Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Diest and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,081 in Diest, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Diest
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Diest Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Diest

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,081

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,081 in Diest versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Diest $2,081
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,067 in Diest versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Diest $3,067
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,053 in Diest versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Diest $4,053
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Diest is roughly 29% 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: Diest 53% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.59 €20.30

$10.62 MX$198

112.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.9 €78.0

$48.35 MX$901

79.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 €10.74

$10.35 MX$193

15.56%

Cappuccino

$3.44 €3.09

$3.69 MX$68.8

-6.78%

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

$2.98 €2.68

$1.67 MX$31.07

78.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 €2.79

$1.27 MX$23.59

144.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.32 €4.78

$3.19 MX$59.5

66.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 €3.92

$5.31 MX$98.9

-17.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.17

$1.72 MX$32.15

-24.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.73 €2.46

$3.04 MX$56.7

-10.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 €1.99

$1.94 MX$36.19

13.92%

Eggs

$3.73 €3.35

$2.89 MX$53.8

29.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.58 €13.99

$10.97 MX$205

42.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.12 €10.89

$9.25 MX$172

31.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.60 €17.60

$15.13 MX$282

29.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.71 €2.43

$3.05 MX$56.8

-11.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.94 MX$36.19

13.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 €2.29

$2.03 MX$37.75

25.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$2.31 MX$43.15

21.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.17 €1.95

$2.04 MX$37.94

6.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 €1.62

$1.80 MX$33.55

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.48 MX$27.58

-0.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.85

$1.27 MX$23.63

-25.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.09 €10.86

$5.30 MX$98.9

128.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.26 €7.42

$16.10 MX$300

-48.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 €1.83

$1.98 MX$36.97

2.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 €1.89

$4.25 MX$79.3

-50.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.18 €2.85

$0.31 MX$5.69

925.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.83 €42.96

$19.73 MX$368

142.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.49 €4.94

$1.84 MX$34.25

198.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.54 €2.28

$0.53 MX$9.94

379.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.88 €26.85

$5.30 MX$98.7

463.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.95 €1.75

$1.51 MX$28.16

29.14%

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

$34.7K €31.2K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

59.46%

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

$36.4K €32.7K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

51.69%

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

$213 €191

$63.0 MX$1,174

237.57%

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

$20.73 €18.63

$27.39 MX$511

-24.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.4 €45.25

$35.67 MX$665

41.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.45 €32.74

$58.9 MX$1,099

-38.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.39 €17.41

$23.64 MX$441

-17.98%

Cinema Ticket

$14.36 €12.90

$6.40 MX$119

124.37%

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

$777 €698

$432 MX$8,045

80.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.7K €19.5K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

89.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 €92.1

$68.2 MX$1,272

50.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.60 €43.65

$53.1 MX$990

-8.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$108 MX$2,009

-4.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$147 €132

$117 MX$2,186

25.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$939 €843

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-15.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$816 €733

$710 MX$13.2K

14.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,365 €1,227

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-47.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,157 €1,039

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-17.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,153 €3,730

$3,631 MX$67.7K

14.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,919 €2,622

$2,135 MX$39.8K

36.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,140 €1,923

$946 MX$17.6K

126.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.53

11.35

-68.90%

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

Last update for Diest: 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

Diest

$816 39.2%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 12.9% $105

Groceries & Markets

Diest

$339 16.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 5.9% $20

Eating Out

Diest

$318 15.3%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 37.5% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Diest

$284 13.6%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 55.6% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Diest

$180 8.7%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 13.5% $24

Getting Around

Diest

$79 3.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 67.7% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Diest

$65 3.1%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 10.1% $6.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $939 in Diest and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Diest pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $87 in Diest vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $339 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Diest

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

19:49 7:49 PM

12:49 12:49 PM

7 h behind Diest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,516

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Diest Mexico City 9,290 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Diest
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

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

Mexico City wins on cost – living expenses run 23% lower than in Diest. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Mexico City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Diest is about 2.3 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: $939 in Diest versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 59% less than in Diest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $777 in Diest versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Mexico City wins on affordability, Diest on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.