Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Ciudad Juarez

For one person, living is cheaper in Ciudad Juarez: $1,140 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad Juarez
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Ciudad Juarez Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Ciudad Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,140

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Ciudad Juarez

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,140 in Ciudad Juarez, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Ciudad Juarez $1,140

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,839 in Ciudad Juarez, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Ciudad Juarez $1,839

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,538 in Ciudad Juarez, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Ciudad Juarez $2,538

Cape Town costs about 37% more than Ciudad Juarez, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Ciudad Juarez is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$9.24 MX$174

30.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 740

$32.44 MX$610

36.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 103

$10.16 MX$191

-39.47%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.37

$2.82 MX$52.9

-16.31%

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

$1.26 R 21.10

$1.07 MX$20.07

17.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.62

$0.70 MX$13.08

42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.4

$2.03 MX$38.21

51.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.7

$4.19 MX$78.7

-11.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.45

$1.74 MX$32.64

-22.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.92

$2.31 MX$43.35

-48.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.08

$1.58 MX$29.68

32.91%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.9

$2.26 MX$42.56

34.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$12.64 MX$237

-30.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$6.68 MX$125

4.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$11.92 MX$224

-21.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.50

$2.63 MX$49.35

-28.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.38

$2.07 MX$38.84

-9.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.13

$1.79 MX$33.62

-5.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.13

$2.06 MX$38.69

-0.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.16

$1.63 MX$30.67

-3.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.69

$2.19 MX$41.08

-32.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.40

$1.56 MX$29.27

-17.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.85

$1.06 MX$19.97

12.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.6

$4.50 MX$84.7

-19.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$10.59 MX$199

-41.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.18

$1.24 MX$23.29

12.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.39

$3.22 MX$60.5

-32.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.87

$0.63 MX$11.79

117.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,023

$27.40 MX$515

123.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.59

$4.14 MX$77.7

-86.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.66

$1.11 MX$20.83

33.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.7

$16.00 MX$301

-69.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.33

$1.33 MX$25.01

18.80%

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

$34.7K R 579.4K

$20.8K MX$391.8K

66.51%

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

$34.1K R 569.2K

$24.2K MX$454.9K

40.87%

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

$117 R 1,952

$82.7 MX$1,554

41.43%

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

$28.35 R 473

$22.53 MX$423

25.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 677

$28.53 MX$536

42.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 810

$32.02 MX$602

51.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$14.54 MX$273

-25.72%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$4.35 MX$81.8

109.43%

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

$302 R 5,041

$218 MX$4,096

38.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.2K

$2,777 MX$52.2K

141.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 922

$58.1 MX$1,092

-4.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 546

$32.58 MX$612

0.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,968

$72.9 MX$1,369

61.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,734

$81.1 MX$1,524

28.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.4K

$607 MX$11.4K

71.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$384 MX$7,218

79.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.1K

$1,010 MX$19.0K

96.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.2K

$851 MX$16.0K

63.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.4K

$955 MX$17.9K

153.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$686 MX$12.9K

126.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

$567 MX$10.7K

178.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.32

-3.09%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Ciudad Juarez: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Ciudad Juarez

$384 33.7% 44.4% $307

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Ciudad Juarez

$268 23.5% 19.8% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Ciudad Juarez

$134 11.7% 28% $52

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Ciudad Juarez

$164 14.4% 6.6% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Ciudad Juarez

$110 9.7% 21% $29

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Ciudad Juarez

$40 3.5% 47% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Ciudad Juarez

$41 3.6% 39% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $607 in Ciudad Juarez. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 2.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $32 in Ciudad Juarez. Groceries tell a different story – $224 in Cape Town vs $268 in Ciudad Juarez – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇽 Ciudad Juarez

🕒 Local time

12:41 12:41 PM

03:41 3:41 AM

9 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,501,551

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.63 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Ciudad Juarez 14,920 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Ciudad Juarez

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

Cape Town vs Ciudad Juarez: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 37% more than Ciudad Juarez, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $1,710 in Ciudad Juarez. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ciudad Juarez, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $607 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,140 in Ciudad Juarez. That makes Ciudad Juarez about 27% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 55% less in Ciudad Juarez. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,140 in Ciudad Juarez, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Ciudad Juarez – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Ciudad Juarez. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.