3.36/5
538 reviews
Photo by Abraham De La Cruz via Unsplash

Cost of Living in Oaxaca

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culture

cheap

arts

extremely

great

charming

full

food

center

underrated

stayed

neighborhood

staying

town

walkable

gorgeous

vibe

relaxed

Oaxaca is frequently described as charming, colorful, and underrated by digital nomads and travelers. The city offers a mix of affordability, safety, and strong cultural identity. People often mention how clean and walkable it is, with reliable fast internet and a strong presence of coworking spaces and cafes, especially in El Centro. Many highlight the warmth and friendliness of locals, and the abundance of great food—particularly its famous mole varieties and mezcal.

The city also features a vibrant arts scene, street art, and historical architecture, blending modern conveniences with traditional charm. Neighborhoods like Jalatlaco are noted for their creative, small-town feel within a highly livable city. While there's no mall infrastructure, the overall quality of life seems high, and people often express a strong desire to return or even stay long-term.

Some drawbacks mentioned include occasional issues with garbage collection and political protests that may disrupt traffic, though they reportedly do not impact safety. Despite minor inconveniences, Oaxaca consistently receives praise as an excellent destination for remote work and extended stays.

AI-generated summary of reviews
7 months ago

Awesome!
Very pretty and colorful. People are super nice. It's extremely safe with a lot of policemen in the city center.
Lots of coworking and coliving.
I will come back and stay much longer

7 months ago

Loved this city! It is not big although has great nightlife, coworkings, amazing streetart and is quite cheap. Although, when I visited in December 2021 they had problems with garbage removal.

4 years ago

Oaxaca is a charming little city full of history and culture. The internet here is strong and reliable and there is a cafe for work from seemingly on every street in El Centro. The food is by far the best in all of Mexico; be sure to try all seven different moles and find your favorite. The only minor downside is that there is are frequent political protests which often block the traffic outside the historical center. However, I never once felt unsafe there. Oaxaca is also the mezcal center of Mexico try "pechuga" which is distilled across a turkey imparting a distinctive umami flavor. I will definitely return to Oaxaca!

5 years ago

Oaxaca is probably the most underrated city for digital nomads in all of Mexico, or maybe I just stayed in the right neighborhood. I stayed in Jalatlaco, a foodie district and I can say that I am blown away by the experience staying in Oaxaca. Oaxaca is full or arts, artisans and creatives. It still has the small town feel but everywhere you look, theres art everywhere and these little piece of details brings a great touch of what could have been a regular town. It doesnt have any malls, but this place is highly livable and walkable. At night, there are salsa dance class in the neighborhood, coffee culture and did i say arts? Oaxaca is the most charming underrated city I have ever been in Mexico! I can easily see myself staying for 6 months in this place each year.

5 years ago

Oaxaca is one of a kind. It's a gorgeous city, incredible culture and the best mexican food around. It's cheap, clean, walkable and has quick wifi. I fell in love with this city. In my opinion, it has a Chiang Mai vibe except smaller and cleaner.

5 years ago

Oaxaca is magical! Tons of cute cafes, rooftop restaurants with gorgeous views of mountains and cathedrals, cheap, beautiful.

6 years ago

Oaxaca is a city of arts, in its style, vibe and people it attracts. It has a wonderfully peaceful and relaxed atmosphere. I was here for a few months and really enjoyed it. I am more a business type of guy but if I'd be more relaxed I could image spending a few years here.

6 years ago

I disagree greatly with Oaxaca not being family friendly in the pros and cons - it's extremely family friendly! There's a free children's Museum, a children's library, plenty of indoor play spaces, lovely playgrounds and the culture itself loves kids.

6 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Friendly people

✅ Very affordable

✅ Very clean

✅ Walkable

✅ Great food

✅ Strong arts and culture scene

✅ Good for coworking

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Easy to do business

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Occasional political protests

❌ Garbage collection issues

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Not very safe

❌ Not much to do

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ People don't speak English well

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

2373°
mild

2475°
warm

2781°
warm

2882°
warm

2577°
warm

2373°
mild

2272°
mild

2170°
mild

Real (median)

2373°
mild

2474°
warm

2679°
warm

2781°
warm

2577°
warm

2373°
mild

2272°
mild

2170°
mild

Humidity

nice
66%

nice
58%

nice
56%

nice
55%

nice
68%

nice
81%

nice
79%

nice
83%

nice
85%

nice
79%

nice
70%

nice
66%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

dry
2mm

dry
5mm

dry
16mm

dry
30mm

dry
38mm

rainy
170mm

rainy
110mm

rainy
131mm

rainy
167mm

rainy
76mm

dry
11mm

dry
2mm

Cloud

pockets
48%

pockets
17%

pockets
20%

pockets
40%

cloudy
62%

cloudy
83%

cloudy
71%

cloudy
74%

cloudy
83%

cloudy
64%

pockets
36%

pockets
15%

Air quality

clean
43 US AQI

okay
59 US AQI

okay
61 US AQI

okay
66 US AQI

okay
70 US AQI

clean
33 US AQI

clean
44 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
28 US AQI

clean
27 US AQI

clean
41 US AQI

clean
48 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
11 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

Remote workers

3,700 people

3,382 people

3,050 people

2,640 people

2,580 people

2,475 people

1,400 people

2,700 people

2,040 people

5,400 people

3,043 people

3,218 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Based on Oaxaca's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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✈️58min

$2,729 / mo

11 Mbps

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 35° 95° 30° 87° 🥵 AQI 41

✈️11min

$2,518 / mo

🌇 Also went here182 people

Mexico City

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 20° 68° 20° 68° AQI 71 😷

✈️29min

$2,750 / mo

🌇 Also went here409 people

Playa del Carmen

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 30° 86° 30° 87° 🥵 AQI 45

✈️12h

$7,057 / mo

🌇 Also went here176 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 33° 91° 29° 84° AQI 56 😷

✈️15h

$1,961 / mo

🌇 Also went here148 people

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° 🥵 AQI 28

✈️21h

$1,173 / mo

🌇 Also went here160 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 37° 99° 30° 87° 🥵 AQI 55 😷

✈️21h

$1,576 / mo

🌇 Also went here208 people

1,200 remote workers in Oaxaca now, of which 1+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.36/5 (Rank #204) 538 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍18 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $2,338 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 12 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 25°C77°F (feels 25°C77°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 66%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	🥵 Very low: 16%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Good: 41 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 38 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Very bad
🤝 Lack of racism*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very low: $704 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Latin America
🚩 Country	Mexico
🗓️ Average trip length	14 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	12 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 25°C 77°F + 😊 Comfy (66%) = feels 25°C 77°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 41 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 38 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100 MXN in USD	USD 5.86
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	MXN 10,000 = USD 586
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
💻 Best coworking space	Hub Oaxaca
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍12% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	260,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$8,444 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 43% 👱‍♀️ 57%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 51% 👱‍♀️ 49%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 70% 👱‍♀️ 30%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Linio
🏠 Apartment listings	Comparto Depa
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Volaris
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Aero Mexico

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$2,338 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,404 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,262 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$646 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,688 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,666 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$512 / month
🏠 Median home price	$134,700
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$79 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$87 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$249 / month
🍛 Dinner	$6
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2

Cost of Living in Oaxaca

1,200 remote workers in Oaxaca now, of which 1+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who have been here

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