As food and housing prices rise across Mexico, could the World Cup push them up even further?

19 June 2026

Have you heard of the “Beyoncé effect”? In June 2023, pop-star Beyoncé brought her Renaissance World Tour to Stockholm, Sweden – just two nights of concerts – but those nights were enough to move prices so significantly that Sweden reported higher-than-expected inflation, traced back to surging restaurant and hotel costs. Economist Michael Grahn from Danske Bank told the BBC that Beyoncé’s concerts played a part in the inflation spike – and that major football tournaments can have a similar effect on local prices. So will this mean we’ll see similar outcomes in Mexico after the FIFA World Cup?

For Q2, WageIndicator's Cost of Living database has already picked up on rising costs across Mexico, with increases of over 2% in food prices. Yes, inflation has risen across multiple countries this year amid global instability pressuring supply chains and fuel costs – but inflation is a broad measure – countries may report decreased inflation but a population could still face increased costs of important goods like food or housing. This is what has occurred in Mexico: inflation has been decreasing since March, but food costs have been on the rise for Mexican families.

WageIndicator’s Cost of Living database is able to break down prices into specific categories: housing and utilities, drinking water, phone and internet, clothing, transport, education, healthcare, a provision for unexpected events – and food.

With data backed by real fieldwork, WageIndicator’s data collectors physically go to local markets and shops to record the actual prices of over 70 food items in close to 200 countries, updated every financial quarter.

In Q2, for a standard Mexican family buying food (for two adults and two kids), the average price they end up paying shows an increase of +2.21% from Q1.

These figures feed directly into WageIndicator's living wage calculations – the minimum a worker needs to earn to cover basic costs for themselves and their family. The data is also collected across a wide range of regions within each country, capturing richer and more diverse information to reflect how prices change depending on where people live and shop.

Could the FIFA World Cup have a similar effect on prices in Mexico?

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported a significant increase in hotel prices across the host nations Canada, USA and Mexico.

Three of the top four cities with the most increase in hotel prices are in Mexico: Guadalajara (+136% increase), Monterrey (+85%) and Mexico City (+78%).

These prices, as economists say, can “snap back” quickly, meaning prices spike during the event, then return to normal once it ends. This is typical for flexible prices like hotel rates and restaurant meals, which move up and down quickly with demand. The concern, however, lies in "sticky" prices – costs like short-term rentals and leases that don't return back down as quickly once they've risen. If landlords in Mexico's host cities raise rents or convert apartments to short-term rentals to cash in on World Cup demand (as seen in previous World Cups), those changes may not reverse once the tournament ends.

A landlord who repositions a property at a higher rate has little incentive to lower it and a tenant who was displaced doesn't automatically get their home back. “If you have a housing unit that comes open, a lease comes due in May or June 2026, why would you fill it with a long-term lease when you could make a short-term profit?” said associate professor of urban planning Michael Frisch to Bisnow about housing tourists for the World Cup.

Rental prices in Mexico’s capital already increased between 12% and 15% over 2025, towering over the country's average inflation rate that sat below 4% that same year, according to Thomson Reuters Institute. Not only that, but every 48 hours three housing units in Mexico City are converted into Airbnb listings.

In essence, the economic price shock of the World Cup could have effects that reverberate long after the final whistle. Stay tuned in the coming months as WageIndicator monitors and analyses more cost of living metrics in Mexico and across the world. Sign up for our newsletter here.