Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arnhem and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $2,557 in Arnhem, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Arnhem
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Arnhem Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Arnhem

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,557

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,557 in Arnhem versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Arnhem $2,557
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,743 in Arnhem versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Arnhem $3,743
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,930 in Arnhem versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Arnhem $4,930
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Arnhem is roughly 63% 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: Arnhem 89% above, Mexico City 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.91 €19.49

$10.75 MX$199

103.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.2 €75.8

$50.3 MX$929

69.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.98 €13.32

$11.10 MX$205

34.95%

Cappuccino

$4.07 €3.62

$3.68 MX$68.1

10.60%

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

$3.34 €2.97

$1.65 MX$30.42

102.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 €2.52

$1.30 MX$24.08

117.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.62 €5.00

$3.32 MX$61.3

69.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.47 €4.86

$5.54 MX$102

-1.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.77 MX$32.68

-16.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.99 €1.77

$3.05 MX$56.4

-34.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.29 €2.04

$2.01 MX$37.20

13.93%

Eggs

$5.21 €4.64

$2.77 MX$51.1

88.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 €11.33

$11.91 MX$220

6.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.14 €12.58

$9.33 MX$172

51.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.77 €14.03

$15.02 MX$278

4.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.82 €2.50

$3.08 MX$56.8

-8.44%

Banana (1kg)

$2.54 €2.26

$1.95 MX$35.97

30.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.03 MX$37.54

-8.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.39 €4.79

$2.21 MX$40.92

143.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 €1.67

$2.02 MX$37.41

-6.93%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 €2.13

$1.82 MX$33.67

31.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 €1.08

$1.52 MX$28.07

-19.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 €0.63

$1.28 MX$23.65

-44.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.23 €12.65

$5.27 MX$97.4

170.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.15 €6.36

$16.12 MX$298

-55.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.95 MX$36.05

-26.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$4.25 MX$78.6

-38.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.35 €3.87

$0.31 MX$5.82

1303.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$113 €100

$19.85 MX$367

468.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 €3.56

$2.00 MX$36.93

100.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 €2.12

$0.53 MX$9.86

349.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.86 €29.23

$5.62 MX$104

484.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.39 €2.12

$1.52 MX$28.07

57.24%

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

$41.8K €37.2K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

98.88%

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

$39.7K €35.3K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

57.63%

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

$276 €245

$62.5 MX$1,155

341.05%

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

$22.71 €20.20

$28.77 MX$532

-21.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.44 €37.75

$34.45 MX$637

23.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.30 €36.73

$57.1 MX$1,055

-27.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 €9.78

$24.81 MX$458

-55.70%

Cinema Ticket

$14.38 €12.79

$6.67 MX$123

115.59%

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

$1,259 €1,120

$431 MX$7,964

192.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,925 €5,270

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-49.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.3 €84.8

$70.8 MX$1,308

34.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.13 €25.91

$51.8 MX$958

-43.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 €94.8

$109 MX$2,011

-2.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$152 €136

$112 MX$2,076

35.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,436 €1,278

$1,051 MX$19.4K

36.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,159 €1,031

$665 MX$12.3K

74.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,228 €1,982

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-5.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,834 €1,632

$1,227 MX$22.7K

49.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,312 €4,725

$3,554 MX$65.7K

49.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,175 €3,714

$1,977 MX$36.5K

111.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,723 €3,312

$975 MX$18.0K

281.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

11.3

-65.04%

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

Last update for Arnhem: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arnhem

$1.2K 45.3%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 42.6% $494

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arnhem

$341 13.3%

Mexico City

$126 8% 63.1% $215

Groceries & Markets

Arnhem

$335 13.1%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 3.7% $12

Eating Out

Arnhem

$333 13%

Mexico City

$203 13% 39% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Arnhem

$173 6.8%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 10.3% $18

Getting Around

Arnhem

$146 5.7%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 82.4% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Arnhem

$70 2.7%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 0.6% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,436 in Arnhem and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arnhem pays 282% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $85.0 in Arnhem vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $335 vs $323 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇱 Arnhem

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

01:46 1:46 AM

17:46 5:46 PM

8 h behind Arnhem

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

165,770

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Arnhem Mexico City 9,300 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

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

Arnhem and Mexico City differ by about 63% in total monthly costs ($2,557 vs $1,567 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 282% higher in Arnhem, 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: $1,436 in Arnhem versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Arnhem. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $85.0 in Arnhem. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $2,557 in Arnhem, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Arnhem. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Arnhem 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 Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Arnhem. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.