Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Darwin and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $3,073 in Darwin, rent and utilities included – about $17,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

148

Cost of Living Index in Darwin
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Darwin Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Darwin

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,073

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,073 in Darwin versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Darwin $3,073
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,118 in Darwin versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Darwin $4,118
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,163 in Darwin versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Darwin $5,163
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Darwin is roughly 91% 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: Darwin 126% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.40 A$31.85

$10.62 MX$198

110.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 A$129

$48.35 MX$900

87.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 A$16.16

$10.35 MX$193

9.76%

Cappuccino

$4.23 A$6.01

$3.69 MX$68.7

14.63%

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

$3.46 A$4.92

$1.67 MX$31.03

107.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 A$4.28

$1.27 MX$23.56

137.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.57 A$10.76

$3.19 MX$59.4

137.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.57 A$10.77

$5.31 MX$98.8

42.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 A$2.19

$1.72 MX$32.11

-10.47%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 A$4.32

$3.04 MX$56.6

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 A$3.13

$1.94 MX$36.14

13.40%

Eggs

$4.47 A$6.35

$2.89 MX$53.8

54.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 A$12.68

$10.97 MX$204

-18.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.31 A$11.82

$9.25 MX$172

-10.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.85 A$12.58

$15.13 MX$282

-41.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.85 A$5.47

$3.05 MX$56.8

26.23%

Banana (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.10

$1.94 MX$36.14

48.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 A$3.98

$2.03 MX$37.70

37.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.03 A$7.15

$2.31 MX$43.09

117.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.62

$2.04 MX$37.88

25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.27

$1.80 MX$33.51

27.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.06 A$2.93

$1.48 MX$27.54

39.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 A$3.09

$1.27 MX$23.60

70.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.35 A$64.5

$5.30 MX$98.7

755.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.15 A$17.28

$16.10 MX$300

-24.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$10.13 A$14.40

$1.98 MX$36.92

411.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.87 A$11.19

$4.25 MX$79.2

85.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.37 A$68.8

$19.73 MX$367

145.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 A$5.25

$1.84 MX$34.21

100.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 A$1.91

$0.53 MX$9.93

154.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.52 A$69.0

$5.30 MX$98.6

815.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 A$1.89

$1.51 MX$28.12

-11.92%

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

$30.0K A$42.6K

$21.8K MX$405.0K

37.73%

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

$33.4K A$47.5K

$24.0K MX$446.5K

39.17%

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

$215 A$305

$63.0 MX$1,172

240.63%

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

$33.49 A$47.61

$27.39 MX$510

22.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.9 A$86.7

$35.67 MX$664

70.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.0 A$104

$58.9 MX$1,097

23.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.22 A$40.13

$23.64 MX$440

19.37%

Cinema Ticket

$16.99 A$24.16

$6.40 MX$119

165.47%

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

$1,939 A$2,756

$432 MX$8,035

349.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,442 A$12.0K

$11.4K MX$212.7K

-26.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.2 A$121

$68.2 MX$1,270

24.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.52 A$66.2

$53.1 MX$989

-12.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 A$150

$108 MX$2,006

-1.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 A$196

$117 MX$2,183

17.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,719 A$2,444

$1,113 MX$20.7K

54.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,430

$710 MX$13.2K

140.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,803 A$3,985

$2,588 MX$48.2K

8.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,124 A$3,021

$1,406 MX$26.2K

51.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,771 A$5,363

$3,631 MX$67.6K

3.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,536 A$5,028

$2,135 MX$39.7K

65.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,223 A$6,005

$946 MX$17.6K

346.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.14

11.35

-45.90%

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

Last update for Darwin: 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

Darwin

$1.7K 55.6%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 58.4% $999

Groceries & Markets

Darwin

$377 12.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 15.3% $58

Eating Out

Darwin

$343 11.2%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 42.1% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Darwin

$309 10.1%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 59.2% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Darwin

$169 5.5%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 7.7% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Darwin

$107 3.5%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 32.9% $35

Getting Around

Darwin

$59 * 1.9%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 56.7% $33

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,719 in Darwin and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Dining out: $91 in Darwin vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $377 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Darwin

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

19:36 7:36 PM

04:06 4:06 AM

15 h 30 min behind Darwin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

122,207

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.83 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.62 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.72 MXN (100 MXN = 4.83 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Darwin Mexico City 14,630 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Darwin
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

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

Mexico City is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. The 91% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Darwin 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: $1,719 in Darwin versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Darwin. 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 $48 versus $91 in Darwin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,608 in Mexico City versus $3,073 in Darwin, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Darwin. 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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Darwin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.