Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ciudad Juarez and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Ciudad Juarez: $1,150 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad Juarez
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Ciudad Juarez Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Ciudad Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,150

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,150 per month in Ciudad Juarez vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ciudad Juarez $1,150
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $1,862 per month in Ciudad Juarez vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ciudad Juarez $1,862
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $2,574 per month in Ciudad Juarez vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ciudad Juarez $2,574
Cape Town $3,263

Ciudad Juarez is about 27% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Ciudad Juarez sits 15% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.47 MX$175

$12.14 R 200

-21.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.42 MX$618

$45.34 R 747

-26.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.33 MX$191

$5.88 R 96.9

75.68%

Cappuccino

$2.80 MX$51.7

$2.50 R 41.18

12.00%

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

$1.10 MX$20.33

$1.27 R 20.94

-13.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 MX$12.03

$0.98 R 16.14

-33.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 MX$38.32

$2.99 R 49.33

-30.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$3.72 R 61.4

14.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 MX$32.21

$1.30 R 21.40

33.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.03

$1.25 R 20.68

77.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 MX$28.82

$2.23 R 36.76

-30.04%

Eggs

$2.25 MX$41.50

$3.11 R 51.2

-27.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.83 MX$237

$9.06 R 149

41.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.68 MX$123

$6.92 R 114

-3.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.07 MX$223

$9.30 R 153

29.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 MX$47.84

$1.84 R 30.25

40.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.69

$1.96 R 32.29

4.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.55

$1.67 R 27.45

11.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.16

$2.17 R 35.70

-2.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 MX$30.35

$1.57 R 25.81

4.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.77

$1.48 R 24.45

56.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 MX$29.19

$1.30 R 21.41

21.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 MX$20.61

$1.13 R 18.60

-0.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.54 MX$83.8

$3.60 R 59.3

26.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.94 MX$202

$6.15 R 101

77.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.40

$1.38 R 22.66

-7.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 MX$60.7

$2.14 R 35.20

53.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MX$11.74

$1.50 R 24.65

-57.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.45 MX$507

$60.8 R 1,001

-54.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.06 MX$75.0

$0.59 R 9.71

588.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.12 MX$20.67

$1.50 R 24.65

-25.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.34 MX$302

$5.11 R 84.2

219.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.18

$1.55 R 25.50

-15.48%

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

$20.8K MX$384.7K

$36.2K R 596.5K

-42.51%

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

$24.4K MX$451.2K

$31.2K R 514.8K

-21.86%

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

$85.7 MX$1,584

$114 R 1,883

-25.00%

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

$22.75 MX$420

$28.91 R 476

-21.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.46 MX$526

$39.73 R 654

-28.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.45 MX$618

$49.01 R 808

-31.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.84 MX$274

$10.99 R 181

35.03%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 MX$78.6

$9.15 R 151

-53.55%

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

$215 MX$3,969

$259 R 4,264

-17.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,861 MX$52.9K

$6,794 R 111.9K

-57.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.6 MX$1,101

$56.2 R 926

6.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.01 MX$610

$32.41 R 534

1.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.4 MX$1,411

$121 R 1,987

-36.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.9 MX$1,514

$108 R 1,781

-24.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$609 MX$11.2K

$1,021 R 16.8K

-40.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,055

$717 R 11.8K

-46.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 MX$18.6K

$1,824 R 30.1K

-44.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$859 MX$15.9K

$1,327 R 21.9K

-35.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$957 MX$17.7K

$2,391 R 39.4K

-59.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$699 MX$12.9K

$1,542 R 25.4K

-54.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$585 MX$10.8K

$1,639 R 27.0K

-64.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.32

10.97

3.19%

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

Last update for Ciudad Juarez: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ciudad Juarez

$382 33.2%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 87.8% $335

Groceries & Markets

Ciudad Juarez

$270 23.5%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 16.8% $45

Eating Out

Ciudad Juarez

$166 14.5%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 6% $9.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ciudad Juarez

$137 11.9%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 33.6% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Ciudad Juarez

$113 9.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 26.5% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Ciudad Juarez

$42 3.7%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 60.5% $25

Getting Around

Ciudad Juarez

$40 3.5%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 88.7% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $609 in Ciudad Juarez versus $1,021 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 180% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $33.00 in Ciudad Juarez versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Groceries tell a different story – $270 in Ciudad Juarez vs $225 in Cape Town – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ciudad Juarez

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

07:08 7:08 AM

15:08 3:08 PM

8 h ahead of Ciudad Juarez

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,501,551

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Ciudad Juarez
Cape Town

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

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

Cape Town costs about 38% more than Ciudad Juarez, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,725 per month in Ciudad Juarez and $2,379 in Cape Town. 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,150 in Ciudad Juarez and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 38%.

Public transport costs about 121% less in Ciudad Juarez. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Ciudad Juarez, where all-in costs run around $1,150, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Ciudad Juarez it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Ciudad Juarez costs $1,150 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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