Ecatepec de Morelos

Cost of Living inEcatepec de Morelos, Mexico

México, Mexico1.6MUpper middle income

Image credit: Armando Olivo Martín del Campo

Purchasing Power vs. United States

Your money goes 1.67x further

Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Mexico: $22,040/capita.

How Far Your Money Goes

Prices are 57% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.

Overall
2.3x further
Prices are 57% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Rent
5.6x further
Prices are 82% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Groceries
2.1x further
Prices are 53% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Restaurants
2.3x further
Prices are 56% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Income Category

Upper Middle
World Bank GNI

Happiness

6.7 / 10

#25 globally

GDP per Capita

$22,040
PPP, International $

City Population

1.6M

Child Education

Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.

Public schools

Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Mexico; Ecatepec de Morelos-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.

Mixed public-school option

Quality

Mixed public-school option

Expat access

Available to residents

conditional

Instruction

Spanish

Language fit is more manageable.

PISA / outcomes

Qualitative only

Using curated quality notes for now.

Why this quality rating

Mexico's public schools can work for locally integrated families, but quality is uneven and many expat households still prefer private or bilingual options.

Why the expat-access rating looks like this

Resident families can usually enroll, but Spanish-medium instruction and school-quality variation make the public path a situational choice.

Homeschooling

Not explicitly regulated

Mexico has compulsory education laws but no specific homeschooling regulation. Many expat and Mexican families homeschool without issues, particularly in Playa del Carmen, San Miguel de Allende, and Mexico City. INEA provides equivalency exams. Enforcement of compulsory attendance is minimal.

Homeschool legality in Mexico — check current regulations before committing.

Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)

Childcare & Domestic Help

Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Mexico.

Full-time nanny (5 days)

$425-$900

Estimate-only country fallback

Live-in / 24-7 nanny

$550-$1,000

Estimate-only country fallback

Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)

Getting Around

Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Ecatepec de Morelos is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.

Healthcare

System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Mexico.

Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.

8 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 2 months ago

Healthcare system

Mixed

Good national coverage help, but hospital capacity looks tighter and households still pay a large share themselves.

Public care

Limited

Patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs weigh on this rating.

Private care

Limited

The tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.

UHC coverage

79/100

2023

Physicians

2.59/1k

2022

Hospital beds

1.01/1k

2022

Out of pocket

41%

2023

Outcome signals

Life expectancy

75.3 yrs

2024

Maternal mortality

42/100k

2023

Neonatal mortality

8.2/1k

2024

International patient readiness

Limited

Price transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.

Pricing transparency

Limited

Published self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.

Facility coverage

Hospital: 3Pharmacy: 3Clinic: 1Laboratory: 1

Self-pay pricing visibility

No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Mexico yet.

This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.

Notable facilities

Issemym
Hospital · Emergency
Hospital General Ecatepec "Las Américas"
Hospital · Emergency
Centro de Salud Jardines de Morelos
Hospital · Emergency
Centro de Salud ISEM Santa María Tulpetlac
Clinic
laboratorio EL CHOPO
Laboratory
Farmacia 75%
Pharmacy

System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01

Safety & Governance

City-level perceived-crime data is not sourced for Ecatepec de Morelos yet. Showing Mexico national safety and governance signals until a matched city row lands.

Street Safety

Safety Index39/100
Crime Index61/100

Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.

Political Stability

Political Stability-0.67

World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.

Wages by Sector

SectorMedian
Administrative & Support Services
Agriculture & Farming
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation
Construction
Education
Finance & Insurance
Healthcare & Social Work
Hospitality & Food Service
Information & Technology
Manufacturing
Mining & Quarrying
Other Services
Professional & Scientific Services
Public Administration & Defence
Real Estate
Retail & Wholesale Trade
Transport & Logistics
Utilities

2024 annual wages in Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico · Source: INEGI ENOE (state-adjusted)

Price Comparison vs. US

beer
$2.50Estimated68% cheaper
big mac
$6.30Estimated3% more
bread 500g
$2.79Estimated18% cheaper
budget hotel
$14.08Estimated61% cheaper
childcare preschool
$641.61Estimated59% cheaper
cinema
$4.50Estimated73% cheaper
coca cola
$0.90Estimated58% cheaper
eggs dozen
$3.52Estimated27% cheaper
gasoline liter
$1.39Estimated35% more
inexpensive meal
$13.61Estimated36% cheaper
internet 60mbps
$42.85Estimated37% cheaper
International School (Annual)
$9800.00Estimated68% cheaper
iphone
$1099.00Estimated10% more
jeans
$38.00Estimated26% cheaper
latte
$3.50Estimated34% cheaper
luxury hotel
$297.50Estimated38% cheaper
mcmeal
$6.00Estimated41% cheaper
milk liter
$1.97Estimated61% more
monthly pass
$43.56Estimated37% cheaper
nike shoes
$70.00Estimated23% cheaper
rent 1br
$1083.63Estimated40% cheaper
rent 2br
$1100.00Estimated74% cheaper
rent 3br
$2052.78Estimated36% cheaper
subway fare
$0.30Estimated88% cheaper
taxi km
$2.48Estimated33% more
utilities basic
$130.28Estimated39% cheaper

Visa Information (US passport)

Short-stay entry

visa freeUp to 180 days

US passport holders can stay up to 180 days without a visa.

Long-Term Visa Programs

digital nomad

Temporary Resident Visa

12 monthsRenewableMin. $2,500/mo income

Migrated from legacy digital_nomad_visas row 22

12 monthsRenewableMin. $2,500/mo income

Quick comparison FAQ

Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.

How far does your money go in Ecatepec de Morelos compared with the US?

Your money goes about 1.7x further in Ecatepec de Morelos than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Mexico here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

Is Ecatepec de Morelos cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?

Ecatepec de Morelos is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 57% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Ecatepec de Morelos. We are using the country-level cost index for Mexico here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How does rent in Ecatepec de Morelos compare with New York City?

Rent in Ecatepec de Morelos is about 82% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Mexico here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Ecatepec de Morelos?

Groceries in Ecatepec de Morelos are about 53% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 56% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Mexico here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

About Ecatepec de Morelos

Ecatepec de Morelos is one of the most populous municipalities in the State of Mexico, sitting immediately northeast of Mexico City with about 1.65 million residents and functionally part of the Greater Mexico City metropolitan area. It grew explosively in the late 20th century as informal housing absorbed migration into the capital region, and today most working residents commute into Mexico City via the Mexibús BRT and Line B of the metro. For relocators it is generally not a direct destination — security incidents, water scarcity, and limited public services have driven persistent quality-of-life concerns — but it is worth understanding as the kind of high-density working-class periphery that defines actual life in the Mexico City basin.