Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Calgary and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $2,223 in Calgary, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

109

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
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Calgary Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,223

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Calgary versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Calgary $2,223
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,301 in Calgary versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Calgary $3,301
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,379 in Calgary versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Calgary $4,379
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Calgary is roughly 42% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Calgary 65% above, Mexico City 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.22 CA$24.34

$10.75 MX$199

60.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 CA$100

$50.3 MX$929

41.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.53 CA$14.89

$11.10 MX$205

-5.14%

Cappuccino

$3.66 CA$5.18

$3.68 MX$68.1

-0.54%

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

$1.98 CA$2.80

$1.65 MX$30.42

20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 CA$2.74

$1.30 MX$24.08

49.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.95 CA$7.00

$3.32 MX$61.3

49.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.57 CA$7.87

$5.54 MX$102

0.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 CA$2.65

$1.77 MX$32.68

6.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 CA$3.78

$3.05 MX$56.4

-12.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.32 CA$7.52

$2.01 MX$37.20

164.68%

Eggs

$3.79 CA$5.35

$2.77 MX$51.1

36.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.09 CA$15.68

$11.91 MX$220

-6.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.36 CA$16.05

$9.33 MX$172

21.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.40 CA$26.01

$15.02 MX$278

22.50%

Apples (1kg)

$4.56 CA$6.45

$3.08 MX$56.8

48.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.04

$1.95 MX$35.97

-26.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.08 CA$5.76

$2.03 MX$37.54

100.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.89 CA$5.50

$2.21 MX$40.92

76.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 CA$3.73

$2.02 MX$37.41

30.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.64 CA$3.73

$1.82 MX$33.67

45.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.50 CA$3.54

$1.52 MX$28.07

64.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 CA$2.12

$1.28 MX$23.65

17.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.05 CA$19.86

$5.27 MX$97.4

166.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.70 CA$22.20

$16.12 MX$298

-2.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 CA$3.45

$1.95 MX$36.05

25.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 CA$4.37

$4.25 MX$78.6

-27.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.82 CA$3.99

$0.31 MX$5.82

809.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.6 CA$125

$19.85 MX$367

346.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 CA$4.41

$2.00 MX$36.93

56.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 CA$1.91

$0.53 MX$9.86

154.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.02 CA$38.20

$5.62 MX$104

380.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 CA$1.64

$1.52 MX$28.07

-23.68%

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

$27.9K CA$39.5K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

32.68%

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

$20.3K CA$28.8K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

-19.18%

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

$161 CA$227

$62.5 MX$1,155

157.26%

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

$38.13 CA$53.9

$28.77 MX$532

32.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.0 CA$70.7

$34.45 MX$637

45.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 CA$72.8

$57.1 MX$1,055

-9.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.14 CA$25.64

$24.81 MX$458

-26.88%

Cinema Ticket

$13.82 CA$19.54

$6.67 MX$123

107.20%

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

$786 CA$1,111

$431 MX$7,964

82.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.5K CA$21.8K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

31.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.3 CA$82.4

$70.8 MX$1,308

-17.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.27 CA$55.5

$51.8 MX$958

-24.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.8 CA$127

$109 MX$2,011

-17.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$155

$112 MX$2,076

-2.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,229 CA$1,737

$1,051 MX$19.4K

16.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,001 CA$1,415

$665 MX$12.3K

50.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,921 CA$2,716

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-18.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,621 CA$2,292

$1,227 MX$22.7K

32.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,549 CA$5,018

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-0.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,335 CA$4,715

$1,977 MX$36.5K

68.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,165 CA$4,474

$975 MX$18.0K

224.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

11.3

-60.09%

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

Last update for Calgary: October 13, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Calgary

$1K 45%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 33.6% $336

Groceries & Markets

Calgary

$385 17.3%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 16.3% $63

Eating Out

Calgary

$265 11.9%

Mexico City

$203 13% 23.4% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Calgary

$249 11.2%

Mexico City

$126 8% 49.5% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Calgary

$134 6%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 15.7% $21

Getting Around

Calgary

$110 4.9%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 76.5% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Calgary

$79 3.6%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 11% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,229 in Calgary and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calgary pays 225% 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: $71.0 in Calgary vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $323 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Calgary

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:42 2:42 AM

Same time as Calgary

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,267,344

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Between locations

Calgary Mexico City 3,750 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Calgary
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

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

Mexico City is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 42% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 225% higher in Calgary, 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: $1,229 in Calgary versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $71.0 in Calgary. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Calgary versus $1,567 in Mexico City – a 42% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $2,223 in Calgary, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Calgary. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Mexico City is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Calgary, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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