Cost of living comparison

compared to

Mexico City vs. Puerto Vallarta Cost of Living Summary

Mexico City is 2.1% more expensive than Puerto Vallarta.

Restaurants: pay 23.2% less in Mexico City
Groceries: pay 5.4% more in Mexico City
Transportation: pay 2.9% more in Mexico City
Housing: pay 24.7% less in Mexico City
Childcare: pay 26.9% more in Mexico City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.3% more in Mexico City
Clothing: pay 9.8% more in Mexico City

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, and transportation in Mexico City are more expensive than in Puerto Vallarta. Expenses including housing and restaurants are lower in Mexico City.

Mexico City vs. Puerto Vallarta Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mexico City instead of Puerto Vallarta, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 23.2% less for restaurants

	Puerto Vallarta	Mexico City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.93 MX$204.83	$9.93 MX$204.83
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.19 MX$168.98	$7.45 MX$153.62	-9.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.64 MX$33.85	$1.08 MX$22.27	-34.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.05 MX$21.67	$0.77 MX$15.94	-26.4%
Average			-23.2%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.4% more for groceries

	Puerto Vallarta	Mexico City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.52 MX$51.94	$2.45 MX$50.59	-2.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.06 MX$83.77	$4.87 MX$100.40	+19.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.53 MX$114.01	$5.51 MX$113.62	-0.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.96 MX$40.36	$2.18 MX$45.03	+11.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.05 MX$63.00	$3.57 MX$73.66	+16.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 MX$20.43	$1.22 MX$25.20	+23.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 MX$13.23	$0.67 MX$13.81	+4.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 MX$14.77	$0.80 MX$16.48	+11.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 MX$17.62	$0.83 MX$17.07	-3.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.86 MX$17.78	$0.85 MX$17.56	-1.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.05 MX$21.70	$0.83 MX$17.07	-21.3%
Average			+5.4%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.9% more for transportation

	Puerto Vallarta	Mexico City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.53 MX$93.37	$4.64 MX$95.67	+2.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.93 MX$204.83	$17.87 MX$368.69	+80.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,381.22 MX$337,967.41	$18,615.02 MX$384,053.88	+13.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.59 MX$465.99	$3.47 MX$71.69	-84.6%
Average			+2.9%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.7% less for housing

	Puerto Vallarta	Mexico City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.18 MX$643.39	$24.38 MX$502.98	-21.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$949.03 MX$19,579.77	$893.52 MX$18,434.59	-5.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$639.81 MX$13,200.07	$544.24 MX$11,228.34	-14.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.23 MX$1,428.25	$30.31 MX$625.36	-56.2%
Average			-24.7%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing

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pay 26.9% more for childcare

	Puerto Vallarta	Mexico City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$339.21 MX$6,998.32	$381.33 MX$7,867.29	+12.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,956.81 MX$122,897.24	$8,426.99 MX$173,860.58	+41.5%
Average			+26.9%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Puerto Vallarta	Mexico City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.99 MX$40.97	$2.73 MX$56.33	+37.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.32 MX$68.49	$3.01 MX$62.02	-9.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.92 MX$80.91	$3.92 MX$80.91
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.78 MX$634.97	$53.69 MX$1,107.64	+74.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.45 MX$153.62	$4.96 MX$102.41	-33.3%
Average			+17.3%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.8% more for clothing

	Puerto Vallarta	Mexico City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.57 MX$1,228.97	$56.36 MX$1,162.69	-5.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.51 MX$691.30	$41.06 MX$847.11	+22.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.08 MX$1,920.27	$91.99 MX$1,897.94	-1.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$74.46 MX$1,536.22	$91.93 MX$1,896.63	+23.5%
Average			+9.8%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Mexico City - 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: January 2025

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