Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamilton, New Zealand and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $1,917 in Hamilton, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
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Hamilton Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Hamilton

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,917

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,917 in Hamilton versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Hamilton $1,917
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Hamilton versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Hamilton $2,828
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,739 in Hamilton versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Hamilton $3,739
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Hamilton is roughly 19% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Hamilton 41% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.20 NZ$21.47

$10.62 MX$199

14.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.6 NZ$131

$48.35 MX$904

54.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 NZ$14.68

$10.35 MX$193

-19.42%

Cappuccino

$3.49 NZ$6.15

$3.69 MX$69.0

-5.42%

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

$2.31 NZ$4.07

$1.67 MX$31.14

38.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 NZ$4.40

$1.27 MX$23.65

96.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.08 NZ$10.70

$3.19 MX$59.7

90.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.61 NZ$9.87

$5.31 MX$99.2

5.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 NZ$2.57

$1.72 MX$32.23

-15.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 NZ$2.20

$3.04 MX$56.8

-58.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 NZ$3.41

$1.94 MX$36.27

Eggs

$5.52 NZ$9.71

$2.89 MX$54.0

91.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.78 NZ$10.17

$10.97 MX$205

-47.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.18 NZ$12.64

$9.25 MX$173

-22.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.70 NZ$20.60

$15.13 MX$283

-22.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.71 NZ$4.76

$3.05 MX$57.0

-11.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 NZ$4.06

$1.94 MX$36.27

19.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.24 NZ$5.71

$2.03 MX$37.85

59.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.21 NZ$10.93

$2.31 MX$43.25

168.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 NZ$3.61

$2.04 MX$38.03

0.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 NZ$2.49

$1.80 MX$33.63

-21.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.49 NZ$4.38

$1.48 MX$27.64

68.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 NZ$1.73

$1.27 MX$23.69

-22.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$26.19 NZ$46.10

$5.30 MX$99.1

394.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.72 NZ$18.87

$16.10 MX$301

-33.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.02 NZ$7.08

$1.98 MX$37.06

103.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 NZ$7.29

$4.25 MX$79.5

-2.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 NZ$4.68

$0.31 MX$5.70

758.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.7 NZ$92.7

$19.73 MX$369

166.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.70 NZ$6.51

$1.84 MX$34.34

101.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.97

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.0

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.67 NZ$2.93

$1.51 MX$28.23

10.60%

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

$28.2K NZ$49.7K

$21.8K MX$406.5K

29.71%

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

$22.4K NZ$39.3K

$24.0K MX$448.2K

-6.81%

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

$58.3 NZ$103

$63.0 MX$1,177

-7.49%

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

$36.48 NZ$64.2

$27.39 MX$512

33.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 NZ$97.6

$35.67 MX$666

55.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.73 NZ$45.29

$58.9 MX$1,101

-56.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.98 NZ$51.0

$23.64 MX$442

22.59%

Cinema Ticket

$13.93 NZ$24.52

$6.40 MX$120

117.66%

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

$670 NZ$1,180

$432 MX$8,065

55.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.5K NZ$39.5K

$11.4K MX$213.5K

96.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.7 NZ$112

$68.2 MX$1,275

-6.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.93 NZ$68.5

$53.1 MX$993

-26.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.7 NZ$167

$108 MX$2,014

-12.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 NZ$188

$117 MX$2,191

-9.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,090 NZ$1,918

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-2.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$987 NZ$1,737

$710 MX$13.3K

38.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,636 NZ$2,879

$2,588 MX$48.4K

-36.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,476 NZ$2,598

$1,406 MX$26.3K

4.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,019 NZ$7,074

$3,631 MX$67.8K

10.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,525 NZ$7,964

$2,135 MX$39.9K

111.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,678 NZ$4,713

$946 MX$17.7K

183.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.83

11.35

-39.82%

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

Last update for Hamilton: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hamilton

$987 51.5%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 28% $277

Groceries & Markets

Hamilton

$297 15.5%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 7.5% $22

Eating Out

Hamilton

$225 11.8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 11.9% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamilton

$150 7.8%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 16.1% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Hamilton

$137 7.1%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 14% $19

Getting Around

Hamilton

$67 * 3.5%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 62% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Hamilton

$54 2.8%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 33.8% $18

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 $1,090 in Hamilton and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamilton pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $75 in Hamilton vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $297 vs $320, with Hamilton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Hamilton

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:05 2:05 AM

07:05 7:05 AM

19 h behind Hamilton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

169,500

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.568 USD

1 NZD = 0.511 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.76 NZD (1 NZD = 0.568 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 NZD (1 NZD = 0.511 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hamilton Mexico City 10,940 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamilton
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

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

Mexico City is cheaper overall, especially in transport, utilities, and eating out. The 19% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Hamilton is about 2.8 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: $1,090 in Hamilton versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $75 in Hamilton. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,917 per month in Hamilton versus $1,608 in Mexico City – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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, Hamilton on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.