Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ankeny, IA and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,340 in Ankeny, IA, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Ankeny, IA
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Ankeny, IA Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Ankeny, IA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,340

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ankeny, IA 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 Ankeny, IA and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,340 in Ankeny, IA versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Ankeny, IA $2,340
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,308 in Ankeny, IA versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Ankeny, IA $3,308
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,275 in Ankeny, IA versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Ankeny, IA $4,275
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Ankeny, IA is roughly 46% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ankeny, IA 72% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.05 $20.05

$10.62 MX$198

88.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.4 $79.4

$48.35 MX$901

64.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 $11.94

$10.35 MX$193

15.36%

Cappuccino

$5.60 $5.60

$3.69 MX$68.8

51.76%

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

$3.04 $3.04

$1.67 MX$31.07

82.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 $1.71

$1.27 MX$23.59

34.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.05 $5.05

$3.19 MX$59.5

58.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.73 $5.73

$5.31 MX$98.9

7.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 $0.89

$1.72 MX$32.15

-48.26%

White Bread (500g)

$3.00 $3.00

$3.04 MX$56.7

-1.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 $3.26

$1.94 MX$36.19

68.04%

Eggs

$3.96 $3.96

$2.89 MX$53.8

37.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.84 $9.84

$10.97 MX$205

-10.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.29 $8.29

$9.25 MX$172

-10.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.78 $14.78

$15.13 MX$282

-2.31%

Apples (1kg)

$5.46 $5.46

$3.05 MX$56.8

79.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 $1.50

$1.94 MX$36.19

-22.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.91 $4.91

$2.03 MX$37.75

141.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.66 $3.66

$2.31 MX$43.15

58.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.17 $2.17

$2.04 MX$37.94

6.37%

Onion (1kg)

$3.32 $3.32

$1.80 MX$33.55

84.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 $1.91

$1.48 MX$27.58

29.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.54 $2.54

$1.27 MX$23.63

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.83 $8.83

$5.30 MX$98.9

66.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.94 $14.94

$16.10 MX$300

-7.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 $1.74

$1.98 MX$36.97

-12.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 $2.48

$4.25 MX$79.3

-41.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.84 MX$34.25

7.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 $1.26

$0.53 MX$9.94

137.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.20 $20.20

$5.30 MX$98.7

281.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 $1.00

$1.51 MX$28.16

-33.77%

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

$26.2K $26.2K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

20.66%

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

$25.6K $25.6K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

6.61%

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

$160 $160

$63.0 MX$1,174

154.78%

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

$52.9 $52.9

$27.39 MX$511

92.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.2 $66.2

$35.67 MX$665

85.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 $74.6

$58.9 MX$1,099

26.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$9.82 $9.82

$6.40 MX$119

53.44%

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

$1,095 $1,095

$432 MX$8,045

153.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K $11.9K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

4.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.07 $47.07

$68.2 MX$1,272

-31.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.51 $34.51

$53.1 MX$990

-35.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.2 $88.2

$108 MX$2,009

-18.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 $118

$117 MX$2,186

0.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,107 $1,107

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-0.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,157 $1,157

$710 MX$13.2K

62.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,968 $1,968

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-23.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,600 $1,600

$1,406 MX$26.2K

13.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,485 $5,485

$946 MX$17.6K

479.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.37

11.35

-43.88%

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

Last update for Ankeny, IA: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ankeny, IA

$1.2K 49.4%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 38.6% $447

Groceries & Markets

Ankeny, IA

$352 15.1%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 9.3% $33

Eating Out

Ankeny, IA

$319 13.6%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 37.8% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ankeny, IA

$280 12%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 54.9% $153

Clothing & Footwear

Ankeny, IA

$130 5.5%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 20.3% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Ankeny, IA

$94 4%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 23.9% $22

Getting Around

Ankeny, IA

$8.3 * 0.4%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 208% $17

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,107 in Ankeny, IA and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ankeny, IA pays about 5.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $79 in Ankeny, IA vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Ankeny, IA

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

16:22 4:22 PM

15:22 3:22 PM

1 h behind Ankeny, IA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,887

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Ankeny, IA Mexico City 2,530 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ankeny, IA
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

Ankeny, IA vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,340 in Ankeny, IA and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Mexico City is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Ankeny, IA is about 5.8 times higher, 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: $1,107 in Ankeny, IA versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Ankeny, IA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,340 per month in Ankeny, IA versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Mexico City is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Mexico City wins on affordability, Ankeny, IA on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.