What's the cost of living in Puerto Vallarta?

There are many areas in the general Puerto Vallarta area.  The first one I’ll discuss is the Sayulita area, which is a small town about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta, which draws a very different, unique type of clientele with not as many retired people as Puerto Vallarta.   

 

The cost of living can be quite high in Sayulita here because of rental costs. Long-term rentals are really hard to find in this area, so they may cost...

There are many areas in the general Puerto Vallarta area.  The first one I’ll discuss is the Sayulita area, which is a small town about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta, which draws a very different, unique type of clientele with not as many retired people as Puerto Vallarta.   

 

The cost of living can be quite high in Sayulita here because of rental costs. Long-term rentals are really hard to find in this area, so they may cost about $1,000 a month. If you lived in another town or purchased some property, you would not have the relatively high monthly expense of a rental.

 

In Sayulita a 2-bedroom condo will rent for about US $1,300, while a house with a swimming pool would probably rent for US $2,000 a month in town, but not on the beach. There are some petty theft crimes but generally it’s a very safe town. 

 

Sayulita is a tourist town and we’re small, so people who own properties for rent can get a lot more income with short-term rentals, which drives up the price for longer term rentals.  Often times, people who want to live long-term in this area will live in the next town up, which the locals call San Pancho (San Francisco), or they buy real estate here, which just ends up making more sense for them. 

 

In San Pancho, the US $1,300 per month you would pay in Sayulita would rent for between US $800 to US $900 a month.  Both of these towns are quite nice. You have a great diversity and a great mixture in the population here. You can have a million dollar house right next door to a low-income property. And so, there are certain areas that you can say that the neighborhood is distinguished as a low income or a high income area but we see a lot of mixture in these towns, which I think is really appealing for people who are looking to be part of a community and integrate into Mexico.

 

The food here is a lot healthier, fresher, and cheaper than the States. As a couple, you can go out to a nice dinner here in Sayulita and you will pay about 500 including an alcoholic drink or a beverage, which at the current exchange rate is about US $28.

 

In Mexico in general, clothing is mostly imported, so it can be more expensive than in the US, and also electronic goods are usually imported and more expensive as well. Other living expenses such as your utilities are far cheaper. Property tax is also very inexpensive. For example, here in Sayulita, a nice large property near the ocean will pay about US $500 a year in property taxes.

 

A lot of clients come from California or Seattle or the Vancouver area, and they think Vancouver is one of the most expensive places to live. So living here is a really great alternative for people who want to live in a small town next to the beach.

 

(Rental property with two units for sale in Sayulita, Mexico, pictured.)

The cost of living in Puerto Vallarta is really contingent on the kind of lifestyle you want to live. If you want to live on the ocean, and you want to go out to restaurants 2-3 times a week, you’re going to be looking at a cost of living that will be equivalent to the cost of living that you would have in Canada or in the US. 

 

Once you’ve been in Puerto Vallarta for a while, you tend not to go to the fancy restaurants as much as you used...

The cost of living in Puerto Vallarta is really contingent on the kind of lifestyle you want to live. If you want to live on the ocean, and you want to go out to restaurants 2-3 times a week, you’re going to be looking at a cost of living that will be equivalent to the cost of living that you would have in Canada or in the US. 

 

Once you’ve been in Puerto Vallarta for a while, you tend not to go to the fancy restaurants as much as you used to, and instead find the nice little hidden gems that are known by the locals and by the expats who have been here a while. You start going to these gems where you get great food for a lot less money, unlike in the high-end usual tourist places that you used to go to when you first arrived. This type of lifestyle certainly contributes to a lower cost of living.

 

If you want to live on the ocean in Puerto Vallarta, you’ll be paying higher Homeowner’s Association Fees, and if you are living in a condominium unit, you’ will have higher property taxes to pay. On the contrary, living away from the ocean provides a better cost of living. The cost of living really depends on your lifestyle. 

 

One of the biggest savings in Puerto Vallarta is in property taxes, which would cost you CA $4,000-5,000 (US $3,050 - $3,900) for a 2-bedroom condominium unit in Canada per year. In Puerto Vallarta, a similar 2-bedroom condominium unit right on the ocean will cost you US $150 in property taxes per year, which means significant savings.

 

Homeowners Association Fees in Puerto Vallarta depend greatly on the amenities in your condominium, such as the pool, the gym, and other large garden areas. Puerto Vallarta really is a nice choice, and what I like about Mexico in general is that it caters to everybody’s desire for his or her cost of living. 

 

As far as groceries are concerned, in Puerto Vallarta, you can go to the local grocery store where you pay a higher price for the goods, or you can go to the farmers’ market where you can get fresh fruits directly from the farmers and pay a lot less. 

 

The property values here in Puerto Vallarta and what you can get in Canada or in the US are fairly different. In Canada or in the US, properties that cost between CA $750,000 - $2 million (US $570,000 - $1.5 million,) in Puerto Vallarta will only cost about CA $500,000 (US $380,000) to be on the ocean, which is an equivalent property. That means you’re able to save first in the capital that you’re paying towards your home. 

 

The cost of living in Puerto Vallarta can be very low. For example, my cost of living expenses here in Puerto Vallarta for the lifestyle that I choose to have are about a third less here than it is in Canada, and it could be lower if I wasn’t so addicted to some amazing restaurants that I frequent here in Puerto Vallarta, and if I didn’t like to drive around and use up gas. The choices you make will also dictate your cost of living, but I would say that you’re looking at saving about a third in your cost of living.  

 

(Pictured: Great food at The Lateral Restaurant in Bucerias, near Puerto Vallarta.)

You could live a very inexpensive lifestyle or you could live luxuriously in Puerto Vallarta. The cost of living is in Puerto Vallarta is definitely less than the cost of living in the States. 

 

The cost to rent a small apartment or a condo unit is 3,000 pesos to 5,000 pesos (about US $170 to $282) a month. To rent a small home is 5,000 pesos (about $282) a month. A larger home could cost 10,000 pesos to 15,000 pesos (about $565 to $845) a month....

You could live a very inexpensive lifestyle or you could live luxuriously in Puerto Vallarta. The cost of living is in Puerto Vallarta is definitely less than the cost of living in the States. 

 

The cost to rent a small apartment or a condo unit is 3,000 pesos to 5,000 pesos (about US $170 to $282) a month. To rent a small home is 5,000 pesos (about $282) a month. A larger home could cost 10,000 pesos to 15,000 pesos (about $565 to $845) a month. Rental costs would usually include water, a phone line, electricity, larger maintenance costs, and yearly property taxes. Gas would be a separate cost. 

 

If someone wants to come to Puerto Vallarta and invest in construction of their own home, the construction cost is half of what it would cost to build the same house in the United States. 

 

 

 

Right now, there are some 200-square meter (about 2,150 square feet) homes in Puerto Vallarta being sold that costs 2 million pesos (about $112,000). This would be the low-end to moderate range. If you buy in the more expensive areas, you could spend $11 million pesos to $15 million pesos (about $563,000 to $844,000).  

 

There is a tremendous variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in Puerto Vallarta. These are fruits and vegetables that you wouldn't ordinarily see back in the States and some you never see in the States. 

 

In Puerto Vallarta, you could find five to six types of bananas. They would have three to four different kinds of tomatoes. The produce is fantastic, fresh, and grown locally. In the States, they talk a lot about farm-to-table. In Puerto Vallarta, farm-to-table is typical because everything is grown locally. Some products are exported, but these are also produced locally. 

 

Besides the fruits and vegetables, there is also a wide variety of herbs and spices in Puerto Vallarta. If you are a little scared about experimenting with all these herbs and spices, there are lots of places locally to go to eat. 

 

There is a place in Puerto Vallarta that we always go to where a lady cooks home-cooked meals and the food is fantastic. The cost for a meal here is about 60 pesos (about $3.50), which includes a bowl of soup, a full meal, fresh fruit drinks, and sometimes a dessert. It's more than one person could eat for this price. It's a bonus that you don't have to wash any dishes. This cost reflects what the general cost of food is in Puerto Vallarta.

 

For those who cook at home, there's Costco, Sam’s Club, and Walmart in Puerto Vallarta. There are also local markets where you could go to get fresh produce, meats, and seafood. Puerto Vallarta is right beside the ocean so you get plenty of fresh seafood. The varieties depend on the season, but there is always seafood. 

 

The cost of products you buy in local markets in Puerto Vallarta is a tenth of what you would pay for the same products back in the United States. The food prices are very reasonable. Prices of fruits that are grown locally in Puerto Vallarta like avocados and mangoes would be exorbitant in the United States because they are shipped.  

 

(Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, pictured. )