Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Elgin and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $1,803 in Elgin, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Elgin
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Elgin Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Elgin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,803

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,803 in Elgin versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Elgin $1,803
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,850 in Elgin versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Elgin $2,850
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,896 in Elgin versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Elgin $3,896
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Elgin is roughly 16% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Elgin 33% above, Mexico City 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.57 £16.19

$11.02 MX$204

95.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.8 £53.9

$48.68 MX$900

47.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.25 £7.69

$10.90 MX$201

-5.96%

Cappuccino

$4.55 £3.41

$3.68 MX$68.1

23.64%

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

$1.97 £1.48

$1.63 MX$30.18

20.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.25 MX$23.07

3.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.42 £3.32

$3.25 MX$60.1

36.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.01 £4.51

$5.53 MX$102

8.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.70 MX$31.50

-1.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 £1.23

$3.02 MX$55.8

-45.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.92 MX$35.53

7.81%

Eggs

$3.84 £2.88

$2.73 MX$50.5

40.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.22 £6.91

$11.77 MX$218

-21.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.29 £6.97

$9.53 MX$176

-2.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.24 £12.94

$14.41 MX$266

19.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$3.02 MX$55.8

8.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 £1.18

$1.89 MX$35.01

-16.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 £2.25

$1.99 MX$36.70

50.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.31 £2.48

$2.19 MX$40.38

51.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.92 MX$35.43

-0.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.87 MX$34.49

-14.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.44 MX$26.62

-16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.22

$1.27 MX$23.39

28.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.90 £17.93

$5.22 MX$96.4

357.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 £8.37

$16.17 MX$299

-31.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.35 £2.51

$1.90 MX$35.03

76.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 £2.51

$4.22 MX$78.0

-20.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.56 £2.67

$0.34 MX$6.30

947.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$122 £91.3

$19.65 MX$363

519.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 £4.27

$2.00 MX$36.90

184.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.18 £0.89

$0.52 MX$9.67

126.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.07 £19.56

$5.34 MX$98.7

388.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.18 £1.63

$1.52 MX$28.13

43.42%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

72.46%

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

$40.8K £30.6K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

66.28%

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

$200 £150

$61.1 MX$1,129

227.46%

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

$20.02 £15.02

$28.58 MX$528

-29.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.17 £30.14

$34.47 MX$637

16.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.00 £27.76

$56.4 MX$1,042

-34.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.47 £4.10

$24.88 MX$460

-78.01%

Cinema Ticket

$11.09 £8.32

$6.66 MX$123

66.52%

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

$937 £703

$427 MX$7,891

119.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.0K £16.5K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

89.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.15 £27.12

$67.8 MX$1,253

-46.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.40 £34.06

$52.0 MX$960

-12.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.8

$106 MX$1,959

0.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.0 £68.3

$113 MX$2,080

-19.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 £681

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-11.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$590 £443

$654 MX$12.1K

-9.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,784 £1,339

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-22.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,199 £900

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-3.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,068 £3,802

$3,613 MX$66.8K

40.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,862 £2,897

$1,936 MX$35.8K

99.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,018 £1,514

$964 MX$17.8K

109.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.79

11.3

-57.61%

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

Last update for Elgin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Elgin

$590 32.7%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 10.9% $64

Groceries & Markets

Elgin

$316 17.5%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 0.7% $2.3

Eating Out

Elgin

$305 16.9%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 33.2% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Elgin

$260 14.4%

Mexico City

$124 8% 52.3% $136

Getting Around

Elgin

$148 8.2%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 82.6% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Elgin

$126 7%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 21.3% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Elgin

$59 3.3%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 17.8% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $908 in Elgin and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Elgin pays 109% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $72.0 in Elgin vs $49.00 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $316 vs $318, with Elgin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Elgin

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

18:14 6:14 PM

11:14 11:14 AM

7 h behind Elgin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,040

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Elgin Mexico City 8,530 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Elgin and Mexico City differ by about 16% in total monthly costs ($1,803 vs $1,548 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 109% higher in Elgin, 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: $908 in Elgin versus $1,025 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 519% less than in Elgin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $937 in Elgin versus $427 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,803 in Elgin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Elgin. 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.

Safety-wise, Elgin and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Elgin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.