Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mexico City vs. Santa Monica Cost of Living Summary
Mexico City is 40.7% cheaper than Santa Monica.
- Restaurants
-
pay 39.9% less in Mexico City
- Groceries
-
pay 28.5% less in Mexico City
- Transportation
-
pay 44.2% less in Mexico City
- Housing
-
pay 67.6% less in Mexico City
- Childcare
-
pay 51.4% less in Mexico City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 50.1% less in Mexico City
- Clothing
-
pay 3.0% less in Mexico City
Expenses including housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Mexico City.
Mexico City vs. Santa Monica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mexico City instead of Santa Monica, you would:
pay 39.9% less for restaurants
|
Santa Monica
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$10.86
MX$198.62
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.50
|
$8.82
MX$161.38
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$1.73
MX$31.68
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$1.30
MX$23.86
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants
pay 28.5% less for groceries
|
Santa Monica
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.41
|
$2.63
MX$48.03
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$5.04
MX$92.21
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$6.54
MX$119.62
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.00
|
$2.61
MX$47.69
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.33
|
$3.80
MX$69.61
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.37
MX$25.05
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$0.80
MX$14.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$0.97
MX$17.81
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$0.91
MX$16.58
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$0.96
MX$17.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$0.99
MX$18.19
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries
pay 44.2% less for transportation
|
Santa Monica
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.74
|
$5.14
MX$93.99
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.50
|
$19.54
MX$357.52
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$20,030.45
MX$366,457.13
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
$4.42
MX$80.95
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation
pay 67.6% less for housing
|
Santa Monica
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.00
|
$30.93
MX$565.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,175.00
|
$1,079.15
MX$19,743.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,533.33
|
$677.25
MX$12,390.21
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$37.36
MX$683.53
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing
pay 51.4% less for childcare
|
Santa Monica
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$430.39
MX$7,873.93
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,000.00
|
$10,897.53
MX$199,370.32
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare
pay 50.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Monica
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$3.26
MX$59.59
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.58
|
$3.81
MX$69.77
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$4.34
MX$79.45
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$90.00
|
$58.44
MX$1,069.25
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$6.51
MX$119.17
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.0% less for clothing
|
Santa Monica
|
Mexico City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$60.95
MX$1,114.99
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.15
|
$48.08
MX$879.56
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.09
|
$105.72
MX$1,934.15
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.85
|
$110.91
MX$2,029.10
|
|
Santa Monica 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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