Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gampaha and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Gampaha: $453 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Gampaha
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Gampaha Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

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Gampaha

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$453

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $453 in Gampaha versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Gampaha $453
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $768 in Gampaha versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Gampaha $768
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,083 in Gampaha versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Gampaha $1,083
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Gampaha costs roughly 71% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Gampaha is 67% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.84 LKR 609

$11.02 MX$204

-83.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.22 LKR 6,034

$48.68 MX$900

-62.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.20 LKR 1,721

$10.90 MX$201

-52.29%

Cappuccino

$1.24 LKR 410

$3.68 MX$68.1

-66.30%

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

$0.53 LKR 176

$1.63 MX$30.18

-67.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 82.1

$1.25 MX$23.07

-80.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.12 LKR 701

$3.25 MX$60.1

-34.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 LKR 1,010

$5.53 MX$102

-44.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 LKR 539

$1.70 MX$31.50

-4.12%

White Bread (500g)

$0.41 LKR 135

$3.02 MX$55.8

-86.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.73 LKR 241

$1.92 MX$35.53

-61.98%

Eggs

$1.65 LKR 548

$2.73 MX$50.5

-39.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.91 LKR 4,607

$11.77 MX$218

18.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.03 LKR 1,334

$9.53 MX$176

-57.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.43 LKR 2,460

$14.41 MX$266

-48.44%

Apples (1kg)

$5.95 LKR 1,972

$3.02 MX$55.8

97.02%

Banana (1kg)

$0.82 LKR 270

$1.89 MX$35.01

-56.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.51 LKR 1,493

$1.99 MX$36.70

126.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 LKR 436

$2.19 MX$40.38

-39.73%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 LKR 314

$1.92 MX$35.43

-50.52%

Onion (1kg)

$0.84 LKR 277

$1.87 MX$34.49

-55.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.29 LKR 94.8

$1.44 MX$26.62

-79.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.34 LKR 114

$1.27 MX$23.39

-73.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.88 LKR 3,273

$5.22 MX$96.4

89.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.04 LKR 4,319

$16.17 MX$299

-19.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 LKR 447

$1.90 MX$35.03

-28.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 LKR 808

$4.22 MX$78.0

-42.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 LKR 95.2

$0.34 MX$6.30

-14.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 LKR 95.0

$2.00 MX$36.90

-85.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 LKR 120

$0.52 MX$9.67

-30.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.89 LKR 295

$5.34 MX$98.7

-83.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 LKR 388

$1.52 MX$28.13

-23.03%

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

$30.6K LKR 10.1M

$22.1K MX$408.0K

38.39%

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

$39.9K LKR 13.2M

$24.5K MX$452.9K

62.83%

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

$27.15 LKR 8,994

$61.1 MX$1,129

-55.54%

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

$2.99 LKR 991

$28.58 MX$528

-89.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.85 LKR 3,592

$34.47 MX$637

-68.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$7.73 LKR 2,561

$56.4 MX$1,042

-86.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$4.55 LKR 1,508

$6.66 MX$123

-31.68%

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

$14.93 LKR 4,944

$427 MX$7,891

-96.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$121 LKR 40.1K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

-98.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.28 LKR 6,054

$67.8 MX$1,253

-73.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$9.02 LKR 2,987

$52.0 MX$960

-82.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.9 LKR 19.8K

$106 MX$1,959

-43.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$23.95 LKR 7,933

$113 MX$2,080

-78.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$90.2 LKR 29.9K

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-91.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$56.4 LKR 18.7K

$654 MX$12.1K

-91.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$302 LKR 100.2K

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-86.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$163 LKR 54.0K

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-86.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$231 LKR 76.4K

$964 MX$17.8K

-76.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

-11.50%

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

Last update for Gampaha: October 18, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Gampaha

$221 48.7%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 44.1% $97

Eating Out

Gampaha

$65 14.3%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 214% $139

Accommodation & Living

Gampaha

$56 12.5%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 1059% $598

Clothing & Footwear

Gampaha

$50 11%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 204% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gampaha

$41 9%

Mexico City

$124 8% 203% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Gampaha

$17 3.7%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 314% $53

Getting Around

Gampaha

$3.2 * 0.7%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 691% $22

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 $90.2 in Gampaha and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 318% 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: $18.00 in Gampaha vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $318 per month, with Gampaha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Gampaha

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

16:21 4:21 PM

04:51 4:51 AM

11 h 30 min behind Gampaha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Gampaha Mexico City 17,060 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Gampaha
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

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

Gampaha and Mexico City differ by about 242% in total monthly costs ($453 vs $1,548 including rent). Gampaha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 318% lower in Mexico City. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $90.2 in Gampaha versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $14.93 in Gampaha versus $427 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 Gampaha – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $453 in Gampaha versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gampaha but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Gampaha 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 Gampaha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 242% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.