Yahoo Finance 10 Safest Places To Live Comfortably in Mexico and How Much It Costs To Live There
It’s no surprise that many retirees, snowbirds and digital nomads choose to live in Mexico at least part of the year. The country is known for its excellent climate, diverse scenery, low cost of living and high quality of life. Plus, for people who want to purchase property there, there’s the added benefit of lower property taxes.
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While Mexico has a lot to offer, living there does come with its share of drawbacks. One of the big ones is safety. Like anywhere else in the world, the country has its share of crime, including homicides, violent crime, firearm-related activity, organized crime and indefinite imprisonment (detention without a sentence).
The good news for anyone considering Mexico as their next destination is that there are still many cities there that are safe, comfortable and affordable. Of course, it’s important to do your research before you go so you can experience all the country has to offer while enjoying a high quality of life.
GOBankingRates compiled data from various cities in Mexico based on their popularity and crime rates. All crime and safety-related data are from Economics and Peace — Mexico Peace Index. GOBankingRates then compared, scored and ranked each location based on its overall crime rate and total safety score.
If you’re thinking about moving to Mexico, here are the top 10 safest places where you can live comfortably, and what you can expect to spend while there. Data related to cost of living comes from Vivanuncios, Numbeo, LivingCost.org, and other sources.
10. Mazatlan, Sinaloa
Total safety score: 1.22012
Homicide: 1.745
Violent crime: 3.132
Firearms: 1.820
Organized crime: 2.420
Detention without a sentence: 1.831
Home to roughly 502,000 people, an average 1-bedroom apartment monthly rent in the city center costs 10,333.33 MXN (about $617 USD). To buy an apartment in downtown Mazatlan, people typically spend 2,615.32 MXN ($156 USD) per square foot. A family of four typically spends around 37,596 MXN ($2,246 USD) a month with rent.
9. Puebla, Puebla
Total safety score: 1.21452
Homicide: 1.744
Violent crime: 2.905
Firearms: 1.879
Organized crime: 1.508
Detention without a sentence: 2.777
In Puebla, you can rent a 1-bedroom apartment in the city center for 7,485.71 MXN ($447 USD). The cost of buying an apartment in the city is 1,219.34 MXN ($72.84 USD) per square foot. The average home price in the city is 1,155,664.000 MXN ($69,039.38 USD).
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8. Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes
Total safety score: 1.11689
Homicide: 1.290
Violent crime: 3.087
Firearms: 1.427
Organized crime: 2.516
Detention without a sentence: 2.152
In Aguascalientes, you can rent a 1-bedroom apartment in the city center for 4.700.00 MXN ($280 USD). Alternatively, you can rent a 3-bedroom apartment in the city center for 9,712.50 MXN ($580 USD). A typical home costs 892,205.000 MXN ($53,300 USD). The typical cost of food for one person is 3,448 MXN ($206 USD) each month.
7. Ocotlán, Jalisco
Total safety score: 1.00919
Homicide: 1.529
Violent crime: 2.969
Firearms: 1.585
Organized crime: 1.826
Detention without a sentence: 2.186
In Ocotlán, you can purchase a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home for 1,100,000 MXN ($65,714 USD). But if you want to rent a place, you can do so for around 6,511 MXN to 13391 MXN ($389 to $800 USD).
6. Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
Total safety score: 1.00919
Homicide: 1.529
Violent crime: 2.969
Firearms: 1.585
Organized crime: 1.826
Detention without a sentence: 2.186
Another popular destination for expats, the average monthly costs for a family of four in Puerto Vallarta are 38,646 MXN ($2,310 USD), excluding rent. Basic utilities cost around 1,351 MXN ($80 USD). A 3-bedroom apartment in the city center costs about 34,571.62 MXN ($2,065 USD). If you live outside the downtown area, you can cut your rental costs by about half.
5. Guadalajara, Jalisco
Total safety score: 1.00919
Homicide: 1.529
Violent crime: 2.969
Firearms: 1.585
Organized crime: 1.826
Detention without a sentence: 2.186
A family of four living in in Guadalajara can expect to spend roughly 41,102 MXN ($2,457 USD) a month, excluding rent. Basic utilities for an apartment cost around 821 MXN ($49 USD). A 3-bedroom apartment rental outside the city limits typically goes for 14,823.53 MXN ($885).
4. Mérida, Yucatan
Total safety score: 1.00767
Homicide: 1.091
Violent crime: 1.068
Firearms: 1.038
Organized crime: 1.378
Detention without a sentence: 5.000
In Merida, you can rent a house for anywhere from about 10,043 MXN to 334,784 MXN ($600 to $2,000 USD) a month. Alternatively, you can buy a house for 3,097,813 MXN ($185,063 USD) on average. Typical monthly food costs are about 5,021 MXN ($300 USD) per person.
3. Altamira, Tamaulipas
Total safety score: 0.86560
Homicide: 1.636
Violent crime: 2.740
Firearms: 1.413
Organized crime: 1.940
Detention without a sentence: 1.855
Home to just over 212,000 people, Altamira offers affordability and a higher safety rating than many other cities in Mexico. Homes for sale range from around 950,000 MXN to 3,545,000 MXN ($56,730 USD to $211,694 USD).
2. Tampico, Tamaulipas
Total safety score: 0.86560
Homicide: 1.636
Violent crime: 2.740
Firearms: 1.413
Organized crime: 1.940
Detention without a sentence: 1.855
One person living in Tampico can expect to spend around 11,985 MXN ($716 USD) without rent. The monthly cost of food per person is around 5,038 MXN ($301 USD). A typical home price is 14,806 MXN ($884 USD) per square meter.
1. Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas
Total safety score: 0.86560
Homicide: 1.636
Violent crime: 2.740
Firearms: 1.413
Organized crime: 1.940
Detention without a sentence: 1.855
In Ciudad Madero, the average monthly cost of living without rent is 11,717 MXN ($700 USD) per person — or around 28,908 MXN ($1,727 USD) for a family of four. Food costs anywhere from 4,720 MXN to 12,336 MXN ($282 to $737 USD) a month, depending on household size.
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Methodology: To find the safest places to live comfortably in Mexico, GOBankingRates started by compiling a list of places that are popular places to move to in Mexico. This list consisted of places popular with expats while still having many local amenities, all sourced from, ‘InternationalCitizens – 5 Safe Places to Live in Mexico’, ‘TravelandLeisure – 8 Best Places to Live in Mexico, According to Real Estate Experts’, ‘InternationalCitizensGroup – Best Places to Retire in Mexico’, ‘InternationalLiving – 5 Places to Live in Mexico’, and ‘Expatra – The 11 Best Places To Live In Mexico For Expats’. With a list of popular places, GOBankingRates gathered the crime statistics for each city, sourced from Economics and Peace – Mexico Peace Index. With the list of popular places to live and the crime rates for each city, GOBankingRates then scored each crime rate and combined the scores together to compare all the cities with each other. The list was sorted by smallest to largest to show the safest and comfortable places to live in Mexico. All data is up-to-date as-of July 6th, 2023.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Safest Places To Live Comfortably in Mexico and How Much It Costs To Live There
