Cost of living comparison

compared to
Chicago vs. Mexico Cost of Living Summary

Chicago is 3.6 times more expensive than Mexico overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.5 times more in Chicago
Groceries
pay 2.0 times more in Chicago
Transportation
pay 57.6% more in Chicago
Housing
pay 3.5 times more in Chicago
Childcare
pay 11.1 times more in Chicago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.1 times more in Chicago
Clothing
pay 48.2% more in Chicago

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

Chicago vs. Mexico Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chicago instead of Mexico, you would:

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

 
Mexico
Chicago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.83
MX$179.49
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.25
MX$147.42
$11.34
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.11
MX$22.53
$3.02
 

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pay 2.0 times more for groceries

 
Mexico
Chicago
Bread
1 loaf
$2.35
MX$47.84
$4.19
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.62
MX$73.61
$7.87
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.17
MX$105.18
$3.94
 

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pay 57.6% more for transportation

 
Mexico
Chicago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.48
MX$91.07
$4.16
 
Monthly public transit pass $26.30
MX$534.64
$75.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,957.31
MX$405,676.15
$31,965.00
 

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pay 3.5 times more for housing

 
Mexico
Chicago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$26.71
MX$542.99
$58.52
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $486.26
MX$9,884.36
$2,360.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $362.30
MX$7,364.50
$1,512.92
 

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pay 11.1 times more for childcare

 
Mexico
Chicago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $205.12
MX$4,169.45
$2,475.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $4,165.20
MX$84,666.84
$42,300.00
 

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pay 3.1 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Mexico
Chicago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.16
MX$43.84
$7.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.84
MX$57.72
$5.30
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.78
MX$76.92
$17.00
 

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pay 48.2% more for clothing

 
Mexico
Chicago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$45.84
MX$931.83
$64.98
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.33
MX$738.47
$51.67
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$82.04
MX$1,667.64
$97.00
 

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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: January 2025
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