Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ad Dammam and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Ad Dammam: $1,198 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Ad Dammam
Learn more

Ad Dammam Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Ad Dammam

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,198

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ad Dammam and in Mexico City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ad Dammam and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,198 in Ad Dammam versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Ad Dammam $1,198
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,835 in Ad Dammam versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Ad Dammam $1,835
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,471 in Ad Dammam versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Ad Dammam $2,471
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Ad Dammam costs roughly 24% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ad Dammam is 11% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.24 SAR 27.17

$10.75 MX$199

-32.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.15 SAR 132

$50.3 MX$929

-30.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.63 SAR 24.89

$11.10 MX$205

-40.27%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.82 SAR 6.84

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 SAR 8.70

Cappuccino

$3.06 SAR 11.48

$3.68 MX$68.1

-16.85%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 SAR 2.64

$1.65 MX$30.42

-57.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.19 SAR 0.72

$1.30 MX$24.08

-85.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 SAR 6.82

$1.77 MX$32.68

2.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 SAR 5.00

$3.05 MX$56.4

-56.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 SAR 7.26

$2.01 MX$37.20

-3.98%

Eggs

$2.16 SAR 8.12

$2.77 MX$51.1

-22.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 SAR 28.21

$11.91 MX$220

-36.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.07 SAR 30.28

$9.33 MX$172

-13.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.76 SAR 47.89

$15.02 MX$278

-15.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 SAR 8.27

$3.08 MX$56.8

-28.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 SAR 6.23

$1.95 MX$35.97

-14.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.65 SAR 6.18

$2.03 MX$37.54

-18.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 SAR 6.01

$2.21 MX$40.92

-27.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 SAR 4.08

$2.02 MX$37.41

-46.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 SAR 4.48

$1.82 MX$33.67

-34.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 SAR 4.80

$1.52 MX$28.07

-15.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 SAR 2.14

$1.28 MX$23.65

-55.47%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.07 SAR 15.26

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 SAR 5.61

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 SAR 8.12

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.54 SAR 28.30

$5.27 MX$97.4

43.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 SAR 3.44

$0.31 MX$5.82

196.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.31 SAR 132

$19.85 MX$367

77.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 SAR 9.73

$2.00 MX$36.93

29.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.63 SAR 9.86

$0.53 MX$9.86

396.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.24 SAR 49.69

$5.62 MX$104

135.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.60 SAR 2.24

$1.52 MX$28.07

-60.53%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$65.8K SAR 247.1K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

213.03%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$21.0K SAR 78.8K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

-16.58%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$130 SAR 486

$62.5 MX$1,155

107.43%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$33.20 SAR 125

$28.77 MX$532

15.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.2 SAR 233

$34.45 MX$637

80.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.1 SAR 289

$57.1 MX$1,055

35.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.97 SAR 105

$24.81 MX$458

12.74%

Cinema Ticket

$13.47 SAR 50.5

$6.67 MX$123

101.95%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$414 SAR 1,555

$431 MX$7,964

-3.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,796 SAR 29.3K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-33.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.50 SAR 156

$70.8 MX$1,308

-41.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.82 SAR 183

$51.8 MX$958

-5.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.6 SAR 355

$109 MX$2,011

-13.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 SAR 343

$112 MX$2,076

-18.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$580 SAR 2,176

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-44.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 SAR 1,388

$665 MX$12.3K

-44.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,002 SAR 3,760

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-57.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$677 SAR 2,539

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-44.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,405 SAR 5,271

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-60.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$604 SAR 2,268

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-69.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,487 SAR 5,581

$975 MX$18.0K

52.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

11.3

-47.79%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Ad Dammam: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Ad Dammam

$370 30.9%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 79.8% $295

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ad Dammam

$225 18.8%

Mexico City

$126 8% 44.1% $99

Groceries & Markets

Ad Dammam

$202 16.9%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 59.5% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Ad Dammam

$124 10.4%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 24.4% $30

Eating Out

Ad Dammam

$118 9.9%

Mexico City

$203 13% 71.8% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Ad Dammam

$104 8.7%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 32.3% $34

Getting Around

Ad Dammam

$55 4.6%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 52.9% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $580 in Ad Dammam and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ad Dammam pays 53% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ad Dammam vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $202 vs $323 per month, with Ad Dammam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Ad Dammam

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

15:52 3:52 PM

06:52 6:52 AM

9 h behind Ad Dammam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

903,312

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ad Dammam Mexico City 13,930 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Ad Dammam
Mexico City

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Ad Dammam vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ad Dammam wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ad Dammam the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 53% higher in Ad Dammam, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $580 in Ad Dammam versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,198 per month in Ad Dammam versus $1,567 in Mexico City – a 31% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ad Dammam runs roughly 78% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,198 in Ad Dammam versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ad Dammam but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Ad Dammam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ad Dammam delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,198 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ad Dammam hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ad Dammam and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ad Dammam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.