Is Puerto Vallarta cost of living cheaper than any Mexican city? I’ve been living in Mexico for the past 3 years and have been seeing the different costs around the country. So far, I think Puerto Vallarta wins in best in value and quality of life.
📬 Reader Mail: Trisha, thanks for all the helpful Mexico posts! My name is Nancy and I just transitioned from office life to work from home. Next year, I would really love to leave the USA. My goal is to save money and I feel like the costs are cheaper in Mexico. What’s the general view of Puerto Vallarta cost of living? Is Puerto Vallarta expensive? I found some Airbnbs for less than $1,000. Can you verify the legitimacy of these accommodations? Thank you for all your help!
– Nancy Larios, USA
Hi Nancy,
I am glad you are choosing Mexico as your digital nomad base! For sure, your money will stretch further here than in the US especially if you’re already working at home! I am based in Baja California Sur but was in Puerto Vallarta for a year.
I feel like it’s the cheapest digital nomad base in Mexico so as I’ve also lived in other cities like Mexico City and Guanajuato. The costs are incomparable! PV always wins! I’ll share with you my personal expenses in this post when I was living in Puerto Vallarta. I hope you find your way to PV. I still visit quite a lot so I hope our paths will cross!
Just send me a message when you arrive and let’s see if our wavelengths will connect! Good luck! I really wish you’ll enjoy Puerto Vallarta!
Xx,
Trisha
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In 2020, I decided to move to Puerto Vallarta. Since I came from Sayulita, one of the Mexican beach towns with a high cost of living, I found Puerto Vallarta cheaper. I was choosing between PV and Mexico City but found out that PV is still cheaper. I even compared it to Guadalajara and still, PV won.
As an expat in Mexico who tries to live in different towns/cities every year, I learned that I have to set a budget when it comes to housing.
The rest of the other stuff, like food and transport, are easier since they are almost the same in every Mexican City. As for the apartment costs, which are the bulk of my costs, I’ve seen a very big difference, so setting a budget was the smartest thing to do.
Editor’s Note: All prices in this post are in US dollars.
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Puerto Vallarta cost of living guide: what I spend monthly
Your baseline cost of living in Puerto Vallarta is $1,200 minimum, a price that most expats in PV spend. Of course, your lifestyle will always be the baseline for your costs. To give you a better example, I will share with you my fixed monthly expenses, based on my lifestyle:
Housing/rent
I pay $650 for a 2-bedroom house with one studio, 2 floors, and a back garden. Please note that if you want to live in popular areas like Zona Romantica, a house this size can be double or more. In Puerto Vallarta, having an oceanview apartment and a terrace also makes the rent prices increase.
Grocery shopping
I love to cook and even if Puerto Vallarta has some great restaurants, I still prefer homemade food. The good thing is there are lots of groceries in PV. We’re even one of the cities in Mexico that has Costco! Since I am living alone, I try to do $75 for 10 days worth of groceries. I also try my best not to throw food so I do weekly visits to the supermarkets.
Gasoline (I have a car)
I go to Sayulita and Punta Mita a lot but I only spend around $100 every 2 weeks. I have a truck and a full tank costs about $100 – $120. I don’t always drive in PV because parking is super hard. Uber rides are about $5 – $10 per ride.
Dog stuff
I have two dogs so their monthly expenses are part of my Puerto Vallarta costs, too! Dog grooming costs $10 per dog. Their one month dog food is about $30. This brand is Beneful (21 kg) but Kirkland brands in Costco are also in the same price range.
Beauty and wellness
One of the great perks of living in Mexico is that beauty and personal care are super cheap! Teeth cleaning is at $25 and I do it every 4 months. I also do weekly massages for 1.5 hours around $30 (deep-tissue massage). For manicure and pedicure, a package is at $30 in a good spa.
I also do monthly facials for $10. Waxing is about $50 for a package (brazilian, legs, and underarm). I also spend $100 for 20 sessions of pilates per month. My monthly gym membership is $7 (unlimited).
Home Internet/Wifi
I am not with Telmex since their fiber-optic services are not available on my street. I use an International wifi company in Puerto Vallarta and I pay $50 USD per month for a fiber-optic connection. This also came with two routers as I have two floors in my house.
Electricity bill
My electricity comes every 2 months and I pay about $15 USD for 2 months in the winter. Temperatures are cooler from November to May so I never turn my AC on. I’m also not a big fan of AC. However, during the summer, my electric bill goes up to $120 USD for two months. I work at home and this rate goes up when AC is on for at least 8 hours a day.
Water bill
No matter how much water I use, I pay a default bill of $6 USD per month. Mexico has a very strangely cheap water bill. In fact, in Sayulita, I never paid for the water bill!
Cleaner/housekeeper
I have a cleaner that comes twice a week to do deep cleaning. I pay her $17 USD per day so it’s roughly $100 USD per month to have someone clean your house in Puerto Vallarta.
Food costs in Puerto Vallarta
How often do you eat out? I am super guilty about eating out all the time because Puerto Vallarta has a lot of amazing restaurants! Even if I was already here for the last three years, I was not able to try them all!
| Item | Price (USD) |
|---|---|
| Street taco | $1.51 |
| Restaurant food (malecon) | from $20 USD |
| Restaurant food (Mexican) | from $12 |
| Fast food restaurant (combo meals) | $6 |
| 500g boneless chicken breast | $2.50 |
| 1 dozen of eggs (organic) | $5 |
| Bread (Mexican bakery) | $1.26 |
| 1 kg tomatoes | $1.50 |
| 1 kg apples | $2 |
But living here also means that I have to cook, which honestly, I truly love doing! Grocery prices are super cheap in Mexico.
In fact, I only spend about $75 USD for 10 days if I am strictly eating at home. I did a Puerto Vallarta supermarket tour on Youtube where I showed all food shopping in PV. Check it out to see real-time prices!
Housing/rent costs in Puerto Vallarta
Zona Romantica is the most expensive neighborhood in Puerto Vallarta. Rent can start at $1,000 USD per month considering that it meets your standards.
The usual request/questions when looking for housing in Puerto Vallarta includes: is it flat or uphill? Is it near the beach? Will I have a rooftop? Will I have a pool?
Puerto Vallarta is very hilly so it’s better to look for apartments when you are already here. As someone who speaks Spanish, I can get cheap rent in Puerto Vallarta that starts from $500 USD in the Zona Romantica.
| Item | Price (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1-br apartment in Zona Romantica | $650 |
| 2-br apartment in Zona Romantica with pool | from $1,500 |
| Studio (outside Zona Romantica) | from $268 USD |
| 2-br oceanview (Marina Vallarta) | from $2,500 |
| 3-br home in a subdivision (Fluvial Vallarta) | $1,000 |
| 2-br with shared rooftop (Versalles) | $600 |
Note that Zona Romantica is not the only neighborhood in Puerto Vallarta but is most preferred by expats. You can also get cheap apartments in other areas but you will need an Uber to go to the Malecon.
It seems to be very important for foreigners to live near Malecon. I lived in other PV neighborhoods and it’s not really that bad!
Transportation costs in Puerto Vallarta
I have a car so I just mostly spend on gas. But if you are going to find an apartment in Zona Romantica, don’t get a car! Parking is horrible and you really won’t need a car if you are already by the Malecon. Everything you need will be there.
| Item | Price (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas | $1 |
| Uber ride from Zona Romantica to Costco | from $9 |
| Bus from Puerto Vallarta to Sayulita | $4 |
| Uber ride from Puerto Vallarta to Sayulita | from $89 |
Beauty and personal care in Puerto Vallarta
This is something I do regularly (literally on a monthly basis) so it’s a big chunk of my expenses. I can say that I spend about $350 on beauty and wellness packages in Mexico. Occasionally, I also do some IV drips for $150 (vitamin C, collagen, etc). There are a lot of wellness spas in Puerto Vallarta that won’t have to break the bank!
The spas in Puerto Vallarta are quite high-end even though a 90-minute massage is only $35. As for the haircut, I am not really very picky with the salon. That’s the rate at a Walmart salon but my friends who are blonde and need special treatment usually pay a luxury hair salon $100 for a haircut!
Why move to Puerto Vallarta?
Living in Puerto Vallarta is kind of a mix of both. You’ll have the city and the beach at the same time – think Barcelona and Tel Aviv. The buses are efficient and can go to the small towns of Sayulita and San Pancho. Uber is also cheap and works everywhere. I have a car but I really don’t think you need a car in Puerto Vallarta since parking is super impossible.
The streets are too small (and one-way) so it will take a lot of time to find parking. Rental homes and apartments don’t have their own parking so you always have to search whenever you use your car.
As a digital nomad, having a strong WiFi connection is one of my requirements. Honestly, that’s a luxury in Mexico but Puerto Vallarta has a very modern infrastructure and has over 25 Internet providers. Fiber optic wifi is also available.
I did not have this while living in Sayulita so it’s really a relief to have cheap (and fast) Internet! Because of this, the number of digital nomads in Puerto Vallarta is increasing every year.
Quality of life in Puerto Vallarta
In the expat groups on Facebook, you’ll see how a lot of people share how their quality of life has changed when they moved from the USA/Canada to Puerto Vallarta.
One even said he retired in Mexico waiting to die and found out that his health changed when he moved to Mexico. It’s really heartwarming to read posts like this because it is true! Moving to Puerto Vallarta can definitely better your way of life.
If you live by the Zona Romantica or Marina Vallarta, you will be within walking distance to the beach.
According to Tessera Brandon, there are lots of benefits to living near the water such as breathing fresh air, strengthening your immune system, getting better sleep, increasing white blood cell count, and extreme relaxation.
These factors have changed the lives of a lot of expats in Puerto Vallarta and you can have this kind of lifestyle, too!
I also believe that living space contributes to life quality. For example, if you are paying a $2,500 studio apartment in New York without enough space for your dogs, your $2,500 in Puerto Vallarta will be a 4-bedroom villa facing the ocean. Of course, you don’t have to pay this amount as there are apartments with large spaces for less than $1,000.
Expats also enjoy eating out in Puerto Vallarta without thinking about the price. In fact, most of them do it every day! You can have a nice meal in an upper-scale restaurant in Puerto Vallarta for $20 (i.e. steak) and can have a bottle of wine for the same price.
FAQ: Cost of living in Puerto Vallarta
Is Puerto Vallarta cheap?
ABSOLUTELY! I consider Puerto Vallarta as one of the cheapest places to live in Mexico. I feel like you can easily live here for $80) USD a month, especially if you are not renting an apartment in an expensive area like Zona Romantica. Traveling Puerto Vallarta on a budget is also achievable. You can easily do it for $30 USD per day if you’re on a tight budget!
How much does it cost to live in Puerto Vallarta for a month?
You can comfortably live in Puerto Vallarta for $1,200 – $2500 USD per month. I also know some people who go by with less than $1,000 USD! As expats, we always want rental homes near the beach and in PV, that comes with a price. Bills are super cheap (about $15 USD per month for electricity) and eating out is very affordable (about $10 USD per meal in a good restaurant).
If you plan to live in Puerto Vallarta long-term, you might want to find apartments in the cheapest neighborhoods (not Zona Romantica, sorry!). If you are a remote worker who wishes to stay in Puerto Vallarta short-term, read the digital nomad guide to Puerto Vallarta as the costs might be different.
Is Puerto Vallarta a good place to retire?
There are many retirees in Puerto Vallarta. In the Puerto Vallarta expat group, these retirees have reported that their quality of life have improved when they decided to retire here. PV has everything for you to retire comfortably in Mexico.
While some expat retirees choose Mexican beach towns, Puerto Vallarta gives you the best of both worlds: living in the city and at the same time near the ocean.
