Mexico vs Chile

Compare PPP-adjusted average wages, long-term wage trends and consumer price levels using consistent OECD data.

Country A

Country B

Mexico wage data: 2025 · Chile wage data: 2023 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Mexico

Average wage (2025)

$24,463

1-year change: +1.3%
5-year change: +8.9%

Overall price level (2024)

50.9 (United States = 100)

Chile's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 66.1% higher than Mexico's.

Latest available wage years differ.

Chile

Average wage (2023)

$40,626

1-year change: +1.3%
5-year change: +6.1%

Overall price level (2024)

42.9 (United States = 100)

Chile has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 66.1% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Mexico shows the stronger change (+8.9% against +6.1%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Mexico, at 50.9 against 42.9 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +8.0 index points. The wage figures come from different years (2025 and 2023) and the price levels from 2024, so each economy is shown at its own latest available point.

Wage History

See how PPP-adjusted average annual wages have changed in both economies.

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)

MexicoChile

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Mexico	Chile
Latest wage	$24,463	$40,626
Latest year	2025	2023
1-year change	+1.3%	+1.3%
5-year change	+8.9%	+6.1%
10-year change	+9.7%	−6.1%
Historical peak	$27,014	$45,670
Peak year	1994	2016
Change from peak	−9.4%	−11.1%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Chile records the higher figure: $40,626 against $24,463, a gap of 66.1%. A difference of that size is one of the wider ones in this dataset, and it holds after the PPP adjustment has already removed price level differences between the two.

The two are measured in different years — Mexico in 2025, Chile in 2023 — so this compares each economy's latest available point rather than a single common year. Where a strict same-year ranking is needed, the all-countries table uses the latest year for which every economy reports.

Both use the same basis: PPP-adjusted US dollars at constant prices. That conversion strips out the price level differences between the two economies, which is what makes the two figures comparable at all — neither is a local-currency salary, and neither is what an employer in that country would write on a contract.

Recent Momentum

The latest year moved both by a similar amount: +1.3% in Mexico and +1.3% in Chile.

Both moved up in the latest year, which leaves the ordering between them unchanged.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Mexico: +8.9% against +6.1%.

For both economies the latest year points the same way as the five-year change, so the recent movement reads as continuation rather than a turn.

Long-Term Direction

The ten-year direction splits between them: +9.7% for Mexico against −6.1% for Chile. One long-term series is rising while the other is not, which is a more durable difference than any single year's movement.

Neither is at its peak: Mexico is 9.4% from its 1994 high and Chile 11.1% from its 2016 high. Both series have retreated from an earlier maximum.

The long view and the recent one point differently here — the lower-paid of the two has been closing ground over the five-year window, so the current gap understates how the two have been moving relative to each other.

Consumer Price Level Comparison

Compare eight consumer price categories with the United States benchmark of 100.

United States = 100
Missing values are shown as -

All differences are shown in index points. United States = 100.

Category	Mexico	Chile	Difference (MEX − CHL)	MEX vs U.S.	CHL vs U.S.
Overall	50.9	42.9	+8.0	−49.1	−57.1
Food	88.3	84.8	+3.5	−11.7	−15.2
Clothing	72	77.5	−5.5	−28.0	−22.5
Housing	42.7	29.6	+13.1	−57.3	−70.4
Health	46	25.8	+20.2	−54.0	−74.2
Transport	80.6	66.8	+13.8	−19.4	−33.2
Recreation	63.3	60.7	+2.6	−36.7	−39.3
Restaurants & Accommodation	65.1	61.1	+4.0	−34.9	−38.9

Overall
Mexico50.9
Chile42.9
Difference+8.0
MEX vs U.S.−49.1
CHL vs U.S.−57.1
Food
Mexico88.3
Chile84.8
Difference+3.5
MEX vs U.S.−11.7
CHL vs U.S.−15.2
Clothing
Mexico72
Chile77.5
Difference−5.5
MEX vs U.S.−28.0
CHL vs U.S.−22.5
Housing
Mexico42.7
Chile29.6
Difference+13.1
MEX vs U.S.−57.3
CHL vs U.S.−70.4
Health
Mexico46
Chile25.8
Difference+20.2
MEX vs U.S.−54.0
CHL vs U.S.−74.2
Transport
Mexico80.6
Chile66.8
Difference+13.8
MEX vs U.S.−19.4
CHL vs U.S.−33.2
Recreation
Mexico63.3
Chile60.7
Difference+2.6
MEX vs U.S.−36.7
CHL vs U.S.−39.3
Restaurants & Accommodation
Mexico65.1
Chile61.1
Difference+4.0
MEX vs U.S.−34.9
CHL vs U.S.−38.9

Mexico and Chile in Detail

Current Wage Position

Mexico reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $24,463 for 2025, and Chile $40,626 for 2023. That puts Chile ahead by 66.1%.

Both figures are PPP-adjusted: converted using purchasing power parities rather than market exchange rates, and expressed in constant prices so different years stay comparable.

This matters for reading the gap. A market-rate conversion would move with currency markets and would not reflect what the money buys in each economy. These figures are built to compare purchasing power, not to tell you what a currency transfer would be worth.

Recent Wage Momentum

In the latest reported year Mexico changed by +1.3% and Chile by +1.3%. A single year is a narrow window, so it is worth reading alongside the five-year figure rather than on its own.

Over five years, Mexico records the larger change at +8.9%, against +6.1% for Chile. That is the difference in how far each series has travelled over the medium term, in real PPP-adjusted terms.

Short-term and five-year movement point the same way for both economies, so neither is currently being pulled against its own medium-term direction.

Long-Term Wage Direction

Across ten years the changes are +9.7% for Mexico and −6.1% for Chile. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Mexico reached its highest recorded value of $27,014 in 1994, and the latest figure sits 9.4% from that high.

Chile peaked at $45,670 in 2016, leaving its latest value 11.1% away from that point.

Over the long run the two point in opposite directions. That is the clearest structural difference between these series, and it matters more for reading them than any single year's change does.

Consumer Price Profile

Against the United States benchmark of 100, overall consumption sits at 50.9 in Mexico and 42.9 in Chile — +8.0 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Health (+20.2) and Transport (+13.8).

Recreation is where they are nearest, at 63.3 and 60.7.

Across the categories with data, Mexico is the more expensive of the two more often than not.

How to Interpret the Comparison

These are average wages, not median wages, and not take-home pay. An average is pulled by the whole distribution, so it does not describe a typical individual, occupation, city or employer in either economy.

The wage figures are already PPP-adjusted and in constant prices. They are not local-currency salaries and not amounts convertible at a market exchange rate.

The price levels are relative indices against United States = 100. They describe how price levels compare, not what a household actually spends.

Wages and price levels should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better. This page is for understanding how the two wage trends and price structures differ — nothing further follows from it.