What it costs to live abroad, city by city
Every market we grade, on one table and one instrument: the comfortable all-in monthly, what it works out to as a share of a comparable US city, and the affordability grade. Same Numbeo housing-and-daily basis, same WHO out-of-pocket healthcare figure, same US benchmark — so the numbers are actually comparable. Sort by any column; tap a market for the line-by-line.
The comparison
One row per market with a complete, sourced grade — eight countries and five Mexico cities. Sort by monthly cost, share of a US city, or affordability. Each market links to its full breakdown.
| Dominican Republic | Country | $1,201/mo | 28% | 85.8A- |
| Belize | Country | $1,218/mo | 29% | 85.6A- |
| TulumMexico | City | $1,374/mo | 32% | 83.8A- |
| MéridaMexico | City | $1,456/mo | 34% | 82.8A- |
| Panama | Country | $1,691/mo | 40% | 80.1A- |
| Costa Rica | Country | $1,755/mo | 41% | 78.6B+ |
| Mexico CityMexico | City | $1,802/mo | 43% | 77.5B+ |
| San Miguel de AllendeMexico | City | $1,804/mo | 43% | 77.4B+ |
| Mexico | Country | $1,826/mo | 43% | 76.9B+ |
| Spain | Country | $1,828/mo | 43% | 76.9B+ |
| Portugal | Country | $1,829/mo | 43% | 76.9B+ |
| Italy | Country | $1,840/mo | 43% | 76.6B+ |
| Puerto VallartaMexico | City | $2,177/mo | 51% | 68.7B- |
Figures are the comfortable, all-in monthly for a single adult in USD, on the documented Cost Score formula. City rows use their own local rent median and basket; country rows are the national aggregate. Where a market has a data gap (thin Numbeo sample, no citable healthcare total), the caveat is on that market's page, not averaged away here.
Why these numbers are comparable
Most “cost of living abroad” tables stitch together numbers from a dozen sources that don’t share a basket, a currency, or a year — so a $1,200 month in one country and a $1,200 month in another aren’t the same claim. Every row here runs on the same Cost Score formula: housing weighted 40%, food, healthcare, and daily living 20% each, USD-converted and read against a comparable US city. That is what makes the column actually sortable.
One market read, one process explainer, one number to know.
Free, no sponsors. Cross-border property and retirement, written for North American buyers.