Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arendal and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,750 in Arendal, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

133

Cost of Living Index in Arendal
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Arendal Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Arendal

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,750

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,750 in Arendal versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Arendal $2,750
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,932 in Arendal versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Arendal $3,932
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,113 in Arendal versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Arendal $5,113
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Arendal is roughly 71% 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: Arendal 102% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.71 NOK 192

$10.62 MX$198

95.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.1 NOK 624

$48.35 MX$901

38.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.06 NOK 149

$10.35 MX$193

55.17%

Cappuccino

$5.51 NOK 51.2

$3.69 MX$68.8

49.32%

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

$3.75 NOK 34.87

$1.67 MX$31.07

124.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 NOK 31.76

$1.27 MX$23.59

169.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.85 NOK 110

$3.19 MX$59.5

271.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.58 NOK 98.3

$5.31 MX$98.9

99.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.49 NOK 23.14

$1.72 MX$32.15

44.77%

White Bread (500g)

$3.55 NOK 32.97

$3.04 MX$56.7

16.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.01 NOK 37.24

$1.94 MX$36.19

106.70%

Eggs

$4.76 NOK 44.23

$2.89 MX$53.8

64.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.98 NOK 139

$10.97 MX$205

36.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.93 NOK 139

$9.25 MX$172

61.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$34.94 NOK 325

$15.13 MX$282

130.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.61 NOK 33.50

$3.05 MX$56.8

18.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 NOK 25.55

$1.94 MX$36.19

41.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.49 NOK 32.39

$2.03 MX$37.75

71.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.99 NOK 46.34

$2.31 MX$43.15

116.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.56 NOK 23.79

$2.04 MX$37.94

25.49%

Onion (1kg)

$3.16 NOK 29.34

$1.80 MX$33.55

75.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.90 NOK 26.97

$1.48 MX$27.58

95.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 NOK 22.53

$1.27 MX$23.63

90.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.37 NOK 171

$5.30 MX$98.9

246.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.07 NOK 140

$16.10 MX$300

-6.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.74 NOK 34.78

$1.98 MX$36.97

88.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 NOK 41.31

$4.25 MX$79.3

4.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.78 NOK 35.12

$0.31 MX$5.69

1119.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.4 NOK 877

$19.73 MX$368

378.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.36 NOK 59.1

$1.84 MX$34.25

245.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.82 NOK 16.88

$0.53 MX$9.94

243.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$108 NOK 1,007

$5.30 MX$98.7

1944.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.33 NOK 21.67

$1.51 MX$28.16

54.30%

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

$49.6K NOK 461.2K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

128.20%

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

$41.7K NOK 387.5K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

73.90%

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

$263 NOK 2,440

$63.0 MX$1,174

317.07%

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

$34.00 NOK 316

$27.39 MX$511

24.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$79.7 NOK 741

$35.67 MX$665

123.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.05 NOK 344

$58.9 MX$1,099

-37.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$15.90 NOK 148

$6.40 MX$119

148.44%

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

$335 NOK 3,108

$432 MX$8,045

-22.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.5K NOK 134.9K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

27.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$131 NOK 1,213

$68.2 MX$1,272

91.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.64 NOK 415

$53.1 MX$990

-15.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 NOK 1,209

$108 MX$2,009

20.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$210 NOK 1,948

$117 MX$2,186

78.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,159 NOK 10.8K

$1,113 MX$20.8K

4.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 NOK 9,785

$710 MX$13.2K

48.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,593 NOK 14.8K

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-38.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,518 NOK 14.1K

$1,406 MX$26.2K

7.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,347 NOK 40.4K

$3,631 MX$67.7K

19.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,230 NOK 30.0K

$2,135 MX$39.8K

51.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,235 NOK 39.3K

$946 MX$17.6K

347.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.68

11.35

-58.77%

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

Last update for Arendal: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arendal

$1.1K 38.3%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 32.5% $343

Groceries & Markets

Arendal

$506 18.4%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 36.8% $186

Eating Out

Arendal

$389 14.2%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 49% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arendal

$376 13.7%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 66.5% $250

Clothing & Footwear

Arendal

$232 8.4%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 32.7% $76

Getting Around

Arendal

$125 4.5%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 79.6% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Arendal

$69 2.5%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 4.2% $2.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,159 in Arendal and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arendal pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Arendal vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $506 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Arendal

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

22:36 10:36 PM

15:36 3:36 PM

7 h behind Arendal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,406

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.76 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.29 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.34 NOK (100 NOK = 9.67 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).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Arendal Mexico City 9,160 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Arendal
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

Arendal vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,750 in Arendal and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Mexico City is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Arendal is about 4.5 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: $1,159 in Arendal versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $335 in Arendal versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in Arendal. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Arendal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.