Cost of living comparison

Mexico City, Mexico

compared to

Escazu, Costa Rica

Escazu vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary

Escazu is 62.1% more expensive than Mexico City.

Restaurants: pay 53.2% more in Escazu
Groceries: pay 37.1% more in Escazu
Transportation: pay 2.4 times more in Escazu
Housing: pay 84.8% more in Escazu
Childcare: pay 42.0% more in Escazu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 44.2% more in Escazu
Clothing: pay 29.6% more in Escazu

The cost of transportation, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, childcare, and groceries in Escazu are more expensive than in Mexico City. Notably, transportation and housing are significantly more expensive in Escazu.

Escazu vs. Mexico City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Escazu instead of Mexico City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 53.2% more for restaurants

	Mexico City	Escazu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.93 MX$188.24	$10.80 CRC5,449.87	+8.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.45 MX$141.18	$9.72 CRC4,901.92	+30.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 MX$20.46	$1.99 CRC1,004.82	+84.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.77 MX$14.65	$1.46 CRC736.39	+88.9%
Average			+53.2%

Mexico City vs. Escazu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.1% more for groceries

	Mexico City	Escazu
Bread 1 loaf	$2.45 MX$46.49	$2.59 CRC1,308.07	+5.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.87 MX$92.27	$4.26 CRC2,151.40	-12.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.51 MX$104.42	$7.21 CRC3,636.94	+30.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.18 MX$41.38	$3.26 CRC1,643.90	+49.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.57 MX$67.70	$4.40 CRC2,219.90	+23.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 MX$23.16	$1.95 CRC982.91	+59.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 MX$12.69	$0.63 CRC317.83	-5.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 MX$15.15	$1.59 CRC802.20	+99.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 MX$15.69	$1.35 CRC679.45	+62.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 MX$16.13	$1.30 CRC654.73	+52.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 MX$15.69	$1.19 CRC600.18	+43.8%
Average			+37.1%

Mexico City vs. Escazu - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.4 times more for transportation

	Mexico City	Escazu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.64 MX$87.92	$5.49 CRC2,767.67	+18.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$17.87 MX$338.84	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,615.02 MX$352,957.49	$30,123.42 CRC15,195,960.54	+61.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.47 MX$65.89	$15.70 CRC7,921.51	+351.9%
Average			+144.0%

Mexico City vs. Escazu - Cost of transportation

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pay 84.8% more for housing

	Mexico City	Escazu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.38 MX$462.25	$53.56 CRC27,018.73	+119.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$893.52 MX$16,941.96	$1,054.33 CRC531,866.17	+18.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$544.24 MX$10,319.19	$1,054.33 CRC531,866.17	+93.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$30.31 MX$574.73	$63.04 CRC31,800.84	+108.0%
Average			+84.8%

Mexico City vs. Escazu - Cost of housing

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pay 42.0% more for childcare

	Mexico City	Escazu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$381.33 MX$7,230.28	$521.49 CRC263,069.85	+36.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,426.99 MX$159,783.30	$12,409.58 CRC6,260,097.00	+47.3%
Average			+42.0%

Mexico City vs. Escazu - Cost of childcare

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pay 44.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Mexico City	Escazu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.73 MX$51.77	$2.92 CRC1,470.58	+6.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.01 MX$57.00	$3.69 CRC1,860.03	+22.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.92 MX$74.36	$4.86 CRC2,450.96	+23.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$53.69 MX$1,017.96	$113.37 CRC57,189.10	+111.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.96 MX$94.12	$7.77 CRC3,921.54	+56.6%
Average			+44.2%

Mexico City vs. Escazu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.6% more for clothing

	Mexico City	Escazu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$56.36 MX$1,068.55	$73.45 CRC37,053.21	+30.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.06 MX$778.52	$50.76 CRC25,605.52	+23.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.99 MX$1,744.26	$125.81 CRC63,466.05	+36.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.93 MX$1,743.06	$117.18 CRC59,111.87	+27.5%
Average			+29.6%

Mexico City vs. Escazu - Cost of clothing

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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: June 2025

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