Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Elgin, IL and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Elgin, IL: $1,057 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

51

Cost of Living Index in Elgin, IL
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Elgin, IL Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Elgin, IL

🇺🇸 United States

$1,057

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,057 in Elgin, IL versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Elgin, IL $1,057
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,633 in Elgin, IL versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Elgin, IL $2,633
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,209 in Elgin, IL versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Elgin, IL $4,209
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Elgin, IL costs roughly 34% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Elgin, IL is 22% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.39 $20.39

$10.62 MX$200

92.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.1 $59.1

$48.35 MX$912

22.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.94 $9.94

$10.35 MX$195

-3.96%

Cappuccino

$4.08 $4.08

$3.69 MX$69.6

10.57%

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

$3.06 $3.06

$1.67 MX$31.44

83.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.27 MX$23.87

60.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.98 $5.98

$3.19 MX$60.2

87.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.88 $4.88

$5.31 MX$100

-8.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 $0.87

$1.72 MX$32.54

-49.42%

White Bread (500g)

$3.52 $3.52

$3.04 MX$57.4

15.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.15 $4.15

$1.94 MX$36.62

113.92%

Eggs

$3.64 $3.64

$2.89 MX$54.5

25.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.13 $11.13

$10.97 MX$207

1.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.06 $13.06

$9.25 MX$174

41.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.98 $11.98

$15.13 MX$285

-20.82%

Apples (1kg)

$4.47 $4.47

$3.05 MX$57.5

46.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 $1.33

$1.94 MX$36.62

-31.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.53 $2.53

$2.03 MX$38.21

24.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 $4.04

$2.31 MX$43.66

74.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 $2.00

$2.04 MX$38.39

-1.96%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 $2.01

$1.80 MX$33.95

11.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 $1.78

$1.48 MX$27.91

20.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 $2.40

$1.27 MX$23.91

88.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.58 $10.58

$5.30 MX$100

99.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.75 $15.75

$16.10 MX$304

-2.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 $2.71

$1.98 MX$37.41

36.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 $3.54

$4.25 MX$80.2

-16.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.75

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$372

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.05 $4.05

$1.84 MX$34.66

120.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 $2.04

$0.53 MX$10.06

284.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.57 $27.57

$5.30 MX$99.9

420.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.51 MX$28.49

-31.13%

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

$31.2K $31.2K

$21.8K MX$410.4K

43.31%

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

$25.8K $25.8K

$24.0K MX$452.5K

7.52%

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

$98.8 $98.8

$63.0 MX$1,188

56.86%

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

$53.3 $53.3

$27.39 MX$517

94.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.92 $49.92

$35.67 MX$673

39.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,112

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$446

Cinema Ticket

$15.10 $15.10

$6.40 MX$121

135.94%

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

$1,656 $1,656

$432 MX$8,142

283.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.4K $23.4K

$11.4K MX$215.5K

105.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.64 $40.64

$68.2 MX$1,287

-40.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.3 $50.3

$53.1 MX$1,002

-5.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.6 $99.6

$108 MX$2,033

-7.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 $120

$117 MX$2,212

2.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$21.0K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,162 $2,162

$2,588 MX$48.8K

-16.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,820 $1,820

$1,406 MX$26.5K

29.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,201 $2,201

$3,631 MX$68.5K

-39.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,268 $2,268

$2,135 MX$40.3K

6.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,966 $3,966

$946 MX$17.8K

319.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.69

11.35

-41.06%

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

Last update for Elgin, IL: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Elgin, IL

$368 34.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 13.3% $49

Eating Out

Elgin, IL

$302 28.6%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 34.2% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Elgin, IL

$202 19.1%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 37.6% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Elgin, IL

$140 13.2%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 11.5% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Elgin, IL

$30 * 2.9%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 138% $42

Getting Around

Elgin, IL

$14 * 1.4%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 78.5% $11

Accommodation & Living

Elgin, IL

- * 0%

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

Elgin, IL pays about 4.2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $59 in Elgin, IL vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $368 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Elgin, IL

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:12 2:12 AM

01:12 1:12 AM

1 h behind Elgin, IL

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

112,603

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.897 EUR

100 MXN = 5.3 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.897 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 18.86 MXN (100 MXN = 5.3 USD). 1 EUR = 21.02 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Elgin, IL Mexico City 2,710 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Elgin, IL
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

Elgin, IL vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elgin, IL is about 34% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Elgin, IL is about 4.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $1,656 in Elgin, IL versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $59 in Elgin, IL. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,057 in Elgin, IL versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Elgin, IL but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Elgin, IL 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.