In cities like Cancún, one person needed 4,951.66 pesos a month in September to cover the basics, INEGI says

Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported on October 13 that in September 2026 a person living in an urban area needed 4,951.66 pesos per month to pay for the food and non-food baskets — that is, groceries plus other basic expenses such as transportation, education and housing. In rural areas, the figure was 3,553.70 pesos per month.

That amount is the Income Poverty Line: anyone earning less than that per person cannot cover both baskets. According to INEGI, the value rose 4.4% from September 2025 in both urban and rural areas, above the 3.45% headline inflation rate for the same month.

The minimum just for food

The Extreme Income Poverty Line, which counts only the cost of the food basket, stood at 2,590.61 pesos per person per month in urban areas and 1,940.96 pesos in rural areas.

The institute said the food basket saw the biggest increase: up 5.5% year over year in cities and 4.9% in rural areas. From August to September alone, it rose 1.1% in urban areas and 1.6% in rural areas.

In cities, the items that pushed prices up the most were food and beverages consumed away from home, followed by onions and tomatoes. In rural areas, onions topped the list. On the non-food side, INEGI pointed to public transportation and education, culture and recreation expenses.

What does it mean for a family in Cancún?

Cancún is an urban area, so the urban lines apply; they are a national benchmark (INEGI does not publish a city-specific value). Using those figures, a four-person household would need about 19,806.64 pesos a month to cover both baskets, and 10,362.44 pesos for food alone.

For comparison, Mexico's general minimum wage in 2026 is 315.04 pesos a day, or 9,582.47 pesos a month, according to the National Minimum Wage Commission (Conasami). In other words, two full minimum wages (19,164.94 pesos) fall about 642 pesos short of what the urban line sets for a family of four.

The data comes as prepared food weighs more heavily on household budgets: for people who work long shifts in the Hotel Zone or in retail and eat out, that category was precisely the one that pushed the urban basket up the most.

How to use this figure

• Work out your per-person income: add up what your household brings in each month and divide it by the number of members. If the result is below 4,951.66 pesos, the household is under the urban income poverty line.
• Keep in mind it is not the full measurement: Mexico's official poverty measurement also considers deprivations such as access to health care, social security, housing and education, not just income.
• Check the historical series on INEGI's Poverty Lines portal to see how the cost of the baskets has changed month by month.

INEGI will publish the October update on November 11, 2026.