We started our day with 1L of fresh squeezed OJ and fruit. Cost 25 pesos ($1.38USD/$1.93 CDN).
What It Costs to Live in Mexico
Welcome to our new series on “What It Costs to Live in Mexico” beginning with a grocery price comparison. In the bookstore and at our rental suites we often get asked about what it is like to live here and what it the costs. Over the next few posts we will try to give you a snapshot of what the cost of living is like here compared to the US and Canada.
This is the dairy case in our local Chedraui.
We thought we would begin with a very informal grocery price comparison. We knew food costs were lower here and that the produce is much fresher, but we were really surprised by just how much cheaper groceries are in Mexico vs Canada or the USA. The other surprise was how close prices are in the USA vs. Canada. We always assumed that the pricing in the USA would be much cheaper. We found that when we did our survey, it is only about 7% cheaper in Texas vs. Alberta.
Apples used to be hard to get. Not anymore.
The following compares grocery prices between Calgary, AB Canada, Texas, USA and our own little grocery store here in Puerto Morelos during the month of January, 2016. It is just a snapshot of what prices are like. The comparisons are between similar grocery outlets (not necessarily the cheapest). We used Calgary Co-op, HEB and Chedraui.
Grocery Price Comparison
| Item | Size | Co-op (CDN) | HEB (USD) | Chedraui (pesos) |
| Butter, salted | 454 g | $ 2.99 | $ 3.88 | $ 57.80 |
| Milk, Skim | 1L | $ 2.33 | $ 2.15 | $ 15.00 |
| Eggs, large | 1 dozen | $ 1.99 | $ 2.47 | $ 22.00 |
| Bananas | 1 kg | $ 1.96 | $ 1.06 | $ 12.50 |
| Black Beans, canned | 540mL/15oz | $ 1.79 | $ 0.72 | $ 10.55 |
| Tomatoes, canned | 796mL/29oz | $ 2.09 | $ 1.38 | $ 22.00 |
| Lean Ground Beef | 1 kg | $ 9.90 | $ 7.41 | $ 79.90 |
| Pork Tenderloin | 1 kg | $ 9.90 | $ 8.73 | $ 69.90 |
| Chicken Thighs, bone in w/skin | 1 kg | $ 12.10 | $ 2.02 | $ 43.50 |
| Apples, Fuji | 1 kg | $ 5.05 | $ 2.97 | $ 49.30 |
| White Mushrooms, bulk | 1 kg | $ 5.49 | $ 4.33 | $ 59.95 |
| Avocado | each | $ 0.99 | $ 0.48 | $ 4.50 |
| Green Leaf Lettuce | each | $ 1.99 | $ 1.58 | $ 12.90 |
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| Total in Currency of Country | $ 58.57 | $ 39.18 | $459.80 | |
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| Total in Canadian Dollars | $ 58.57 | $ 54.74 | $ 35.46 | |
| Total in USD | $ 41.90 | $ 39.18 | $ 25.38 | |
| Total in Pesos | $759.00 | $709.00 | $459.80 |
The data for Calgary Co-op was found here. The data for HEB comes from their website. And the data for Chedraui comes from our local store here in Puerto Morelos. Again this is a very unscientific study, but should give you some food for thought.
The bakery is getting a jump on Valentine’s Day. Sweet.
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