Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Essen and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $1,982 in Essen, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

96

Cost of Living Index in Essen
Learn more

Essen Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Essen

🇩🇪 Germany

$1,982

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,982 per month in Essen vs $1,567 in Mexico City, rent included.

Essen $1,982
Mexico City $1,567

A couple spends around $3,088 per month in Essen vs $2,450 in Mexico City, rent included.

Essen $3,088
Mexico City $2,450

A family of three spends $4,195 per month in Essen vs $3,333 in Mexico City, rent included.

Essen $4,195
Mexico City $3,333

Essen costs about 26% more than Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Essen and Mexico City sit above the global median – Essen by 47%, Mexico City by 16%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.00 €17.79

$10.75 MX$199

86.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.1 €78.4

$50.3 MX$929

75.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.38 €11.90

$11.10 MX$205

20.54%

Cappuccino

$3.88 €3.45

$3.68 MX$68.1

5.43%

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

$3.13 €2.78

$1.65 MX$30.42

89.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 €2.33

$1.30 MX$24.08

101.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.09 €5.42

$3.32 MX$61.3

83.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.74 €5.11

$5.54 MX$102

3.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 €1.07

$1.77 MX$32.68

-31.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 €1.94

$3.05 MX$56.4

-28.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.01 MX$37.20

68.66%

Eggs

$3.68 €3.27

$2.77 MX$51.1

32.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.14 €14.36

$11.91 MX$220

35.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.50 €9.34

$9.33 MX$172

12.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.76 €22.02

$15.02 MX$278

64.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.37 €2.99

$3.08 MX$56.8

9.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$1.95 MX$35.97

7.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.03 MX$37.54

10.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.21 MX$40.92

76.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 €1.16

$2.02 MX$37.41

-35.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.82 MX$33.67

-29.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.52 MX$28.07

1.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 €1.07

$1.28 MX$23.65

-6.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.51 €8.45

$5.27 MX$97.4

80.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.60 €4.98

$16.12 MX$298

-65.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.95 MX$36.05

-44.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 €1.33

$4.25 MX$78.6

-64.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.09 €3.64

$0.31 MX$5.82

1219.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.6 €58.4

$19.85 MX$367

230.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.93 €4.38

$2.00 MX$36.93

146.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.49 €3.10

$0.53 MX$9.86

558.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.38 €35.02

$5.62 MX$104

600.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.52 MX$28.07

44.08%

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

$32.2K €28.6K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

53.12%

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

$38.4K €34.1K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

52.35%

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

$386 €344

$62.5 MX$1,155

518.26%

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

$38.73 €34.45

$28.77 MX$532

34.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.40 €35.93

$34.45 MX$637

17.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.94 €36.41

$57.1 MX$1,055

-28.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.05 €32.06

$24.81 MX$458

45.30%

Cinema Ticket

$15.31 €13.62

$6.67 MX$123

129.54%

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

$459 €408

$431 MX$7,964

6.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,430 €8,387

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-19.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.6 €85.9

$70.8 MX$1,308

36.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$82.1 €73.1

$51.8 MX$958

58.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 €97.6

$109 MX$2,011

0.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$156 €139

$112 MX$2,076

38.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$637 €567

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-39.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$487 €433

$665 MX$12.3K

-26.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,404 €1,249

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-40.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$969 €862

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-20.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,704 €4,184

$3,554 MX$65.7K

32.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 €2,708

$1,977 MX$36.5K

54.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,999 €2,668

$975 MX$18.0K

207.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

11.3

-65.04%

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

Last update for Essen: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Essen

$487 24.6%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 36.7% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Essen

$465 23.5%

Mexico City

$126 8% 73% $340

Groceries & Markets

Essen

$342 17.3%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 5.6% $19

Eating Out

Essen

$312 15.7%

Mexico City

$203 13% 34.9% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Essen

$200 10.1%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 22.6% $45

Getting Around

Essen

$104 5.3%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 75.3% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Essen

$72 3.6%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 1.6% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $637 in Essen versus $1,051 in Mexico City. 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 208% higher in Essen, 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 $88.0 in Essen versus $50.0 in Mexico City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $342 vs $323 – making Mexico City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Essen

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

14:34 2:34 PM

06:34 6:34 AM

8 h behind Essen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

569,884

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Essen Mexico City 9,390 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Essen
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $1,982 in Essen, $1,567 in Mexico City – roughly 26% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,972 per month in Essen and $2,351 in Mexico City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mexico City, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 231% less in Mexico City. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $459 per month in Essen and $431 in Mexico City. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Mexico City, where all-in costs run around $1,567, than in Essen at $1,982. In Mexico City it covers expenses comfortably, while in Essen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Mexico City has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,567 in Mexico City to $1,982 in Essen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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