
$4.42
MX$80.27
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$32.03
BOB221.35
|
$39.27
MX$713.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.23
BOB49.98
|
$5.43
MX$98.75
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Mexico - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.0% more for clothing
|
Santa Cruz
|
Mexico
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$35.30
BOB243.91
|
$53.04
MX$963.95
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.22
BOB333.22
|
$40.66
MX$738.90
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.02
BOB580.63
|
$95.33
MX$1,732.66
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$60.76
BOB419.85
|
$87.49
MX$1,590.07
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Mexico - 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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